Action groups claim landmark greenwashing victory in KLM case

Dutch action groups have claimed a major victory in the fight against greenwashing by the aviation industry.

The District Court of Amsterdam has found that KLM’s marketing contained misleading environmental claims, characterised by vague and generalised statements about so-called environmental benefits.

KLM was found to have overemphasised the positive impact of measures such as sustainable aviation fuels and reforestation, leading to a false impression the airline’s green credentials. This failure to provide accurate and specific information to consumers constituted a breach of fair advertising, as sanctioned by consumer protection law, the court found.

“The court ruled that 15 of KLM’s 19 statements were misleading and therefore unlawful. These include KLM’s claims that they are moving towards ‘a more sustainable future’, their commitment to the Paris climate goals, and their service where customers can ‘offset’ the environmental impact of their flight,” said Fossielvrij, one of the action groups the brought the lawsuit.

“The court says these claims are based on vague and general statements about environmental benefits, and in advertising them, KLM is misleading consumers. The court also believes that KLM paints too rosy a picture of alternative fuels (SAF) and reforestation. These solutions only marginally reduce the negative environmental aspects of flying and create the false impression that flying with KLM is sustainable, the court said,” it added.

This court case is the first in the world to take on the aviation industry’s claims about sustainability. “The ruling sets an important legal precedent with implications for the entire international aviation industry. From now on, aviation companies will get away less easily with misleading sustainability claims,” said Fossielvrij.

Hiske Arts, campaigner for Fossielvrij, said the judgment is a landmark victory in the fight against greenwashing.

“The significance of the Court’s decision is clear: companies are not allowed to claim they are tackling dangerous climate change when in reality they are fuelling the crisis. KLM’s ‘green’ marketing creates a misplaced trust that even if you are worried about the climate crisis, you can board a plane reassured you are not harming the planet. The judges have put an end to this harmful strategy to lull the public and politicians to sleep,” he said.

Johnny White, lawyer at ClientEarth, said: “Companies that publicly advertise commitments to the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate must now ensure that those claims are feasible and concrete, or risk losing in court. This judgment is nothing short of a wake-up call for highly polluting industries and companies that try to sell the image of commitment to the Paris climate goals without having the plans to get there. It leaves the airline industry’s climate PR strategy dead in the water.”

Leading Dutch and international law and tax firm Loyens & Loeff said that the Amsterdam District Court’s judgment highlights the potential liability and litigation risks when making sustainable or green claims. “As underlined by the Amsterdam District Court, companies should abstain from overemphasising a company’s environmental credentials,” it said.

“Both legislation and litigation on ESG is developing rapidly… Noteworthy is, for example, the upcoming Green Claims Directive and (upcoming) guidelines from supervisors and legislations on the use of sustainability claims in particular sectors,” added the law firm.

Loyens & Loeff also said that it now expects more action on the social and governance aspects of ESG.

“The increase in ESG liability and litigation risks on greenwashing is expected to relate not only to the environmental aspect of ESG (greenwashing). In the future, it may also relate to misleading statements about social and governance aspects of ESG (also referred to as social washing and blue washing). Social washing concerns misleading claims about, among other things, respect for human rights (within the supply chain), and blue washing concerns misleading statements about the integration of ESG into a company’s corporate governance,” stated the firm.

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