The mineral water bottling company made significant commitments as a result of the GVH proceedings

According to the information, in the summer of 2024, the GVH initiated competition supervision proceedings against several companies, including Fonte Viva Kft., due to green claims related to PET bottles. According to the competition authority’s original suspicion, the company may have deceived consumers with the claims made on the labels of Fonte Natura mineral waters and in the commercial communications promoting the product.

During the proceedings, the company and its parent company, Mol Plc., proved that during the period under investigation, the bottles they sold – with the exception of the label and the cap – were made of 100 percent recycled PET material. At the same time, according to the GVH’s concerns, the communications under investigation may have even created the impression that the entire bottle, i.e. the cap and the label, were made of recycled material.

During the proceedings, the companies submitted a complex commitment package to the GVH’s Competition Council. The companies undertook to improve their internal processes related to their commercial communications, to appoint a compliance expert, and to develop a detailed internal compliance policy for future commercial communications, which also includes measures regarding environmental claims. They also undertook to compile educational content that covers the environmental impacts of bottled products and the importance of the bottle return process.

In view of all this, the Competition Council of the GVH closed the proceedings without establishing a violation or lack thereof and required the companies to implement the commitments. The GVH will strictly monitor this in the follow-up investigation, they announced.

In connection with the case, the GVH draws the attention of companies to the fact that green claims must always be clearly and objectively justifiable.