No punishment imposed on firm, which used âmisleading and therefore illegalâ adverts to bolster green credentials.
A Dutch court has issued a ruling that considers national airline KLM guilty of greenwashing.
The district court of Amsterdam ruled on Wednesday that the flag carrier had misled consumers with adverts intending to improve its environmental image.
The ruling, which has come amid a push by regulators to scrutinise the corporate worldâs environmental claims, said that KLM had painted an âoverly rosy pictureâ of its measures and sought to give the âmistaken impressionâ that flying could be sustainable. However, no punishment was imposed on the firm.
The landmark âgreenwashingâ case was brought by the pressure group Fossielvrij NL (Fossil-free Netherlands). The court deemed the advertisements, most of which were included as part of the airlineâs âFly Responsiblyâ campaign, âmisleading and therefore illegalâ.
KLM âpaints an overly rosy picture of the impact of measures such as Sustainable Aviation Fuel and reforestationâ, said the court in its verdict. âThese measures only marginally reduce the negative environmental aspects and give the mistaken impression that flying with KLM is sustainable.â
âThe court could not have been clearer: Companies are not allowed to claim they are tackling dangerous climate change when in reality they are fuelling the crisis,â said Hiske Arts, an activist from Fossielvrij NL.
The company, an arm of the Air France-KLM Group, is no longer carrying the advertisements in question and will not be forced to issue any rectification. However, the court underlined that, in future, the airline must be âhonest and concreteâ about environmental claims.
Statements in the adverts included calls to action, such as âjoin us in creating a more sustainable futureâ and declarations about the carrierâs use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel, described as a âpromising solutionâ.
Regarding the fuel, the court ruled that while it could contribute to reducing the harmful impact of flying, âthe term âsustainableâ is too absolute and not sufficiently concreteâ.
The firm said in a statement it had not used the expressions at the heart of the case âfor some time,â and sought to suggest it welcomed the âclarityâ on âhow we can continue to communicate transparently and honestly about our approach and activitiesâ.
However, speaking at a news conference, Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith called the suit an âinconvenienceâ.
âWe are not greenwashing,â he said, arguing the company is taking steps to reduce its emissions, buying more efficient planes and mixing more biofuel into the kerosene that fuels its fleet.