Companies of the Lufthansa group, of which the Italian ITA may soon become a part, are suspected of carrying out these practices. greenwash, deceiving customers by pretending to have eco-sustainable behavior when this is not true. That’s why the German airline is currently under investigation by the European Union because of this suspicion, it offers to pay a (voluntary) increase in ticket prices, claiming that in return it will implement practices to offset emissions, which would not be true. .
The Commission and national consumer protection authorities have sent a letter to 20 companies identifying a range of potentially misleading environmental claims and asking them to bring their practices into line with EU legislation within 30 days. This action was taken as the EU underlined the importance of airlines making clear the extent to which they plan to tackle CO2 emissions and providing solid scientific evidence to support these claims.
greenwash It is an inauthentic communication or marketing technique that attempts to capitalize on the growing demand for products and behaviors that have a low environmental impact, promising actions that are not actually authentic but promoted solely for the purpose of appearing more “sustainable.” For this reason. The EU cooperation network, consisting of the Belgian Directorate-General for Economic Supervision, the Dutch Consumer and Markets Authority, the Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority and the Spanish Consumer Directorate-General, focuses on analyzing airlines’ claims that they can offset a flight’s CO2 emissions through climate change. Projects to which consumers can contribute by paying a surcharge or the use of sustainable fuels.
At this time, the EU has decided not to disclose the names of the companies involved as the investigations are still at a preliminary stage, so it is unclear exactly which ones are under investigation. However, as reported by Reuters, the European Consumer Bureau (BEUC) has warned the EU of possible greenwashIt would identify 20 European companies of interest, including Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa, Swiss, Ryanair, Air Dolomiti, Vueling and Air France-KLM.
The Commission and the EU Network of Consumer Authorities have identified many potentially misleading practices. These include the use of the term “sustainable aviation fuels” without explicit demonstration of the environmental impacts of such fuels, and the absolute use of the terms “green,” “sustainable,” or “responsible” and other implied environmental claims. It is also reported that a “calculator” was used to estimate the CO2 emissions of a flight without sufficient scientific evidence of its reliability and without transparent information regarding the criteria used for the calculation.
The 20 affected airlines will now be required to submit a response outlining the measures they propose to address concerns raised about environmental marketing claims in line with EU consumer protection legislation. After receiving the responses, the community manager will organize meetings with interested parties to discuss the companies’ proposed solutions and monitor the implementation of the agreed changes. If airlines do not take the necessary steps to address the concerns expressed in the letter, EU network authorities may decide to impose further sanctions, including sanctions.
Source: Today IT
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
