German court bans climate-neutral Apple Watch ads over greenwashing

US tech giant Apple must withdraw advertisements in Germany that claim its smartwatches are “carbon neutral” after a court ruled on Tuesday that the company’s claims are misleading.

The Frankfurt Regional Court accepted a cease-and-desist order from the Environmental Action Germany (DUH) campaign group, which described Apple’s advertisements as “blatant greenwashing.”

The judgement is not yet legally binding as the company could still appeal, but it may not use the controversial statements until a decision has been made.

The court imposed a fine of 250,000 EUR ($290,000 USD) per case for violations.

Since 2023, the company has advertised three of its Apple Watch models as “carbon neutral.”

The majority of emissions are reportedly avoided during manufacturing and transport, with a small remainder offset through nature-based compensation projects, according to the advertisements.

Court expresses doubts

In the initial hearing in June, the court indicated that it does not consider some of Apple’s listed compensation projects to be sufficiently long-term.

The company admitted that in a reforestation project in Paraguay, only 25% of the area is secured long-term, and some areas are only leased until 2029. The court, however, believes that consumers expect a timeframe until 2045 or 2050.

DUH doubts any positive climate effect from the plantings. According to DUH’s federal managing director, Jürgen Resch, the eucalyptus plantation wood is harvested every 14 years and predominantly burned.

The association believes that forest projects require a duration of several hundred years to genuinely bind carbon dioxide (CO2) released elsewhere in the long term.

Apple stands by its claims

Despite the criticism, Apple stands by its claims of the Apple Watch’s carbon neutrality and defends them, the company said.

“Our carbon-neutral products are the result of industry-leading innovations in clean energy and low-carbon designs that significantly reduce emissions,” a spokesman said.

“At the same time, we are investing in carefully selected nature-based projects.”

He said that they have reduced the emissions of the Apple Watch by more than 75% and invested significantly in nature-based projects to remove hundreds of thousands of metric tons of carbon from the air. The DUH’s lawsuits complicate the necessary climate measures, he said.

Source: dpa