Lufthansa renames green fares to align with anti-greenwashing regulation

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🗞️ Driving the news: Lufthansa Group is renaming its Green Fare to Impact Fare, citing new regulatory requirements for environmental communications
• Introduced in 2023, the fare allows passengers to contribute to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and climate projects outside the aviation sector, as scrutiny of airline sustainability claims intensifies

🔭 The context: The change follows the application of the EU’s Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive, which targets misleading environmental claims, including generic green labels that lack adequate substantiation
• Lufthansa was also among airlines that agreed with the European Commission to stop using environmental claims considered misleading by consumer authorities, including claims suggesting that additional payments could offset the climate impact of flying

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The renaming pointsout the challenge of communicating aviation’s climate impact accurately
• Contributions to SAF and climate projects may support emissions-reduction efforts, but they do not make flying emissions-free, and transparent claims are essential to help consumers understand what their payments achieve

⏭️ What’s next: Lufthansa says the new name places greater emphasis on customers’ contributions to sustainability
• The wider trend suggests companies will face growing pressure to substantiate environmental claims clearly and avoid language that could mislead consumers about the impact of their products and services

💬 One quote: “The new name places even stronger emphasis on customers’ contribution to greater sustainability in aviation.” — Lufthansa Group

📈 One stat: More than 5 million passengers have booked Lufthansa’s former Green Fare, according to the company

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