In recent years, the word “sustainability” has become omnipresent.
From food labels to corporate websites, everything seems to be green, natural, or low-impact.
But behind this rush to appear sustainable lies a more complex truth: not all “green” practices are genuinely sustainable.
This is the phenomenon known as greenwashing — the misleading or superficial communication of environmental actions that do not deliver real ecological benefits.
And agriculture — including the wheat sector — is no exception.
What Greenwashing Really Means
The term greenwashing first appeared in the 1980s, when corporations began promoting “eco-friendly” initiatives while maintaining highly polluting operations.
Today, the problem is more subtle: not outright falsehoods, but ambiguity, selective data, and marketing without measurable proof.
In agriculture, greenwashing can take several forms:
- Using vague claims such as “eco”, “natural”, or “zero-impact” without scientific evidence;
- Participating in “green” programs merely to access CAP funding, without real operational changes;
- Highlighting positive impacts while ignoring negative ones (e.g., energy use or water footprint).
According to a JRC (2024) report, nearly 25% of environmental claims in Europe’s agri-food sector are “vague, unverifiable, or misleading.”
Greenwashing and the CAP: A Systemic Risk
With the European Green Deal and the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), sustainability has become a prerequisite for most public subsidies.
While this encourages positive change, it also introduces potential risks.
Some farms merely comply with environmental requirements on paper, adopting cover crops or rotations only on small portions of land or for short periods, without fundamentally transforming their production models.
In other cases, fragmented control systems or a lack of clear indicators mean that projects labeled as “green” receive public funding without delivering tangible environmental benefits.
As noted by CREA (2024), the absence of a unified monitoring framework makes it difficult to assess the real effectiveness of CAP eco-schemes, particularly for extensive crops such as wheat.
Labels and Communication: Between Transparency and Confusion
In the wheat-based product market — from pasta to bread to flour — sustainability has become a powerful marketing tool.
Labels like “organic”, “short supply chain”, “carbon neutral”, or “pesticide-free” attract consumers, but they don’t always tell the full story.
Many environmental claims lack standardized verification systems, creating confusion and distrust.
To address this, the European Commission introduced the Green Claims Directive (2024), which requires companies to provide verifiable data and transparent methodologies for any environmental statement.
This step is crucial for agriculture as well: a “sustainable” label without scientific backing undermines those who genuinely invest in ecological transition.
How to Identify Genuine Sustainability
True sustainability in agriculture can be recognized through three essential criteria:
- Measurability – practices must be supported by verifiable data (emissions, soil health, water use, biodiversity).
- Transparency – results should be publicly available and based on recognized standards (e.g., LCA, ISO 14040).
- Permanence – environmental benefits must last over time, not just during subsidy periods.
For instance, a wheat farm that uses satellite sensors to prove a 20% reduction in irrigation or publishes a third-party verified sustainability report is demonstrating real progress, not marketing rhetoric.
Greenwashing or Transition? A Fine Line
Not all imperfect actions are greenwashing.
Many farmers are in the midst of an ecological transition, experimenting with new practices and technologies.
It’s important to distinguish between misleading communication and genuine efforts to improve.
As the FAO (2024) states, “Sustainability is not a status but a journey.”
What truly matters is traceable progress, not immediate perfection.
In the wheat sector, this journey represents a deeper transformation: environmental value becomes a pillar of competitiveness, not just a regulatory requirement.
Toward Verified Sustainability
The future of European agriculture will be increasingly data-driven.
From 2025 onward, the CAP will deploy digital monitoring systems and satellite tools to track sustainable practices, while the EU Green Data Space will consolidate environmental indicators across Member States.
This will allow policymakers to reward genuine sustainability, reducing the grey zones where greenwashing thrives.
For wheat producers, transparency will become a strategic advantage rather than a bureaucratic burden.
Ultimately, sustainability is not something you claim — it’s something you measure, prove, and cultivate day after day in the field.
Sources:
- European Commission (2024). Green Claims Directive – Proposal for Reliable Environmental Communication.
- CREA – Policy and Bioeconomy (2024). Environmental Effectiveness Indicators in the CAP 2023–2027.
- JRC – Joint Research Centre (2024). Greenwashing Risks in EU Agri-Food Sustainability Reporting.
- FAO (2024). Sustainability in Transition: Measuring Real Progress in Agriculture.
- European Parliament (2023). Greenwashing in the Agri-Food Sector: Challenges and Policy Options.