German Court Rules Adidas' Climate Neutrality Claim Misleading

The court deemed Adidas' advertising unlawful, citing insufficient transparency about its reliance on carbon offsets rather than direct emissions reductions.

• The Landgericht Nürnberg-Fürth ruled Adidas' claim of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 to be misleading and unlawful.
• The court found that Adidas created the false impression that its goals would be achieved solely through emissions reductions, while relying on carbon offset certificates.
• Deutsche Umwelthilfe, which filed the lawsuit, accused Adidas of greenwashing and called the reliance on offsets 'modern indulgence trading.'
• Adidas stated the ruling requires no further action, as the disputed statement was already adjusted in August 2024.
• The ruling is not yet legally binding, and Deutsche Umwelthilfe continues to pursue similar cases against other companies for misleading environmental advertising.

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