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Dutch marketing board discovers versus MSC Cruise in greenwashing complaint

Sustainability claims by MSC Cruise, including that it targets net absolutely no by 2050 do not fulfill standards, the Dutch advertising board discovered on Wednesday in among the very first decisions against a cruise operator following a greenwashing grievance.

MSC, an independently held Swiss-Italian company that is amongst the world's biggest cruise operators, stated in a reaction it welcomed some parts of the choice and had already implemented the majority of the modifications encouraged.

Greenwashing requires a business giving a misleading impression of its environmental credentials. The findings of the Stichting Reclame Code (SRC) do not carry any charge beyond recommending the claims are not duplicated.

Environmental groups, led by Fossil Free Netherlands that brought the grievance, state slogans and advertisements utilized by the company such as #SavetheSea, and cruising to the future in a responsible way aid travelers rationalize using a service that is powered by nonrenewable fuel sources and adds to international warming.

Much of the choice focused on MSC's marketing of its usage of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in some of its ships. The business states LNG is less carbon dioxide producing than alternatives such heavy fuel oil or marine diesel.

While permitting that might hold true, the board stated MSC had not thought about LNG's broader ecological impact and it was wrong to bill it as one of the cleanest fuels.

Such an absolutely worded claim does not fit with fossil fuels, the SRC found.

The business stated the SRC decision did not disallow all of the advertisements in the grievance which it would continue to use LNG.

We stay securely devoted to (our ecological) strategy, which includes the use of fossil LNG as a transitional fuel and sustainable fuels, the company stated.

The SRC said that business's specified target of absolutely no emissions in 2050 or the not all too far future was too speculative and can not fairly be expected to be attained.

Fossil Free Netherlands, which won a civil suit against airline company KLM with similar arguments in March, stated the SRC choice was another landmark and more confirmation of its positions.

(source: Reuters)