Danish court finds KLM guilty of greenwashing; Airline hit with €401,000 fine

A court in Denmark found KLM guilty of "misleading trade practices," saying the company presented itself as being more sustainable and environmentally friendly than it actually is. The court fined the Dutch airline a total of 3 million Danish kroner, the equivalent of just over 401,000 euros, on the greenwashing allegations.

The ruling was in response to a complaint from the Danish Consumer Ombudsman, which said KLM ran a misleading ad campaign about the contribution that Sustainable Aviation Fuel has made to improvements at the airline. In 2023, KLM broadcast a commercial on radio, and ran the advert on Spotify, in which the company claimed "a big step forward towards slightly more sustainable travel."

Additionally, KLM claimed it would be using "a larger share of sustainable aviation fuel for all tickets from now on." In reality, Sustainable Aviation Fuel made up 1 percent of the fuel composition.

The advertisement "gave consumers the impression that traveling with KLM would be better for the climate than it actually was," the Copenhagen court ruled. KLM lost a similar lawsuit in the District Court of Amsterdam about two years ago.

Judges in Amsterdam ruled KLM painted an "overly rosy picture" regarding the impact of Sustainable Aviation Fuel, the amount of that fuel KLM used, and the airline's forestation projects. Such measures "reduce the negative environmental aspects only marginally and wrongly create the impression that flying with KLM is sustainable," the verdict stated.

In the case brought by the non-profit environmental group, Fossielvrij NL, KLM was told it could continue to advertise in the Netherlands. However claims regarding sustainability and emissions reduction must be "honest and concrete," the court ruled.

A representative of the Dutch airline said KLM has "taken note" of the verdict from the Copenhagen court this week. The Danish Consumer Ombudsman raised the issue as the independent authority tasked with ensuring companies comply with consumer protection rules and the country's marketing restrictions.