Legalità per il clima on behalf of 38 others vs. Gruppo Veronesi

Date filed

6 December 2021

Keywords

Countries of harm

Italy

Current status

No resolution

Sector

Agriculture & Food

NCP

NCP Italy

Allegations

On 6 December 2021, Legalità per il clima on behalf of 17 NGO, 26 individuals, 1 political party, and 1 movement filed a specific instance against Gruppo Veronesi at NCP Italy. The complaint concerns the company’s activities related to the intensive farming livestock sector. The complainants allege that the livestock sector contributes to the global climate emergency, especially given the large volumes of methane produced by livestock.

The complainants request the NCP’s assistance to mediate a pathway for the company to release information on the climate (and environmental) impacts of its activities, to adjust their risk assessment plans, and to work towards a drastic reduction of methane and other greenhouse gases and pollutants.

Relevant OECD Guidelines

Outcome

The complainant’s initial complaint cannot be published due to the Italian NCP’s confidentiality requirements for complaints.

On 7 February 2023, the NCP published its initial assessment in which it accepted the complaint.

On 24 February 2025, the Italian NCP published its final statement concluding the case without an agreement. The main area of disagreement was the company’s refusal to provide disaggregated data on greenhouse gas emissions on grounds related to the protection of sensitive information and economic sustainability. The NCP stated, “A willingness to increase transparency, including through technical assessments, would be a positive sign of commitment to identifying shared solutions that meet common environmental protection needs and objectives in accordance with the OECD Guidelines, while ensuring that sensitive information is protected and business competitiveness is not compromised” (unofficial translation from Italian).