Claims of "climate-neutral" ads must be proven: German court June 28, 2024

To avoid greenwashing

By AFP - Agence France Presse

Claims of "climate-neutral" ads must be proven: German court

Companies in Germany can only promote their products as "climate neutral" if they back up the environmental claims with sufficient detail in the advertisement itself, a high court ruled on Thursday.

The decision was made in a case brought against German confectionery manufacturer Katjes by an association that aims to combat unfair commercial practices.

The case focused on an advertisement published in a trade publication for the food sector, which stated that "since 2021, Katjes has been producing all products in a climate-neutral way".

The ad included an image of a packet of fruit gummies with a "climate neutral" logo and the website address of a partner company that helps companies reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

However, the ruling concluded that the production of the sweets was not carbon neutral - instead, the confectionery manufacturer supported environmental protection projects to offset emissions through its partner.

Two lower courts had rejected the case, but the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) ruled in favor of the association, the Center for Combating Unfair Competition.

"In the case of advertising that uses an ambiguous environmental term, such as 'climate neutral', the specific meaning must be explained in the advertising itself to avoid misleading the public," the court said in its ruling.

The risks of deception were "particularly high" in environment-related advertising, the court said, adding that labels such as "climate neutral" were important to consumers when making purchasing decisions.

About the Katjes advertisement, it was essential to explain the claim, as directly reducing emissions is considered more important for climate protection than offsetting them, the court concluded.

Katjes must stop using the misleading advertisement and reimburse the legal costs, the court ruled.

The European Union is already taking steps to crack down on greenwashing when it comes to the labeling of products sold in the bloc.

Earlier this month, member states agreed on a draft of new rules that state that environmental claims will have to be verified using strict criteria. The legislation will now have to be finalized in the European Parliament.