THE air cargo sector is facing the huge issue of greenwashing as companies struggle to prove that their environmental initiatives are making a difference.
On a panel discussion at last week's Tiaca executive summit, speakers said that companies were being accused of greenwashing even when they were doing their best to reduce the environmental impact of their operations.
This resulted in some companies hiding their environmental actions to avoid criticism.
Lionel van der Walt, chief growth officer at logistics platform Raft, said that greenwashing is a huge issue in the industry, partly stemming from there being 'a lot of people making statements about achieving certain objectives by certain years' but that 'they never get there'.
He hoped that the incoming Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) from the European Union would help provide clarity on what actions companies are taking to reduce their environmental impact.
CSRD will replace existing reporting regulations from January next year and increase reporting requirements and over time expand the number of companies that are required to report, reports London's Air Cargo News.
'What we are going to have with these annual assessments is that it's going to come out very quickly as to what you are doing, how successful you are being and what your strategies are,' said Mr van der Walt.
Christel Vandenhouten, head of sustainable development, Brussels Airport Company, said that it had faced criticism even when it produced data to back up its environmental action.
'Even if we provide the data and we prove the facts and figures, often, action groups come with their own figures because they have made their own study or they find another study on the internet to prove that we are wrong and that we are greenwashing,' she said.
'So for us, it is very difficult, and we are very careful of what we are communicating about.'
Mr Van der Walt hoped that the new European regulations would help bring some standardization to environmental reporting.
Celine Hourcade of consultant Change Horizon acknowledged that 'green hushing' existed, meaning companies preferred not to say anything about what they are doing to avoid the risk of being attacked.
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On a panel discussion at last week's Tiaca executive summit, speakers said that companies were being accused of greenwashing even when they were doing their best to reduce the environmental impact of their operations.
This resulted in some companies hiding their environmental actions to avoid criticism.
Lionel van der Walt, chief growth officer at logistics platform Raft, said that greenwashing is a huge issue in the industry, partly stemming from there being 'a lot of people making statements about achieving certain objectives by certain years' but that 'they never get there'.
He hoped that the incoming Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) from the European Union would help provide clarity on what actions companies are taking to reduce their environmental impact.
CSRD will replace existing reporting regulations from January next year and increase reporting requirements and over time expand the number of companies that are required to report, reports London's Air Cargo News.
'What we are going to have with these annual assessments is that it's going to come out very quickly as to what you are doing, how successful you are being and what your strategies are,' said Mr van der Walt.
Christel Vandenhouten, head of sustainable development, Brussels Airport Company, said that it had faced criticism even when it produced data to back up its environmental action.
'Even if we provide the data and we prove the facts and figures, often, action groups come with their own figures because they have made their own study or they find another study on the internet to prove that we are wrong and that we are greenwashing,' she said.
'So for us, it is very difficult, and we are very careful of what we are communicating about.'
Mr Van der Walt hoped that the new European regulations would help bring some standardization to environmental reporting.
Celine Hourcade of consultant Change Horizon acknowledged that 'green hushing' existed, meaning companies preferred not to say anything about what they are doing to avoid the risk of being attacked.
SeaNews Turkey
