UK climate charity Promise sues BA and Virgin Atlantic for greenwashing over SAF

In the UK, climate charity Promise says airline greenwash is slowing down progress to a zero carbon UK. It says airlines are misleading the public about their environmental credentials (also called “greenwashing”), downplaying the harm they’re causing to our climate, and pretending we can meet emissions targets without cutting back on flights. This makes it more difficult for people to make climate-informed travel decisions.

Its lawyers have filed formal complaints against both British Airways (BA) and Virgin Atlantic over their claims that they are reducing emissions from flights and the consequent harm to the climate, via increased efficiency, carbon offsets, and the use of alternative fuels. It has used a formal complaint process via the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) which can be used against international businesses which make misleading claims about their climate impacts.

British Airways claims to be “driving urgent action towards net zero emissions” and said they have a “clear roadmap to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.” But, our analysis found that BA’s emissions from jet fuel have increased year-on-year between 2016 and 2019.

Similarly, Virgin Atlantic has a “Mission to Net Zero” plan that features prominently on its website and in its 2022 Annual Report, and fails to mention the airline previously falling short of its emissions targets. We believe this is crucial information for consumers to know.