Focus: Fly responsibly? Airlines face a storm over climate claims

Fossil

13/09/2023 07:00

* 
      Activists seek ban on ads, cigarette-style warning labels 
    

        * 
      Complaints multiplying in Europe from activists, consumer
groups
    

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      Growth for shareholders hard to align with CO2 reduction
needed
    

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      KLM will lodge defence to lawsuit by Sept. 27
    

  
    By Toby Sterling and Joanna Plucinska
       AMSTERDAM/LONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - When Dutch airline
KLM launched adverts urging customers to "fly responsibly" and
think about the environmental impact before booking a flight, it
said it was showing its commitment to a sustainable future. 
    But the 2019 campaign sparked criticism and last year
environmental activists filed a suit accusing the company of
"greenwashing", or making misleading environmental claims.
    The case filed by Fossil Free Netherlands highlights the
dilemma facing airlines as they try to boost growth for
shareholders but also convince the public they are taking steps
to cut carbon emissions. 
    Critics say those messages can't be reconciled, and a
growing number of lawsuits, consumer complaints, and rulings
from advertising regulators are seeking to restrict what
sustainability claims airlines should be allowed to make.
    "The only way to fly responsibly right now is not to fly,"
said Hiske Arts, who is leading the campaign by Fossil Free
Netherlands.
    KLM, which is fighting the suit - one of the most prominent
among the legal challenges facing airlines, says it intends to
be an industry leader in cutting emissions and communicating
about sustainability.
    "We are pulling out all the stops," a spokesperson said.
    KLM is due to file its first official response at the
Amsterdam district court by Sept. 27. That will be followed by a
court hearing on Dec. 6.
    In June, European consumer rights body BEUC lodged a
complaint at the European Commission against 17 airlines,
alleging they use terms such as "sustainable", "responsible" and
"green" deceptively.
    "The reason we picked airlines is probably because it's one
of the most emblematic sectors in terms of greenwashing," said
campaign leader Dimitri Vergne. He said technologies for
low-emission flights either don't exist or are years away from
commercialisation. 
      
    BUSINESS RISK 
    The stakes are high. KLM's owner, Air France-KLM  AIRF.PA ,
said in its 2022 annual report that damage to its environmental
reputation was a business risk that could lead to it losing
public or political support.
    On Sept. 1, the Dutch government said it planned to cap
flights at Schiphol Airport, KLM's base, at 9.5% below 2019
levels, primarily to reduce noise pollution, but also in light
of goals to cut emissions. 
    Air France-KLM and other airlines plan to contest the
decision at the European level.
    Responding to Reuters questions, KLM said aviation was a
"hard to abate" sector in terms of emissions, but that it
planned to meet 2030 climate targets by buying more efficient
planes and gradually using more biofuel.
    KLM says its customers want to fly and helping them do so is
the reason it exists. In preliminary hearings, its lawyers
argued "fly responsibly" ads were well-intentioned. The ads
suggested customers should consider purchasing carbon offsets or
taking the train.
    In June, the court ruled the suit could proceed, with a
verdict expected in February.
    KLM says it has already discontinued 19 communications it
says form the core of the Fossil Free suit.
    Its "fly responsibly" web page now re-routes customers to a
message that reads: "Air travel is currently not sustainable.
Check what we are doing to improve."    
    Hiske Arts of Fossil Free said any airline ads that
reference the environment are intended to increase demand for
flying by persuading people that flying is not a problem.
    Saying one airline is planting trees or that one is less
polluting than another is misleading when every flight for years
to come will emit carbon dioxide, she said.
    "You can't say that you are more sustainable if the essence
is that you are still very polluting," Arts said.
    She said aviation should be treated like the tobacco
industry: ads should be banned, and tickets should carry a
warning.
    Airlines reject comparisons with tobacco, saying flying has
clear economic benefits that smoking does not.
    
    CLARITY
    In Brussels, industry group Airlines for Europe says
carriers must be allowed to publicly demonstrate their progress.
    "We're a little bit in limbo, when it comes to, you know,
what can we say?" said Deputy Managing Director Laurent Donceel.
    European regulators are working on updated rules for all
businesses, including a review of law on commercial practices
and a new green claims directive.
    While advertising authorities have banned some ads, they say
airlines should be allowed to discuss improvements in order to
prevent "greenhushing", or allowing the issue to disappear from
discussion.
    "We need to keep the interest of consumers first, but we
need to strike the right balance as well," said Lucas Boudet,
director general of the European Advertising Standards
Association.  

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 (Reporting by Toby Sterling in Amsterdam and Joanna Plucinska
in London
Editing by Mark Potter)
 ((toby.sterling@thomsonreuters.com;))