Greenwashing: KLM gets hit in court

The airline KLM has suffered a legal defeat. The civic platform “Fossielvrij NL” accused the carrier of so-called greenwashing and took the matter to court. This decided that some advertising claims were misleading and therefore illegal.

Specifically, it was about the fact that, according to the ruling, KLM had in the past misled consumers with environmental claims that were supposedly based on vague statements. In other communications, KLM paints an overly optimistic picture of the impact of measures such as sustainable aviation fuels and reforestation. These measures only slightly reduce the negative environmental aspects and give the false impression that flying with KLM is sustainable.

According to KLM, the campaigns that ended up in court have now been completely stopped. Therefore, the ruling would have no impact on the current advertising subjects.