Frankfurt/Main (dpa/lhe) - Companies can only advertise their products as "climate-neutral" if they sufficiently inform consumers about avoiding or offsetting emissions. This emerges from a decision by the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court (OLG) published on Friday (judgment of November 10, 2022, Az. 6 U 104/22).
The judges thus agreed with a manufacturer of ecological washing, cleaning and cleaning agents who had sued a competitor for non-transparent and misleading advertising. The competitor had advertised on the Internet with the "climate-neutral" logo, among other things, but excluded certain types of emissions.
With a "climate-neutral" logo, consumers assume that all of the company's significant emissions are avoided or compensated for, the court explained. This could have a significant impact on the purchase decision. The company must now refrain from advertising with the logo. The decision cannot be appealed.
