Apple is facing a class-action lawsuit from customers who claim the company misled them with its "carbon neutral" claims for certain Apple Watch models. The lawsuit, filed in a California federal court, alleges that Apple's assertions about the environmental sustainability of its Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Ultra 2, and Apple Watch SE are false and misleading.

In 2023, Apple announced that "select case and band combinations" of these Apple Watch models would be the company's first carbon neutral devices. However, the lawsuit claims that the products are not truly carbon neutral because they rely on faulty offset projects that do not actually reduce the company's greenhouse gas pollution. The lawsuit is filed on behalf of anyone who purchased these watches, alleging that they would not have bought the products or paid as much for them had they known the truth about Apple's carbon neutral claims.

The lawsuit highlights the challenges of making sustainability claims in the tech industry. Many environmental advocates argue that companies should focus on reducing their carbon footprint by switching to cleaner energy sources and designing products that last longer and are easier to repair, rather than relying on carbon offsets. Apple's approach, which involves reducing emissions from materials, electricity, and transportation used to make the watches, and then investing in "nature-based projects" to remove carbon from the air, has been called into question.

The lawsuit specifically targets Apple's use of carbon credits from forestry projects in Kenya and China, which are alleged to be flawed. The projects are said to generate carbon credits by preventing deforestation on land that was already legally protected, or by planting trees on "barren land" that was already heavily forested. This means that the carbon reductions would have occurred regardless of Apple's involvement or the projects' existence, rendering the company's carbon neutral claims false and misleading.

This is not the first time Apple's sustainability efforts have been scrutinized. A 2022 Bloomberg investigation found that dozens of big-name brands, including airlines, retailers, and banks, have relied on "junk" carbon offsets to make carbon neutral claims. The Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs also raised concerns about Apple's supply chain in a 2023 report, finding that some Apple suppliers' emissions were growing.

For consumers looking to reduce their carbon footprint, the lawsuit serves as a reminder that buying sustainable products may not be as straightforward as it seems. Instead, consumers may be better off holding onto their current devices for as long as possible. Apple's own sustainability report shows that the company's carbon footprint as a whole has decreased between 2021 and 2023, but it still churned out 16.1 million metric tons of CO2 emissions in 2023, equivalent to the emissions from 42 gas-fired power plants in a year.

The lawsuit is a wake-up call for tech companies to re-examine their sustainability claims and focus on making meaningful reductions in their carbon footprint. As the tech industry continues to grow and evolve, it is essential that companies prioritize transparency and accountability in their environmental efforts.