DAA denies ad campaign about airport emissions was effort at greenwashing 

MEP Lynn Boylan made complaint to Advertising Standards Authority

The operator of Cork Airport and Dublin Airport hit back over complaints it had tried to paint itself as environmentally friendly in a dispute over an advertising campaign about emissions.

The operator of Cork Airport and Dublin Airport hit back over complaints it had tried to paint itself as environmentally friendly in a dispute over an advertising campaign about emissions.

DAA said a series of adverts were intended to reflect the importance of air travel to and from Ireland and were clear that any reference to reduced emissions related to the airports they operated and not flights.

A complaint was submitted by Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan to the Advertising Standards Authority late last year saying the phrase “halving airport emissions” was highly ambiguous. In response, DAA said the use of the phrase “airport emissions” provided a “degree of specificity” about what they were referring to.

A complaint was submitted by Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan to the Advertising Standards Authority late last year saying the phrase 'halving airport emissions' as part of a DAA ad campaign was highly ambiguous. Picture: Niall Carson/PA 

The complaint said the advertisement included an element of “puffery” suggesting a small cut in their emissions was going to “lift everyone’s future hopes even higher”. It said: “In the face of societal collapse, one company reducing a small subsection of its emissions is not cause for higher hopes in the future.” 

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In response, DAA argued it was not fair to characterise the reductions achieved as “a small subsection of our emissions”. “The targets are fully aligned with what is required under the National Climate Action Plan,” it said.

“Achieving these reductions requires a massive level of effort and investment across our operations and in infrastructure, facilities and processes.” 

“Demand for air travel remains very high and passengers consistently ask that organisations like ours make progress on improving sustainability,” DAA said. 

The airport operator said they could not “simply give up and say that there is no hope” and that every action to cut emissions was important.

Ms Boylan's complaint also argued that many people would not be aware that the emissions referred to in the advert did not include the colossal amounts of pollution generated by aircraft. 

In their response, the airport authority said: “This ad does not ask the consumer to make any decisions or take any actions based on the information in [it].

“It is designed to impart some positive, high-level facts about the role of Dublin and Cork airports in Ireland, and the fact that we are taking actions to create more sustainable airports.” 

DAA said the language used on emissions was correct and referred only to the ones over which they had direct control. It said the advertising made no claims about the aviation sector, flights, or air travel and was not linked to specific airlines.

The Advertising Standards Authority, however, and said the wording should be revised for future use for a specific radio advert.

Asked about the records, a DAA spokesman said: “The ASAI upheld a complaint relating to one radio advertisement only, which formed part of a much wider campaign across print and broadcast media. DAA takes its climate obligations very seriously and we fully respect the decision of the ASAI.

“Our intention was never for the radio advert to mislead or to underplay the impact of the aviation sector, but rather to highlight aspects of the tangible work that DAA is doing to reduce carbon emissions.”