Complaint against Virgin Atlantic and British Airways under the OECD Guidelines brought by Possible

In November 2023, Possible submitted complaints to the UK National Contact Point (“NCP”) concerning statements by Virgin Atlantic and British Airways. The NCP is part of the Department for Business and Trade. It is responsible for promoting the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises on responsible business conduct and for operating the complaints mechanism in the guidelines.
Both airlines are said to have made a significant number of misleading claims about reducing emissions, efficiency and alternative fuels. Additionally Virgin is said to have made misleading claims about net zero, and British Airways about offsets. These claims, individually and collectively, are said to downplay the current and likely future impact of each airline’s operations on the climate. This is on the basis that the statements misleadingly suggest that the airlines are in the process of eliminating the environmental impact of their flights, which tells consumers that they can continue to fly frequently without worrying unduly about their carbon footprint, and policymakers that they do not need to take steps to moderate the growth in demand for flying. Possible’s position is that, if the world hopes to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and avoid the worst impacts of climate change, both of these messages are false. On 16 March 2026, the UK NCP decided that elements of this complaint warrant further consideration under the 2011 and 2023 OECD guidelines, Chapter VI, paragraphs 2(a) and 6(c) ‘Environment’ (2011); and Chapter VIII, paragraphs 2 and 4 ‘Consumer Interests’ (2011 and 2023 guidelines). In accordance with the UK NCP’s procedures, it offered mediation to the parties – the scope of which would cover only those elements of the complaint warranting further consideration. If any party declines mediation, the UK NCP will conduct a further examination of the complaint, and determine whether the company has acted consistently with the OECD guidelines. Should it determine that the company has not adhered to the OECD guidelines, the UK NCP may provide non-binding recommendations for improving the company’s adherence to the OECD guidelines.