The Regional Court of Cologne (Landgericht Köln) issued a default judgment (Versäumnisurteil) against Bayer AG following an action brought by the German Environmental Action (Deutsche Umwelthilfe, DUH) concerning Bayer's advertising of a commitment to achieve “net-zero emissions” across its entire value chain by 2050.
Bayer's advertising stated the 2050 net-zero ambition but provided concrete information only concerning measures planned through 2030. It did not explain how the company intended to achieve net-zero emissions across its full value chain from 2050 onwards. After DUH initiated proceedings, Bayer amended the advertising but did not provide a cease-and-desist declaration. Because Bayer failed to defend the action within the applicable deadline, the court issued a default judgment prohibiting the challenged advertising.
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DUH v. Bayer
About this case
Filing year
2026
Status
Decided
Geography
🇩🇪 Germany
Court/admin entity
Germany → Regional Court of Cologne
Case category
Suits against corporations, individuals (Global) → Corporations (Global) → Misleading advertising (Global)
Principal law
Germany → Act Against Unfair Competition
Documents
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Filing Date
Document
Type