What does “climate-neutral” mean here?

The Wettbewerbszentrale recently criticised several companies, including Aldi Süd, for using the term climate neutrality in a misleading and non-transparent way. Yet this term has been established for many years. Since the Kyoto Protocol of 1997, it has been clear that CO2 emissions caused in an industrialised country can be compensated elsewhere – for example by protecting forests or promoting renewable energy. This is exactly what Aldi Süd does, for example, by supporting certified projects in Brazil, Ghana, India and the Philippines. In particular, projects from the field of Nature-based Solutions are also part of the Global Energy Solutions toolkit. Companies that support such projects not only contribute to closing natural CO2 cycles, but also promote the preservation of biodiversity and many other sustainability goals of the UN Agenda 2030 (so called SDGs). In her contribution, Estelle Herlyn, member of the board of GES, counters the uncritical reporting of the media on the complaints of the Wettbewerbszentrale.

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