Europe’s Biggest Pork Producer Loses in Greenwashing Case

A high court in Denmark ruled that Europe’s biggest pork producer misled consumers by advertising its meat as “climate-controlled” in what is the Nordic country’s first greenwashing verdict.

A group of nonprofit organizations had alleged Danish Crown A/S misrepresented its climate footprint in a marketing campaign from 2020, which they said gave the false impression that eating pork is good for the climate.

Globally, companies are facing mounting pressure to prove their climate statements are accurate, or they risk being challenged by activists, investors and authorities. Earlier this week the New York Attorney General said it’s suing JBS SA, claiming the world’s biggest meat-packer misled the public about its environmental impact.

The court in western Denmark on Friday ruled that Danish Crown breached the law by labeling its pork as “climate-controlled.” But the judges sided with the company in another complaint, accepting its statement that Danish pork is “more climate-friendly than you think.”

The court ordered Danish Crown to pay 300,000 kroner ($44,000) and to acknowledge it breached marketing laws. The company had no intention to mislead its customers, Jens Hansen, a spokesman, said in a response to Friday’s ruling in a broadcast interview with TV2.

Danish Crown dropped in 2021 the campaign following criticism, but continued to defend it, arguing it was meant to highlight the industry’s focus on reducing carbon emissions in pork production. The cooperative, which is controlled by more than 6,000 Danish farmers, has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% in 2030.

It’s the first greenwashing case to be tried in court in Denmark. Last year a city judge referred the suit to the high court because it’s of a principal nature.

The ruling will help to set precedent for greenwashing cases elsewhere in the world, Rune-Christoffer Dragsdahl of the Danish Vegetarian Association said by phone. His group had filed the lawsuit in partnership with the Climate Movement, which was backed by the Danish Consumer Council. He said he expects the ruling to encourage more green organizations in other countries, who may so far have been hesitant to pursue such cases, to follow with similar suits.

(Updates to add comments from Danish Crown in fifth paragraph, comments from the Danish Vegetarian Association in eighth)

Top photo: Sliced bacon. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg.