KLM airlines biofuels ad deemed “greenwashing” says Dutch Advertising authority

Since 2009, Dutch airline company KLM has been promoting a corporate biofuel programme offering businesses the opportunity to travel sustainably and reducing their carbon emissions up to 80% by using a mix of biofuels. But it was later revealed that the company’s fuel consumption for 2019 included less than 1% biofuels. 

KLM guilty of misleading consumers

Following the news, the Dutch Advertising Code Authority asked the airline to review the wording of its advert and to indicate the percentage of biofuels used in its fleet to avoid misleading consumers. The ruling by the Advertising Authority was however non-binding. A local citizen tried to sue KLM in court but was unsuccessful. The Stay Grounded Network is an organisation that campaigns for the decline of global aviation and is currently planning to further trial the company for its misleading corporate advertising. 

The “not so green” promise of biofuels

In 2012, the Dutch branch of Friends of the Earth produced a report outlining the negative impacts of biofuels production on the communities growing jatropha (a plant native to the Americas whose seeds are used for biofuel production) in central Java. The NGO criticised the apparent environmental benefits of using biofuels as it creates further negative impacts down the line. European airlines KLM and Lufthansa had respectively been granted financial support from the Dutch ($1.61 mio.) and German ($3.25 mio.) governments to pursue the development of biofuels technologies Despite multiple studies questioning the environmental benefits of biofuels.