Climate-neutral, sustainable, recyclable – companies like to advertise their products with these or similar environmental claims. However, not all claims are legally permissible.
The court has ruled in favour of UBA in its fight against misleading greenwashing. In its ruling of 20 February 2025, the Federal Court of Justice confirmed the decision of the lower court, the Dessau-Roßlau Regional Court. The court had imposed strict controls on general and comparative advertising. Information on offers for CO₂ offsetting must be meaninful and transparent.
Air pollution control measures are proving effective. In Germany, 2024 is the first year in which all limit values set by the European Air Quality Directive have been met. This is the seventh consecutive year that particulate matter levels have remained within the prescribed limits.
Finding reliable information about environmental issues is not an easy task. While there is an abundance of facts and data on forests, soils and water bodies, their quality can vary.
The Application Lab for Artificial Intelligence and Big Data (AI Lab) at the German Environment Agency leverages methods of AI and Big Data for environmental and sustainability applications. As an innovation space for the environmental sector, it focuses on the added value of AI for both people and the environment and conducts research on the sustainable use of AI and Big Data applications.
Der Trend ist positiv. Insgesamt wurden von den dualen Systemen 2023 im Vergleich zum Vorjahr mehr Verpackungen recycelt. Das gaben das Umweltbundesamt (UBA) und die Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister (ZSVR) am 21. Januar 2025 auf einer gemeinsamen Pressekonferenz bekannt. Die strikte Mülltrennung ist die zentrale Voraussetzung, um das Recycling weiter auszubauen.
The transport of passengers and freight generates greenhouse gases (GHG) – not only through the actual transport activities, but also as a result of the processes at the individual locations or through services. On behalf of the UBA, a guideline has been produced which provides information for the standardised calculation and reporting of GHG emissions along transport chains.
Sustainability in supermarkets has many facets. It ranges from resource-conserving food production and environmentally friendly packaging to the avoidance of food waste.
Revenue from European and national emissions trading in Germany totalled around 18.5 billion euros in 2024. This means that proceeds from these two key climate protection instruments was once again slightly higher than in the previous year.
Since 2024, manufacturers of single-use plastic products such as cigarette filters, drinks cups and film packaging have had to contribute to the costs of waste disposal in parks and streets. This involves companies paying an annual levy into a fund managed by the German Environment Agency.
As part of an in-house research project, UBA is working on the use and further development of an integrated assessment model (IAM) developed by the independent research institute IIASA. IAMs combine economic, social and ecological aspects for the development of climate action scenarios and are central to the IPCC process. The cooperation between UBA and IIASA is now official.
Making everyday life more sustainable and inspiring friends and family – the German Environment Agency’s (UBA) mobile game “Little Impacts” (in German) shows how this can be achieved. In five interactive chapters, players experience how the main character Leah and her cousin Mailin inspire the people around them to embrace sustainability.
