Adidas AG is the target of a lawsuit brought by the German Environmental Aid (DUH) in the Nuremberg-Fürth Regional Court, the group has said. The company’s pledge to become “climate neutral” by 2050 is the basis for the case. Adidas has come under fire from the German Environmental Aid (DUH) for its climate-neutral advertising campaign. The DUH claims that the advertisement is devoid of specific details about the company’s plans to accomplish this objective.
The DUH specifically takes issue with Adidas’s failure to disclose whether the company plans to purchase CO2 certificates or cut CO2 internally in order to reach the necessary climate neutrality. The DUH claims that these certifications can originate from dubious initiatives whose actual emission reductions are not verifiable. Although Adidas has already altered the aforementioned advertisement in response to the DUH’s warning, the environmental group does not have a legally binding statement from the business guaranteeing that this type of advertising would not be utilised going forward.
In order to safeguard consumers and compel businesses to undergo a sustainable transformation, DUH Federal Managing Director Resch is now urging the federal government to take action against so-called greenwashing and is in favour of enacting legally binding requirements for credible and verifiable promises for the future.
However, the sportswear company denies the DUH’s accusations, claiming they are untrue. According to Herzogenaurach, Adidas has set emissions reduction targets and offers information on climate targets and related actions for various time periods. Additionally, the external and independent “Science Based Targets” project reviews and validates the company’s strategies and goals.
