UK bans Etihad Airways’ misleading “green” ads.
An ad campaign by Etihad Airways trumpeting its approach to “sustainable aviation” has been banned by the UK advertising watchdog, which ruled it was misleading consumers over the environmental impact of flying.
The two ads in question were from October 2022 and published on the airline’s Facebook page.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) began an investigation into the campaign – which used imagery including plants, the Earth and text stating Etihad was “Environmental airline of the year 2022” – over concerns its claims were misleading by “exaggerating the environmental benefits of flying” with the airline.
One of the ads claimed Etihad was flying with a “smaller footprint” and cutting back on single-use plastics.
The ASA said initiatives such as reducing single-use plastics and using more efficient aircraft were not enough to substantiate the “sustainable aviation” claim.
The self-regulatory organisation said: “We acknowledged Etihad’s comments about the use of modern aircraft and flight practices to reduce emissions.
“We understood, however, that air travel continued to produce high levels of CO2 and non-CO2 emissions which were making a substantial contribution to climate change.
“While we noted steps were being taken by Etihad to reduce the environmental impact of its service, we understood that there were currently no initiatives or commercially viable technologies in operation within the aviation industry which would adequately substantiate an absolute green claim such as ‘sustainable aviation’ as we considered consumers would interpret it in this context.
“We concluded, therefore, that the claim exaggerated the impact that flying with Etihad would have on the environment and the ads breached the code.”
In a statement, Etihad shared its disappointment in the ruling, saying: “Etihad Airways is disappointed by ASA’s decision. Sustainability is a key priority for Etihad, which runs a comprehensive research and development program to address aviation decarbonization, working to reduce the impact of aviation on the environment by investing billions into its fleet of modern, fuel-efficient aircraft, research into sustainable aviation fuels, as well as carbon offsetting and reforestation.”
Etihad is not the first airline that has been accused of “greenwashing” by the agency.
The ASA also banned a poster from German airline Lufthansa used in June 2022. The authority said it the airline’s claim it was “protecting” the world’s future was not clearly linked to the environment.
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