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The Climate Litigation Database

DUH v. Best Western (Advertising for climate-neutral hotel stays)

Geography
Year
2024
Document Type
Litigation

About this case

Filing year
2024
Status
Decided
Court/admin entity
GermanyBerlinRegional Court II (Landgericht Berlin II)
Case category
Suits against corporations, individuals (Global)Corporations (Global)Misleading advertising (Global)
Principal law
GermanyAct Against Unfair Competition

Documents

Filing Date
Document
Type

Summary

The Regional Court of Berlin (Landgericht Berlin) upheld an action brought by the German Environmental Action (Deutsche Umwelthilfe, DUH) against German Hospitality Management GmbH, the operator of a Best Western hotel in Mannheim. The case concerned advertising by the “Sure Hotel by Best Western Mannheim City” that described hotel stays as “climate neutral” or “CO₂ neutral.”

The court prohibited the company from making such claims without providing further explanation of how the claimed climate neutrality was achieved. The company’s calculation considered emissions from electricity and gas consumption but did not adequately account for other relevant emissions sources, including waste disposal and laundry services. The court therefore found the environmental advertising misleading.