Looking back on 2023, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) issued 29 formal rulings on green issues, 25 which were upheld, meaning the advertisement had to be changed or removed. In 2022, we saw just 16 formal rulings involving sustainability claims, while 2021 and 2020 saw 10 each. An increase in rulings does not necessarily mean advertisers are repeatedly breaching standards but that more and more are making green claims in ads overall. The ASA is transitioning from a reactive to a proactive model and is now using AI to process hundreds of thousands of ads every month for specialist review.

Airline companies Air France, Lufthansa and Etihad have recently been caught out by the ASA’s “AI tool” in which ASA concluded that Google ads published by the three airline companies had to be removed.

The Google ads were:

1. Air France

Air France stated that it was “Committed to protecting the environment” and had urged consumers to “travel better and sustainably” amid the fight against climate change.

The ASA concluded that consumers would believe the advert to mean that Air France offered a sustainable and environmentally friendly way to travel by air.

2. Lufthansa

Lufthansa suggested that its customers would “Fly more sustainably”.

Lufthansa told the ASA their ad made reference to its “Green Fares” option, which passengers could select on European flights and reduced 20% of flight-related CO2 emissions by using sustainable aviation fuel.

The ASA concluded that consumers would interpret the advert to mean that Lufthansa offered a way to travel by air that had a lower environmental impact from alternative airlines. The advert did not make clear how the “Green Fares” would work in practice which was material information for consumers to make an informed decision.

3. Etihad

Etihad suggested that its service included Environmental Advocacy. In their ad, they stated “Explore the World With Confidence and Total Peace Of Mind With Etihad Airways. Environmental Advocacy. Award-Winning Service.”

As with Air France and Lufthansa, the ASA concluded that consumers would understand the ad to mean Etihad actively worked to protect the environment and customers could use their services with “Total Piece of Mind” with regards to the environmental impact of doing so.

As required by the CAP Code (The Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing), environmental claims must be clear and fully substantiated. In all three cases, the ASA found that the airlines failed to show a high level of evidence to demonstrate they were protecting the environment and making their aeroplanes sustainable. The ASA found there were currently no initiatives or commercially viable technologies in operation with the aviation industry that would adequately substantiate absolute green claims.

AI and the future of green claims

AI has the potential to trace and analyse company’s data collected throughout a company’s supply chain and identify whether their green claims are backed up by evidence. It therefore could have an increasing role in identifying misleading environmental claims.

Businesses should be aware of the need to align environmental strategies developed at board level with advertising to avoid the risk of regulatory penalties and litigation. Given the difficulties in this area, seeking legal advice at an early stage is all the more essential.