Today we're publishing findings from our proactive sweep of green claims in online ads by major UK travel agents. This forms part of our ongoing Climate Change and Environment (CCE) project.
More and more people want to make environmentally conscious choices. To do that, they need to understand the environmental impact of the products and services they're buying. That's why it's important that green claims in ads are clear and supported by evidence – particularly in higher-emitting sectors such as travel.
Using AI to help spot problem ads
Our Active Ad Monitoring system uses AI to help identify potentially problematic ads at pace and scale. For this report, we used it to scan and review 362,000 online ads in the travel sector to check they are sticking to the rules.
We looked at major companies that help people search and book flights, hotels, cruises, holiday transport and package deals.
Our findings
We found that most travel agents (99%) aren’t making environmental claims in their ads. Of those who did, a significant proportion (56%) appeared likely to break the rules.
Of the 362,000 ads monitored, just 329 featured green claims. Of those, 213 ads from 23 advertisers appeared likely to break the rules, often due to vague, broad or unsupported claims.
Problematic claims included:
- Absolute terms such as "eco-friendly" or "green"
- Claims that lacked essential context or evidence
- Comparative claims such as "greener way to travel" and "less carbon than flying"
- Environmental claims embedded in product names, such as "eco resort" and "eco lodge"
- Broad terms such as "carbon conscious"
Helping businesses make clear and evidence-based green claims
Making sure businesses play fair and don't mislead people when making green claims is a key focus of our work. Many businesses are taking steps to reduce their environmental impact and want to tell customers about that. Our role is to help them do that in a way that is clear and accurate.
Very few travel agents are making environmental claims. That may reflect uncertainty about how to communicate environmental initiatives in line with the rules. And is a potential missed opportunity.
Telling people about a green initiative can be a major selling point and can help attract new customers. We have a range of advice and resources on how to make environmental claims that stick to the rules, and we encourage travel agents to seek our help and support.
Action we’re taking
Where we spotted potentially problematic claims, we provided advice and guidance to advertisers and took formal action where needed. This included rulings against: an airline that claimed to be one of the "greenest" choices in air travel; an online travel agent who made claims about "sustainable" destinations and trips; and a cruise agent who did not hold evidence to support claims about "sustainability" and "eco-friendly practices".
To help travel agents speak about their green initiatives with confidence and accurately, we encourage them to consult our guidance, advice and training before advertising. We also have specific advice for the travel sector.
We'll keep actively monitoring ads in the sector and will take action where the rules are broken.
To explore the full findings and data behind this review, read our Snapshot Report on environmental claims in travel agent advertising.
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