Court documents reveal drax executives privately questioned company’s green claims while publicly defending forest practices

Internal court documents have exposed a troubling disconnect at Drax, the UK’s largest power plant, where senior executives privately questioned the company’s sustainability claims even as it publicly maintained its environmental credentials.

The revelations come from legal papers showing that while Drax was vigorously defending itself against allegations of cutting down primary forests for fuel, company insiders were raising concerns about whether their green marketing claims could withstand scrutiny. The controversy stems from a BBC Panorama investigation that accused the energy giant of burning wood pellets sourced from Canada’s old-growth forests—ecosystems that are critical for biodiversity and carbon storage.

Despite these internal doubts, Drax continued its public relations campaign, reassuring government ministers and civil servants of its commitment to sustainable forestry practices. The company has long positioned itself as a clean energy leader, arguing that its biomass operations help the UK meet climate targets by replacing coal with what it claims is renewable wood fuel.

This case highlights broader concerns about the biomass industry’s environmental impact and the practice of “greenwashing”—where companies present misleading information about their environmental benefits. Environmental groups have long questioned whether burning wood from ancient forests can truly be considered sustainable, especially given the decades or centuries required for these ecosystems to regrow. The court documents suggest that even company executives harbored similar doubts about the validity of their sustainability messaging while publicly maintaining their green credentials.