Julio Castro, CEO of Iberdrola Renovables Energia, emphasized the necessity for clear rules to address misleading or exaggerated climate-friendly claims during the Future Energy Summit in Madrid on Tuesday. Iberdrola Renovables Energia is the renewables arm of Spain's Iberdrola.
“We have to be very careful with greenwashing,” Castro remarked, highlighting a growing concern in the renewable energy sector. “This is something that a renewable energy producer might not have been concerned about many years ago, but today we have to be very concerned about it.”
Castro pointed out the initiatives by the European Commission and regional authorities to intensify efforts against misleading greenwashing practices. He advocated for transparent guidelines that “define what is green and what is not green,” proposing either industry self-regulation or regulatory frameworks imposed by national or regional authorities.
“A drop of green stuff in a bucket full of black stuff does not make it green,” Castro emphasized, underscoring the importance of robust standards in verifying environmental claims.
