Popular bus company hit with penalties for misleading its passengers: 'Unacceptable'

One of the largest transportation companies in the EU is facing the consequences for greenwashing its customers, The Brussels Times reported. With over 4,000 buses on the road and more than 10 trains in Germany that serve over 5,600 destinations and 44 countries, Flixbus is being ordered to make changes to its website.

What's happening?

According to The Brussels Times, the courts in Germany have officially fined Flixbus for greenwashing statements on its Belgian website, as the Belgian Economy Ministry stated in a press release. After an investigation, the Belgian Economic Inspectorate concluded that Flixbus was making environmental claims without transparency about its carbon emissions.

Flixbus's website claimed that it is the "the most environmentally-friendly means of transport" without proof or comparison to other transportation companies in the industry. Flixbus also offered an option to offset CO2 without transparency regarding the emissions of the traveler's journey.

Before taking further action, the Belgian Economy Ministry did alert Flixbus of the opportunity to update its website accordingly. However, after failure to voluntarily back up its environmental claims, the Economic Inspectorate had to take legal action.

Why is stopping greenwashing important?

When business owners and their marketing teams craft campaigns and policies to make their company look more environmentally friendly than it really is, customers are making decisions based on falsehoods. Greenwashing also delays the necessary action with real policy change by hiding behind policies that only serve them in the current but not the planet or its customers in the long term.

Brands like Apple, Zara, Chevron, and Fisher-Price have already had greenwashing claims made against them. Hopefully, after more lawsuits and customer call-outs, brands will realize that greenwashing hurts both the environment and their reputations.

What's being done about greenwashing?

The Brussels Times report stated that the German Federal Court of Justice "definitively ruled against Flixbus" on February 20, 2025, and the company is now ordered to remove misleading claims on its website. Unfortunately, some greenwashing still remains.

"This is an important victory in the fight against greenwashing," Belgian Economy Ministry spokesperson Etienne Mignolet said in a press release, per the report. "It is now written in black and white that such misleading environmental claims are unacceptable. The ruling also sets a legal precedent that will help consumer authorities to take action against companies that use misleading environmental claims."

If you want to educate yourself about climate issues so you can be a more informed customer, study up on your brands to see which ones have real eco-friendly credentials, and also shop secondhand whenever possible.

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