幸运飞行艇官方开奖记录查询 Etihad Airways green claims shot down in ASA probe

Etihad Airways has been whacked by the ad watchdog for greenwashing over two separate ads which claimed its flights had a smaller environmental footprint than others and that it was “taking a louder, bolder approach to sustainable aviation”.

The two Facebook video ads claimed the airline understood “the impact flying has on the environment”.

One included an Etihad Guest Miles card with a plant growing out of it alongside the text, “Etihad guest Conscious Choices”. An image of the world was shown quickly passing by. On-screen text said, “Environmental Airline of the Year for 2022 in the Airline Excellence Awards”.

The other ad featured an Etihad plane in flight, with on-screen text stating: “At Etihad, we are cutting back …”. Then an image of a tray and cutlery was shown. On-screen text in the middle of the tray said, “… on single-use plastics … and are flying the most modern and efficient planes. Flights with a smaller footprint”.

Despite not receiving any consumer complaints, the Advertising Standards Authority launched its own investigation, as part of its commitment to crack down on greenwashing in ads which has already seen HSBC, Pepsi-owned Lipton, Unilever and German airline Lufthansa censored.

Etihad responded to the ASA’s investigation by arguing its claims were backed up by a series of awards, were focused on the long term and that the airline was involved in a number of environmental schemes, including carbon offsetting.

However, the ASA was not impressed, and in response to claims that Etihad was “taking a louder, bolder approach to sustainable aviation”, the watchdog maintained there “were currently no initiatives or commercially viable technologies in operation” to back up the claims.

Its ruling stated: “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.”

Banning the ads from appearing again, the ASA warned Etihad to ensure that its ads did not give a misleading impression of the impact caused by travelling with the airline and that robust substantiation was held to support them.