Greenwashing ruling: Apple told not to advertise Apple Watch as carbon‑neutral

The Regional Court (Landgericht) Frankfurt am Main has ruled that Apple may no longer advertise its Apple Watch models as “CO2‑neutral”. The decision stems from a lawsuit filed by the German environmental group Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), which challenged Apple’s statements about the climate footprint of its smartwatches and the reliance on offset projects.

What the court found

According to the ruling, Apple’s broad “carbon‑neutral” claim was not sufficiently substantiated because it depended heavily on carbon offset measures rather than demonstrable emission reductions. The court found that presenting the devices as climate‑neutral in that manner could mislead consumers.

Background

Environmental organizations have increasingly scrutinized corporate claims of “climate neutrality” when those claims rely primarily on offsets. The DUH brought evidence and arguments that Apple’s offsets and their long‑term effectiveness were not enough to justify the unqualified claim.

Further reading

For related legal context on advertising claims about “climate neutrality,” see a summary from the Library of Congress on similar German court rulings: Germany: Federal Court of Justice finds “climate‑neutral” advertisement unfairly deceptive (LOC).

Note: this summary is based on reporting of the Frankfurt court decision and public legal commentary; original reporting was published in German outlets in 2024.

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