INCREASING CARE NEEDED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND CARBON EMISSIONS REDUCTION CLAIMS
October 6, 2023
Austrian Airlines became the latest airline defending itself after being charged with making exaggerated environmental claims. A court in Vienna has held that Austrian made misleading claims about its use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF). The case against Austrian follows a prominent filing earlier this year against Delta Air Lines in California District Court, alleging Delta falsely misrepresented the environmental impact of its business operations by claiming to be the “first carbon-neutral airline in the world” in advertisements, social media posts, and even on airplane napkins. Delta’s carbon neutral claim is allegedly based on buying carbon credits to fund projects that positively impact the environment to offset its CO2 emissions from its normal operations. The litigation is ongoing. Caution is advisable when making claims or promises to customers and potential customers about environmental commitments and practices. Special care needs to be taken to ensure that advertising claims do not go beyond actual success in reducing emissions as any type of fabrication or exaggeration can result in a lawsuit.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr at 202.659.6622 or esahr@eckertseamans.com; Drew Derco at 202.659.6665 or dderco@eckertseamans.com; David Rockman at 412.566.1999 or drockman@eckertseamans.com; Jay Julien at 202.659.6648 or jjulien@eckertseamans.com, or any other attorney at Eckert Seamans with whom you have been working.
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