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 the statements convey the incorrect impression that the airlines are in the process of eliminating the environmental impact of their flights. It is said this tells consumers that they can continue to fly frequently without worrying unduly about their carbon footprint, and it tells policy-makers 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.