These Airlines Are Leading On Sustainability Communications
Airplanes use a lot of fuel, and when they burn that fuel, they let out stuff that makes our planet warmer. This is called carbon emissions, and it's a major reason for climate change. Because of this, the airline industry is one of the biggest causes of environmental problems, and many people are worried about it. they are looking fir ways to be more sustainable with their fuel use but it’s an uphill battle.
Worldwide, aviation accounts for 2.5% of all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and 12% of all CO2 emissions from transportation. A single long-haul flight can create more carbon emissions in a few hours than the average person in 56 different countries will generate in an entire year.
Think of it like this: the airlines want you to fly with them, but they also know they need to keep the Earth healthy. They are in a tricky spot because they have to keep flying and growing, but they must also try their hardest to be kind to the planet.
When an airline says it is "going green," customers might not believe them right away. Sometimes, they worry the airline is just pretending to be green—a trick called greenwashing. This means an airline tries to look better than it really is by using fancy words and pretty pictures but not doing enough to truly help the environment. This is most often seen in their communications and advertising.
A new study by Reetta Turkki at Tampere University, called #FLYGREEN, wanted to figure out this problem. The study looked at how airlines talk about being eco-friendly and what people actually think about their messages. This is especially important on social media, like Instagram, where people spend a lot of time and where companies can talk directly to their customers.
First, the researcher gathered and looked closely at posts from the Instagram pages of 25 different airlines. The researcher carefully looked at each post to see what kind of message it was sending, how much information it gave, and if it asked the customer to do anything.
Second, the study interviewed individuals. These people were asked to look at the different kinds of posts and explain how they felt about them. Did they trust the post? Did it feel real? Did they think the airline was being honest, or were they greenwashing?.
By looking at the posts and talking to customers, the study found the biggest secrets to talking about being green: you have to be honest, use facts, and choose the right way to share your message.
The Four Ways Airlines Talk About Being Green
After looking at all the Instagram posts, the researcher found that airlines talk about saving the planet in four main ways. The study calls these four ways archetypes. Think of them as four different types of personalities for the posts, with some posts giving more information and some asking for more customer involvement.
Make it stand out
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Celebratory Posts: The Cheerleader
What they look like: These are the happy, exciting posts! They usually have beautiful, colorful pictures, like a clear blue sky, a healthy forest, or a cute animal. They are often celebrating a special day, like Earth Day or World Environment Day. The goal is to show the airline is happy to be a part of the movement to help the planet.
What they say: They use simple, happy words and slogans, like "Go Green!" or "Eco-Friendly Flying". They are trying to show they care, but they don't give a lot of facts or detailed explanations.
The Problem: Because they are so happy and simple, they are the most likely to be seen as greenwashing. People see the pretty picture but wonder, "What are they actually doing to help?". The posts feel too general and not very serious. The study found that this "Cheerleader" style was the most common type of post airlines made.
Mobilizing Posts: The Coach
What they look like: These posts are trying to get you to take action!. They are like a coach telling the team what to do for the next game.
What they say: They encourage passengers to make small, simple changes to their travel. For example, they might ask you to:
Pack a lighter suitcase because a lighter plane uses less fuel.
Buy a carbon offset when you book your ticket, which is a small amount of money that goes to help green projects.
Take public transport to the airport instead of a taxi.
The Focus: These posts are big on involvement—they want you to participate and take part in solving the problem. They prioritize changing your behavior over teaching you deep facts. The messages are often quick and action-driven, highlighting how these simple choices help both you and the Earth.
Informative Posts: The Reporter
What they look like: These posts are serious and focused, acting like a news reporter sharing facts about the airline's work. They are focused on the company, not the customer.
What they say: They are all about the airline's own actions, plans, and goals. They might share updates on big projects, such as:
Buying new airplanes that are designed to use less fuel.
Announcing new recycling programs or upcycling projects.
Giving updates on the airline's official strategy for being green in the long run.
The Focus: These posts are high on giving information and showing the airline is being responsible and transparent about its plans. They use factual information and updates to show they are serious about their commitments. They are a way for the company to clearly tell the public what they are doing.
Educational Posts: The Teacher
What they look like: These are the most detailed posts. They are like a science teacher explaining a complex idea. They often use videos, charts, or longer captions to explain everything clearly, going beyond simple pictures.
What they say: They share deep knowledge and scientific facts to make you a smarter customer. For example, they might explain:
What Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is, how it is made, and how it helps the Earth.
The special ways pilots can fly a plane to save fuel.
The science behind how different gases from flying affect the sky.
The Focus: These posts are winners because they combine deep information and high involvement. They give helpful facts and encourage you to think about the bigger sustainability problems in the world, not just the airline. They want to create a more informed and knowledgeable customer.
What Customers Really Think
The second part of the study—talking to real people—gave the airlines an important message: We need facts!.
People in the interviews were very skeptical. Because flying is such a harmful industry, customers automatically worry that the airlines are lying or hiding the truth. They often thought: "It's all a lie," and worried about greenwashing.
The biggest lesson for airlines was: "Show me, don't tell me".
What Makes People Trust a Post
Concrete Details and Data: Customers want to see real numbers and facts, not just nice, vague words. They like it when the airline says, "We reduced our plastic waste by 30% this year," instead of just saying, "We are reducing waste". People said that seeing these types of details and data felt genuine.
Detailed Explanations: The posts that were most trusted were the ones that took the time to explain how something works and why it helps the planet. They want to know the impact of the action and have detailed explanations.
Using the Teacher (Educational) and Reporter (Informative) Styles: Customers saw Informative and Educational posts as much more trustworthy. This is because these styles shared a lot of important information and scientific facts, which made the airline look honest and dedicated. The detail and depth of information made them feel reliable.
What Makes People Distrust a Post
Vague Language: Using simple but vague words like "green," "eco-friendly," or "clean" without explaining what that actually means in detail made people suspicious. These words made the post seem superficial, like a mask to hide the truth.
Pretty Pictures with No Facts: Posts that were only visually beautiful but didn't have any facts or clear plans in the text were met with huge doubts. The customers felt the airline was just trying to look good without doing the hard work. They felt it was superficial.
Using the Cheerleader (Celebratory) Style: Because Celebratory posts were so simple and lacked facts, they were the most criticized. People thought these posts were the clearest examples of greenwashing.
Mixing Messages: Customers also noticed when an airline tried to sell plane tickets right next to a post about protecting nature. They thought this was "comical" and a strange mix of messages that made the whole post seem weird.
The Challenge of Instagram
It's a Visual Platform: Instagram is made for pretty pictures and quick scrolling. But talking about big science and sustainability requires long explanations and lots of facts.
The Balancing Act: Airlines have to find a perfect balance. They must create posts that are fun to look at so people stop scrolling, but they also have to make sure the message is credible and includes real data. The customers in the study said they don't expect a full, giant report in one post, but they do expect a clear summary with concrete facts and data. The challenge is to present information that is accountable and detailed, but also compact and effective.
