Dutch airline KLM misled consumers with "vague and general" adverts about its efforts to reduce the environmental impact of flying, an Amsterdam court ruled in a greenwashing case brought by a pressure group.

Amsterdam

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Dutch airline KLM has been found guilty by an Amsterdam court of misleading consumers through its advertisements. The court ruled that the airline used "vague and general" statements about its efforts to reduce the environmental impact of flying. This verdict comes as a result of a lawsuit filed by a pressure group, accusing KLM of greenwashing.

Greenwashing refers to the practice of companies giving a false impression or misleading information about how their products are more environmentally friendly than they actually are. The pressure group argued that KLM's advertising campaign created such a misleading impression regarding its environmental initiatives. This court decision highlights the growing scrutiny over how companies communicate their environmental efforts and the importance of transparency in such communications.



Airline KLM loses Dutch 'greenwashing' case

It's a celebration for climate activist group Fossil Free after a Dutch court ruled that national airline KLM had misled customers with its 2019 Fly Responsibly campaign. According to the court, 15 out of KLM's 19 environmental claims were misleading. It had inflated the benefits of its sustainable aviation fuel and it had given the mistaken impression that flying with KLM is sustainable. We've been working on this case for two and a half years and then finally have this very clear decision of the court saying that it's illegal for companies to claim they are tackling the climate crisis while in reality they are fueling the crisis. The court, however, did not impose any punishment on KLM, nor push for it to issue any statement of rectification, aside from being concrete and honest in future. The move comes amid a push by regulators to scrutinise the corporate world's environmental claims and could serve as a touchstone for airlines' public statements surrounding their greenhouse gas emissions. KLM's CEO, though, rejected the idea that the airline was misleading its green credentials. We are not greenwashing, so if you look at the rest of the industry, you look at our history, so it's an inconvenience, it's a lot of energy and time against something we strongly don't believe we do. Seventeen airlines in Europe are still facing complaints for greenwashing, brought by the continent's main consumer protection group, BEUC. The EU has block-wired standards in the pipeline to protect consumers against greenwashing claims, though this has yet to be approved by member states.

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Paris

Israel-Gaza War

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New York

U.S. Presidential Election

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Council of the City of Sydney

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Marsden Park

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Ukraine Invasion

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Pyongyang

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