"From a customer's perspective, you do feel like you're being cheated," says Joaquin Hidalgo, who, alongside Meiling Chen, took a deep dive into the world of airplane industry waste for their graduate thesis at MIT in 2022. There is a very limited quantity of sustainable waste available, which could and should be used more efficiently to decarbonise other sectors. Some businesses have also created their own certification schemes for their own products, the ACCC said. Then, attitudes toward communicating sustainability efforts seem to have changed. ESG reporting: KLM reports 100% of Scope 1 and Scope 2 CO. Fleet modernization: in 2020, the average age of aircraft in the groups fleet was 12.1 years. SAS has also partnered with Preem and AirBP to access more biofuel. Protecting the future of the world is a damn important offset, he said 1. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. So how can we see through the greenwash? Wizzair claims that if every airline was as efficient as we are, European aviation CO. Full planes fly to avoid unnecessary pollution. Critics of meal-skipping programs say that airlines might be "greenwashing" by trying to hide a corner-cutting measure under the veneer of sustainability. Some groups are taking the case one step further. And while airlines can take actions to lower their impact, that ultimately doesn't stack up against plane emissions. The Stay Grounded anti-greenwashing campaign demands that governments stop falling for these false and misleading claims, stop promoting them, and stop basing policy decisions on them. Many airlines steer clear from talking about the climate in their marketing. 2023-03-01T05:34:32.766Z, Frdrique Leichter-Flack, philosopher: With an earthquake, there is no logic, no justice. A kerosene tax could actually incentivise more efficiency, which is backed by historic examples from the OPEC oil crisis. 2023-02-28T21:34:14.927Z, Robert Habeck: Union outraged by plans to ban gas heating Near the bathroom or closer to the cockpit? Investing in new, modern and more energy-efficient aircraft. 2023-03-01T10:41:15.146Z, The first Israeli plant will be inaugurated tomorrow in Morocco, of the Netafim company - voila! NEWS RELEASE. by focusing on BPs low carbon energy products, when more than 96% of BPs annual spending is on oil and gas. Investment in new, modern aircraft that are up to 40% more efficient than the aircraft they replace. In the US, since 2017, five states and more than a dozen municipalities, over their contribution toand alleged deception aboutthe dangers of global climate heating. he wrote. Our customers have offset nearly 6,900 tons of carbon dioxide emissions through Push for Change, and we have used biofuel on three long-haul flights from San Francisco to Helsinki, said Anne Larilahti, Finnairs then VP of Sustainability. The ACCC said its sweep indicated a significant proportion of businesses may be making environmental claims that deserve closer scrutiny. Continuing to review the entire supply chain. By our activities, we mean the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets requested Ryanair to change potentially false claims on sustainable flying, related to offsetting Important step in countering the aviation industrys greenwashing attempts Vienna/Amsterdam, 25 January 2023 After by Magdalena Heuwieser | 28 Oct 2021 | Information. Who Greases the Wheels of Deportation Flights? We use cookies on our website. In a judgement published on Wednesday, the regulator said consumers were likely to interpret the slogan as an environmental reference to how Lufthansas approach to aviation was protecting the future of the world. Monday to Sunday: available 24 hours a day. As well as oil and tobacco companies, airlines have also been found to make misleading claims to the public about the damage caused by their business. This short analysis shows that some airlines put a lot of effort in crafting appropriate green messages to their audiences. Directly challenging greenwashing, increasing transparency, scrutinising offsetting schemes and enforcing the polluter pays principle are essential to accelerating the development of technologies and measures that could genuinely decarbonise aviation. Imprint | Data Protection | Contact | Media. The new Stay Grounded fact sheets analyse the currently-discussed technologies and find that while their development may be helpful, they will come too late and cannot be an excuse to delay emissions reductions now: Aircraft efficiency is improving, but in a poorly regulated industry, it facilitates cuts in fuel costs and therefore market and emissions growth. For example, flights to and from Heathrow are the largest single source of CO2 emissions in the UK, so stating that Heathrow Airport will be carbon neutral is diverting attention from the problem. Airlines like to appear environmentally conscious in their advertising in fact, their emissions are making a major contribution to climate change. The justification, which you can read here in the original English, shows in an exemplary manner how truth and reality can diverge in advertising. Lufthansa argues that the sentence "connecting the world" should not be taken literally - that's why it is wrong to take the second half of the slogan "protect your future" for everything. In 2009, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) had established a goal for 10% biofuels in aviation by 2017. Aim to have 100% sustainable materials in onboard packaging by 2030. The airline says it has never been more important for a company to take responsibility for the environment and talks at length about its environmental initiatives. Learn how your comment data is processed. while for some airlines, such as Air Canada and Swiss Airlines, 100% of their claims are misleading. These claims have little value for consumers as they can have a variety of different meanings and rarely provide enough information to allow consumers to make an informed purchasing decision, the ACCC said. But the majority of the time, they are either incinerated or dumped in a landfill. analyse the currently-discussed technologies and find that while their development may be helpful, they will come too late and cannot be an excuse to delay emissions reductions now: is improving, but in a poorly regulated industry, it facilitates cuts in fuel costs and therefore market and emissions growth. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which the British news agency PA initially reported on, found that this does not reflect reality. Known broadly as greenwashing, the practice of making vague or unwarranted claims has been in the sights of regulators for years. The airline has promised to replace one of its five daily flights to Brussels with a train trip on Thalys, and is working with the Dutch railroad company (NS), Schiphol Airport and the Dutch government to explore how more short-haul flights can be replaced by trains. Passionate about startups and sustainability. The Chyulu Hills REDD+ project in southeast Kenya is among projects being supported through Hawaiian Airlines carbon offset program.. Gone are the days when airlines used the slogan Mix business with pleasure free drinks on weekday flights or Extra hands assure extra luxury. We are past the time when dirt-cheap fares were a novelty, and loyalty programs no longer make an impression on most passengers. Challenging the eco-marketing of sustainable flying, demanding transparency on the part of airlines and airports, and educating consumers on offsetting schemes can all help. The ACCC is investigating businesses for greenwashing. How do airlines back their green promises? It is only viable if the number of flights reduced. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. - Walla! Nothing about Zaras pledge is unique. "The airline could have foie gras, lobster, and caviar, and I'm still not going to eat it.". 2023-02-28T16:52:16.188Z, Bernard Arnault loses his place as the richest man in the world to Elon Musk Some sustainability efforts communicated by Norwegian: In its 2020-2023 environmental sustainability strategy, Norwegian informs that its sustainability priorities include: Some sustainability efforts communicated by British Airways: British Airlines has partnered with Velocys and LanzaJet to support the development of sustainable aviation fuels, and has invested in ZeroAvia a company working to develop aircraft with more than 50 seats that can run on zero-emission hydrogen electric power. These cookies do not store any personal information. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); By signing up to the newsletter, you are agreeing to our privacy policy. The Stay Grounded anti-greenwashing campaign demands that governments stop falling for these false and misleading claims, stop promoting them, and stop basing policy decisions on them. In response to the ASA investigation, the airline claimed the slogan was simply a mission statement intended to draw people to a website to raise awareness of the environmental issues related to flying. Commitment to emissions reduction: carbon neutrality by 2045 (partly through offsets), reducing emissions by 50% by 2025 compared to 2019 levels. Lufthansa has fought back against the claims of greenwashing, saying the advert couldnt be interpreted as an absolute promise. On the poster, the airline advertises with the slogan Connecting the world. As well as oil and tobac, co companies, airlines have also been found to make misleading claims to the public about the damage cause, only covers the on-ground operations of the airport and does not include the core business of the airportthe flights, which make up about. On the one hand, it is good that airlines are modernizing their fleet, but on the other hand, there is no information (apart from the Finnair example) about what happens to the old aircraft, nor is there any mention of the carbon footprint of manufacturing new aircraft. Flight emissions and climate change: its not only about CO2. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of all the cookies, but they are really just essentials, nothing that tracks you. Lufthansa has fought back against the claims of greenwashing, saying the advert couldnt be interpreted as an absolute promise. In the meantime, net-zero aviation by 2050 will be a distant fantasy unless demand reduction measures are also put in place. 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