"Dutch airline KLM misled customers with vague green claims, court rules," 20 March 2024

The Dutch airline KLM has misled customers with vague environmental claims and painted “an overly rosy picture” of its sustainable aviation fuel...

In a greenwashing case brought by the campaign group Fossielvrij, the... court... ruled... that KLM had broken the law with misleading advertising in 15 of the 19 environmental statements...

Several of the claims KLM made about its environmental ambitions were declared misleading because they were too vague...

The court also took aim at the airline’s presentation of its policies on sustainable aviation fuels... and tree-planting...

A KLM spokesperson, Marjan Rozemeijer, said the airline had not used the 19 communications addressed in the court case for some time. “We are pleased that the court has ruled that we can continue to communicate with our customers and partners about our approach to making aviation more sustainable. We are continuously learning how best to include them in this.”

She added: “It is good that the court gives us more clarity about what is possible and how we can continue to communicate transparently and honestly about our approach and activities.”