German Court Bans adidas' Climate Neutrality Advertising
A lawsuit in Germany has decided adidas is no longer allowed to advertise its future climate neutrality plans as it has been.
NGO Environmental Action Germany (DUH) won its greenwashing lawsuit against the company on the grounds of misleading consumers as it did not provide concrete steps to achieving climate neutrality beyond 2030.
The Nuremberg-Fürth Regional Court ordered adidas on 25 March to stop advertising that it will be climate neutral by 2050.
It said this is because adidas did not explain how or whether carbon offsets would be used.
The court also said that because the term climate neutral is ambiguous, and that adidas should have clearly explained what the term meant in its advertising to avoid misleading consumers.
Jürgen Resch, Federal Director of DUH, said in a statement: "adidas deceived its customers with its promise of alleged climate neutrality.
“The decisive factor is whether and to what extent the company actually aligns its products and business activities with greater climate compatibility.
“adidas' defeat in court underscores the importance of clear and transparent promises for the future.”
The company may still appeal this judgement.
A spokesperson from adidas said: "For adidas, the decision does not require any action. The decision relates exclusively to a specific wording on our website, which we already adjusted in August 2024.
"Our plans and targets for reducing emissions remain unchanged.
"Our ambitious climate targets were reviewed and confirmed by the external and independent Science Based Targets initiative. In addition, in February 2025, adidas received the top grade “A” for its climate programme from the non-profit organisation CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project).
"Progress is already clearly visible: since 2022, absolute emissions including the supply chain have fallen by 20%."
What is adidas doing in sustainability?
adidas’ website says its main target is to reach net zero by 2050 and it is following SBTi guidance to be aligned with a 1.5°C pathway.
By 2030, adidas says its targets are to achieve a 70% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions and a 43% reduction in Scope 3 emissions.
adidas’ 2024 annual report says the company achieved reductions of:
- 17% in Scope 1 and Scope 2
- 20% in Scope 3
- 5.3% carbon intensity
- 20% across all three scopes.
Why are carbon offsets controversial?
Carbon offsets are tradeable certificates representing the reduction, removal or avoidance of greenhouse gas emissions.
These can come from projects like reforestation, renewable energy sources or technology that removes carbon dioxide from the air.
Certificates can then be purchased by those looking to offset their emissions.
However, it is not a clean cut market.
There is no universally mandated global carbon credit standard to verify that projects deliver the promised offsets.
The same carbon credits could be sold multiple times or not actually deliver the purchased amount of offsetting.
Some argue that carbon credits give an “easy out” from emissions reductions.
Greenwashing lawsuits
US tech giant Apple is facing a lawsuit in California federal court filed in February 2025 from seven Apple Watch purchasers.
They say that its carbon neutral claims are misleading due to the use of some carbon offsetting projects that may not provide “genuine” reductions.
In a statement to Reuters on 27 February 2025, Apple did not discuss the case but said: “We've drastically cut emissions for Apple Watch by over 75%, and we are investing significantly in nature-based projects to remove hundreds of thousands of metric tons of carbon from the air.
In March 2024, the District Court of Amsterdam found that airline KLM’s sustainability advertising, including for offsetting products, breached EU consumer law.
The judge ruled that advertising suggesting its offsetting products reduce or compensate for the climate impact of flying are misleading and, therefore, unlawful.
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