A federal judge for the Northern District of California recently dismissed the high-profile greenwashing litigation against Apple. The case, which we’ve covered since its initial filing, alleged that Apple misled consumers by claiming that certain Apple watches were “carbon neutral.” The attempted class action argued Apple’s use of offsetting and poor-quality carbon credits made Apple’s sustainability claims misleading. However, the court sided with Apple, finding that the Plaintiffs failed to substantiate their claims:
“The Court first turns to Plaintiffs’ second theory of the case—that Apple failed to retire sufficient credits to account for the sale of Apple Watches marketed as carbon neutral. Every layer of Plaintiffs’ allegations about Apple’s sales of Apple Watches are based on unsubstantiated assumptions… The Court finds that Plaintiffs have failed to plausibly allege sufficient facts to survive a motion to dismiss. And unless Plaintiffs can amend their complaint to provide the requisite reasonable basis, the claims fail as a matter of law.”
For their part, Apple submitted compelling evidence that its use of carbon offsets was responsible. The company’s practices included the use of an offset “buffer pool” and compliance with the FTC’s green guides for environmental marketing. These practices, while compelling, were not weighed by the court because the plaintiff’s case was undermined by their deficient filings. The court has allowed Plaintiffs leave to amend, and we’ll see if they come back with sufficient evidence in the future.
Ultimately, Apple removed the “carbon neutral” labeling from its watches, owing to European legislation outlawing the practice. The outcome of this case shows that in the US, companies making net-zero claims can still use offsets, though they must take care to do so in a responsible manner.
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