Advertising with Carbon Offsetting – The Legal Framework in Germany Now and to Come

At times, the line between authentic environmental claims and ones that could be considered "greenwashing"—misleading or false environmental marketing—can be unclear. This is particularly true for the often-used term "climate neutral," which can imply both actual avoidance of carbon emissions and compensation for them through offsetting. So far, Germany—where consumer protection associations increasingly are taking legal action against businesses that advertise environmental efforts—has lacked specific legislation governing the use of environmental terms in advertisements. As a result, the legal framework that determines when an environmental claim becomes misleading was shaped by case law. In a recent judgement, the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof)(“BGH”) ruled that advertising that includes the term “climate neutral” is prohibited if used to describe carbon offsets....To read the full article, please see the PDF file

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