News flash!

March 20,  2024

A number of KLM’s past advertisements are misleading and therefore unlawful”, the Amsterdam district court ruled today.

This is the outcome of the collective action that the Fossielvrij Foundation filed against KLM because it believes KLM is engaged in greenwashing.

According to the Dutch court,  KLM makes environmental claims in these advertisements based on vague and general statements about environmental benefits and is thus misleads consumers. In other advertisements, KLM outlined overly positive consequences of measures such as Sustainable Aviation Fuels (made from renewable resources) and reforestation, according to the court.

Furthermore, the Dutch courts is of the opinion that these measures only marginally reduce negative environmental aspects and falsely create the impression that flying with KLM is sustainable.

Source: recht.nl

We believe this case is a noteworthy example of the increasing ESG liability and litigation risks on greenwashing and a possible harbinger for more proceedings on ESG-related expressions.

=> Click here to read the (translated) court decision