Factbox – Greenwashing case against European and US airlines By Reuters

© Reuters. Activists discuss a meeting of climate group Fossielvrij Nederland (Fossil Free Netherlands) at its offices in Amsterdam as Fossil Free sues Dutch airline KLM over advertising that echoes KLM’s “Fly Responsibly” campaign.

Written by Joanna Plucinska, Toby Sterling and Rajesh Kumar Singh

LONDON (Reuters) – Airlines around the world are being investigated by advertising and consumer agencies, regulators and courts for allegedly making misleading claims about their sustainability efforts – sometimes called “greenwashing.”

The civil suit filed against KLM in the Netherlands is one of the most prominent, but complaints and lawsuits against other airlines are also on the rise.

Other recent examples include:

advertising authority

Lufthansa, Etihad Airways and Air France-KLM were banned from some of their online ads by Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in December for misleading people about their environmental impact.

Ryanair, Lufthansa and Etihad have previously come under criticism from the UK advertising watchdog for providing oversimplified or misleading environmental protections.

Whether Ryanair calls itself Europe’s “lowest emissions airline,” Lufthansa calls itself “future-proofing,” or Etihad calls itself “sustainable aviation,” airlines They were told to avoid expressions that might imply that their activities were good for the environment.

“One of the things we’ve just noticed is that a lot of airlines are making claims about sustainability and green and sustainable choices, green choices,” said Myles Lockwood, head of complaints and investigations at ASA.

However, “air travel is one of the most significant (carbon) contributors to what consumers earn each year.”

Ryanair told Reuters it had provided all information requested by relevant authorities for its 2019 campaign and was disappointed and surprised by the ASA’s ruling.

“The Lufthansa Group provides fact-based information about the steps the company is taking to make its flight operations more climate-friendly,” a spokesperson told Reuters, adding that the complaints it received were carefully investigated.

Etihad said it was disappointed by the ASA’s 2022 ruling.

Lockwood said the ASA would use machine learning tools to scan online ads to catch potentially misleading phrases.

Separately, Austria’s advertising watchdog last year ordered Lufthansa’s Austrian aviation subsidiary to stop making claims about carbon-neutral flights using biofuel.

court

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:) plans to file a class action lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court over its “carbon neutral” advertising based on the purchase of carbon offsets.

The lawsuit claims the carbon offset program does not work as advertised and that the company misled consumers.

“This lawsuit has no legal basis,” a Delta spokesperson said, adding that the company is “working toward its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 and has moved away from carbon offsets.”

The company added that it is investing in newer aircraft and sustainable fuels to “decarbonize” its operations.

Separately, environmental advocacy group Possible filed a legal suit with the Organization for Economic Development (OECD) against Virgin Atlantic Airlines and British Airways. The airlines are “misleading consumers about their efforts to reduce carbon emissions from aircraft,” it said.

The group claims that both airlines have failed to meet emissions targets or been sufficiently transparent about increasing their use of jet fuel, despite advertised efforts to achieve net-zero emissions.

“We are committed to collaboration and transparency across industry and government to successfully reduce net carbon emissions from long-haul flights,” Virgin Atlantic said in a statement.

A British Airways spokesperson said the airline was “committed to transparency, integrity and responsible business practices”.