The Directorate-General for Consumer Affairs (DGC) announced that it has monitored, since the beginning of the year, 250 advertising messages regarding environmental claims, including an airline that removed an allegation from its portal.
“Recently, and following a complaint from DECO, the DGC carried out an inspection action against an air carrier that associated, on its website, its brand with the expression ‘fly greener’, with the company eventually removing this allegation due to the intervention of the DGC in this process”, stated the entity in a released statement.
DECO Proteste announced that Sata Azores Airlines removed the ‘fly greener’ claim from its portal, following an inspection action by the DGC and a complaint by the association in June last year.
In the document, the DGC pointed out that “it has been monitoring compliance with environmental claims in advertising”, especially in the energy sector, “where it inspected, in 2024, more than 250 advertising messages”.
These initiatives by the DGC arise from its “qualification as a public authority for consumer protection and as an entity that monitors advertising”, with the entity hoping to ensure reliable information on these topics in light of the energy transition.
On April 30, the European Commission initiated action against 20 airlines, after “identifying several types of ecological claims that may constitute misleading practices”. “At issue is, for example, the possibility of passengers paying an additional fee to compensate for CO2 emissions [dióxido de carbono] caused by the flight, as well as the use of terminology such as ‘sustainable aviation fuels’, ‘green’, ‘sustainable’ or ‘responsible’ without this being duly justified”, pointed out the DGC.
DECO Proteste considered that the allegation “unduly suggested that the company flies in a way that is less harmful to the environment, without discriminating against any evaluation method underlying the comparison”.
Tags: DGC monitored advertising messages environmental claims beginning year
