Flixbus fined for greenwashing on Belgian website

The German authorities took action against Flixbus on the basis of an enforcement request by the Belgian Directorate General for Economic Inspection.

As a result of an investigation in the context of a sweep by the E.U. CPC Network (Consumer Protection Cooperation) on misleading sustainability claims, the Belgian Economic Inspection identified multiple forms of greenwashing on the Belgian website of Flixbus. The misleading green claims included:

• The use of vague and unsubstantiated claims, such as ‘environmentally friendly’ and ‘climate friendly’, which could have misled consumers on the actual meaning and their environmental impact.

• Claims that Flixbus is the ‘most climate-friendly means of transport’, without necessary comparison or substantiation.

• Advertising the environmental benefits of ‘Flixtrain’, while the train is not available in Belgium.

• An option to offset the carbon emissions of the trip, without any indication of the actual carbon emissions of the trip.

At the request of the Belgian Economic Inspection, the German Umweltbundesamt launched a judicial procedure. Flixbus was given a chance to voluntarily modify its practices, but they did not comply. After several appeals, the German Federal Court of Justice ruled on the 20th of February 2025 that Flixbus is obliged to comply and remove the misleading environmental claims from the Belgian website. 

Although Flixbus already made some adjustments during the proceedings - such as discontinuing the CO2 offsetting model - there are still ambiguous environmental claims on their Belgian website. Flixbus must now further modify them to comply with the legislation.

Read more on the official press release here in Dutch and French.