Apple has been sued by consumers who claim the company’s assertion that three versions of the Apple Watch are “carbon neutral” is false and misleading. The lawsuit, filed on February 27 in federal court in San Jose, California, accuses Apple of misleading consumers about the environmental impact of its Apple Watch Series 9, SE, and Ultra 2 models, which were marketed as carbon neutral.
Seven purchasers of these watches from California, Florida, and Washington, D.C., stated that they would not have bought the watches or would have paid less if they had known the truth about the company’s carbon neutrality claims. Apple launched these models in September 2023, stating they achieved carbon neutrality through a combination of reducing emissions and purchasing carbon offsets.
However, the plaintiffs argue that the carbon offset projects Apple relied on were not genuine. Specifically, they claim that the Chyulu Hills Project in Kenya, one of the offsetting programs, involves land within a national park protected from deforestation since 1983. They also contend that the Guinan Project in China, another of Apple’s offset initiatives, was located on land that was already heavily forested before the project started in 2015. The complaint states that because Apple’s claims are based on these questionable projects, the company’s carbon neutrality claims are misleading.
The plaintiffs also referenced a study by the National Retail Federation and IBM, which found that 70% of U.S. and Canadian consumers consider environmental sustainability important when making purchasing decisions.
In response to the lawsuit, Apple defended its environmental efforts in a statement. While the company did not address the specifics of the case, it emphasized that it had reduced emissions for the Apple Watch by more than 75% and invested significantly in nature-based projects to remove carbon from the atmosphere. Apple also reaffirmed its commitment to achieving carbon neutrality across its entire supply chain by 2030.
The lawsuit, filed under the case name Dib et al v. Apple Inc in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (Case No. 25-02043), seeks unspecified damages and an injunction to stop Apple from marketing these watches as carbon neutral.
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