Danish beverage company Royal Unibrew has agreed to pay a DKr4m ($617,000) fine for the misleading marketing of its Egekilde water.
According to the Danish consumer ombudsman, Royal Unibrew’s promotion of Egekilde water featured statements about CO₂ neutrality without stating on the packaging that the brand partly achieved this through climate compensation.
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As a result, the beverage manufacturer was reported to the consumer ombudsman for violating Danish marketing law in the period from 2022 to 2024. According to local reports, it is the largest fine imposed in Denmark for so-called greenwashing.
Louise Palsten, the general manager for Royal Unibrew’s business in Denmark, said “We can confirm that we have received and paid a fine – and we naturally take that very seriously.
“We have achieved CO₂ neutrality through partial climate compensation but we acknowledge that our communication on this could have been clearer.”
Palsten said the product’s packaging included a reference to the brewery’s website, where you could find an explanation about the firm’s climate compensation initiatives.
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By GlobalDataShe added: “We regret this and take note of it. It has never been our intention to cause any confusion among consumers about our efforts to reduce Egekilde’s climate footprint.
“Before receiving the initial inquiry from the Danish Consumer Ombudsman, we had already begun phasing out the ‘CO₂-neutral’ label from Egekilde. As a result, this statement is no longer used on our products.”
Danish Consumer Ombudsman Torben Jensen added: “If a product states that it is CO₂ neutral, it must be clear and obvious to consumers if the neutrality has been achieved through climate compensation.”
“If this information is not stated, the statement about CO₂ neutrality is already misleading for that reason and thus a violation of the [Danish] Marketing Act.”
