Adidas is ordered to stop promoting its “carbon neutral by 2050” pledge, a court having ruled that its net-zero advertising is misleading.
After the German environmental group Deutsche Umwelthilfe notified the regional court in Nuremberg, Germany, that the sportswear giant had failed to explain how it would achieve climate neutrality, a court has ordered Adidas to stop promoting its “carbon neutral by 2050” pledge. The court said Adidas had not clearly explained how it intended to meet the target or disclosed whether it would rely on carbon offsets.
The court’s verdict (case no. 3 HK O 6524/24) orders in particular that Adidas shall cease to promote the statement: “We will be climate neutral by 2050: Adidas is committed to a number of ambitious goals that will pave the way to climate neutrality along our entire value chain in 2050.”
Adidas may still appeal the judgment.
A spokesperson for 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 of “A” for its climate program from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a non-profit organization.
