In the latest example of ESG-focused litigation, a class action lawsuit accuses Delta Airlines of “grossly misrepresenting the total environmental impact of its business operations in its ads, corporate announcements, and [other] promotional materials,” and thereby, “attaining undeserved market share and extracting higher prices from consumers.” According to the complaint that she filed with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on May 30 on behalf of herself and other similarly situated individuals, Plaintiff Mayanna Berrin claims that Delta is engaging in false advertising and unfair competition under California state law and running afoul of California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act.
At the heart of Berrin’s complaint is her claim that since March 2020, Delta has “repeatedly” touted itself as “the world’s first carbon-neutral airline” – thanks to its efforts to offset its emissions via participation in the voluntary carbon offset market – across various channels, “including advertisements, press releases, LinkedIn posts, podcasts, and in-flight napkins.” She alleges that “reasonable consumers reviewing these representations would believe that when taking account of all of [Delta’s] carbon emissions and related green investments, [it] has not been responsible for releasing any net additional carbon into the atmosphere since March 2020.”
The problem, according to Berrin is that she has “since discovered that any such representations are manifestly and provably false” – in large part because of “foundational issues” with the carbon offset market, such as “inaccurate accounting.”
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