In the era of increased environmental awareness, the spotlight on green claims has never been more intense. As consumers are concerned about global heating and ecological sustainability, they are scrutinizing products like never before, seeking eco-friendly options that align with their values. In response, businesses have responded to this concern and consumers’ purchase interest, with brand-owners increasingly highlighting the benign or even beneficial effects their products and services have on the environment fostering a surge in green marketing initiatives. Yet, amidst this push for sustainability, the risk of being accused of greenwashing is omnipresent. As environmental characteristics of products and services are highly technical and the understanding of the various concepts involved is continuously changing, en­vir­on­ment­al/sus­tain­ab­il­ity claims raise a significant risk of confusing and misleading consumers. Many companies have fallen foul of advertising standards in this area recently. Given the high sensitivity of environmental claims and the reputational damage that can result from allegations of greenwashing, it is particularly important to make sure environmental claims are compliant. By ensuring truthful, accurate and unambiguous information is always given to the consumers, companies can avoid the risks and build a reputation for authenticity in their sustainability advertising and communications. CMS guides companies through the maze of regulations and case law and advise on the steps a company can take to ensure their advertising is not only compliant but also authentic and impactful. The priority questions we address are: Which green claims are likely to raise litigation or regulatory enforcement risks?What can businesses do to mitigate these risks?What are the likely claims/en­force­ment that could arise?Who is likely to make a claim?What are the risks in the event of a violation or a complaint? What future regulatory measures are expected and what companies have to do now to be prepared? We offer various solutions to help you be compliant and avoid accusations of greenwashing: Sustainability claim checks including regulatory risk matrix as well as litigation: evaluating the planned claims and mapping their risk as well as developing compliant marketing strategies and claims custom-tailored to your business's unique pro­file;Sus­tain­ab­il­ity-re­lated litigation: providing comprehensive support in legal disputes in the area of advertising with environmental claims;Training sessions: to empower your legal, compliance and sustainability as well as advertising teams with in-depth knowledge of sustainability risks and mitigation strategies; andBoard packs: to equip your directors/board members with actionable insights into greenwashing risks, ensuring they steer the company toward sustainable strategies with confidence and integrity.  For an initial conversation on how we can support you on greenwashing risk, please reach out to the lawyers listed on this page or to your usual CMS contact.

1. What is the general legislative framework regulating packaging and plastic waste in your jurisdiction? Particularly when compared to the regulations within the European Union, plastic waste and packaging...

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Bruker Corporation, a NASDAQ-listed US tech company, entered into a definitive agreement for the acquisition of Chemspeed Technologies AG, a Swiss provider of vendor-agnostic automated laboratory R&D and QC workflow solutions. Chemspeed is focused on modular automation and robotics solutions for chemical research, pharma drug formulation, materials research for cleantech and consumer applications. The Chemspeed acquisition accelerates Bruker’s entry into lab automation, digitalisation and scientific software solutions. Chemspeed offers modular automation to enhance productivity in R&D and QC departments to achieve more in less time and without additional staff. Chemspeed complements Bruker’s vendor-agnostic plat­form SciY™ for software automation and digital transformation of R&D labs in the life science, biopharma and cleantech industries. An international CMS team headed by Stefan Brunnschweiler and Andrea Relly (Switzerland), in collaboration with the US law firm Nixon Peabody LLP advised Bruker on all legal aspects of the transaction. CMS Switzer­land­Stefan Brunnschweiler, Lead Partner, Corporate / M&AAndrea Relly, Counsel, Corporate / M&ASamuel Gang, Senior Associate, Corporate / M&AAnna Mast, Associate, Corporate / M&AMarquard Christen, Partner, Competition and ComplianceJulia Haas, Senior Associate, Competition and Com­pli­ance­Bernhard Lötscher, Partner, ComplianceSophie Weber, Associate, ComplianceDr Dirk Spacek, Partner, Intellectual PropertyDr Simone Brauch­bar-Birkhäuser, Partner, Intellectual PropertyOlivia Zingg, Associate, Intellectual PropertyMark Cagienard, Partner, TaxJens Lehmann, Senior Associate, TaxMiryam Meile, Senior Associate, Em­ploy­mentSibylle Schnyder, Partner, Real EstateReto Hunsperger, Partner, Com­mer­cialAl­ex­an­der Salamon, Attorney Trainee, Corporate / M&ASophia Rovelli, Attorney Trainee, Corporate / M&AElisabeth Suter, Attorney Trainee, ComplianceCMS BelgiumKai Neuhaus, Partner, Brussel, CompetitionDavid Rappenglück, Associate, Brussel, CompetitionCMS UKRussel Hoare, Partner, Lon­don, Com­pet­i­tion­Claire Barraclough, Associate, Competition

Consumers are increasingly focused on sustainability. Studies have shown that products with green claims sell better than others. But where are the limits of what is permitted when using green claims?

Biodiversity ensures the functioning of all the ecosystem services that humans depend on. It supplies us with drinking water, forms the basis for food production and provides energy sources. It regulates the climate and protects us from natural hazards. Biodiversity is, therefore, not only of importance to nature. It is a foundation for our society and the entire economy. A large proportion of companies depend directly or indirectly on biodiversity.

On 31 October 2023, Renais­sance, to­geth­er with industry expert Daniel Lippuner and the management of Heberlein AG, acquired the entire business operations of Heberlein AG. The acquired business will continue to operate unchanged at its current location in Wattwil with the existing management and all employees under the name Heberlein Technology AG. Heberlein was founded in 1835 and has established itself as a leading provider of nozzles for synthetic continuous yarns worldwide, developing, manufacturing, and distributing key components for the chemical fiber industry, with approximately 80 employees. Renais­sance, based in Lausanne, was founded by pension funds for pension funds and has been investing in unlisted Swiss SMEs for over 20 years.A team from CMS, led by Alain Raemy, provided comprehensive legal and tax advice to Renaissance in this transaction. CMS SwitzerlandAlain Raemy, Partner, Corporate / M&AAndrea Relly, Counsel, Corporate / M&AMark Cagienard, Partner, TaxDominik Penkov, Associate, Tax Dr. Simone Brauchbar Birkhäuser, Partner, IP / ITPhilipp Dickenmann, Partner, Dispute ResolutionReto Hunsperger, Partner, RestructuringDr. Marjolaine Jakob, Partner, Re­struc­turin­gOlivia Zingg, Associate, IP / ITHelena Loretan, Associate, Real EstateKatja Bertsche, Senior Associate, Real EstateDr. Miryam Meile, Senior Associate, Employment Anna Mast, Associate, Corporate / M&AAlexander Salamon, Lawyer Trainee, Corporate / M&A

Footnotes With effect from 1 January 2019, Switzerland’s new Federal Act on Money Games (“AMG”) entered into force. The AMG applies to all kinds of online real money games, including variations...

DER Touristik Suisse AG, a group company of the German REWE Group, acquires Golf and Travel AG, based in Root.

Rankings of CMS Switzerland in The Legal 500 EMEA 2023 Edition

Zurich, 4 January 2023 Bruker Corporation, a NASDAQ-listed US tech company, has entered into a partnership with Swiss firm Biognosys AG to deliver advanced proteomics CRO services for US biopharma and biomarker customers. As part of the partnership, Bruker has made a ma­jor­ity-own­er­ship investment in Biognosys AG. Biognosys is a leader in the development of proteomics technologies and solutions for pharmaceutical and biotech research. The strategic partnership is expected to create unique synergies between Biognosys’ portfolio of proteomics services, software and kits, and Bruker’s pioneering timsTOF platform. As a result of the partnership, Biognosys plans to open its first advanced proteomics CRO services laboratory in the US. Details of the transaction were not disclosed. An international CMS team headed by Stefan Brunnschweiler and Dr Hendrik Hirsch advised Bruker on all legal aspects of the transaction. Bruker has also relied on the expertise of CMS in the past. Previous work by CMS for Bruker Corporation included providing legal advice on the company’s investment in PreOmics. CMS Switzer­land­Stefan Brunnschweiler, Lead Partner, Zurich, Corporate / M&AAndrea Relly, Senior Associate, Corporate / M&ASamuel Felix Gang, Senior Associate, Corporate / M&APascal Stocker, Senior Associate, Corporate / M&AAnna Mast, Associate, Corporate / M&ADr Simone Brauchbar Birkhäuser, Partner, Intellectual PropertyMark Cagienard, Partner, TaxSarah Keller, Senior Associate, Employment & PensionsHadi Mirzai, Senior Associate, Life Sciences and Com­pet­i­tion­Valentina Balaj, As­so­ci­ate, Reg­u­lat­ory / ComplianceCMS Ger­manyDr Hendrik Hirsch, Lead Partner, Frankfurt/Main, Corporate/M&ADr Berrit Roth-Mingram, Senior Associate, Frankfurt/Main, Corporate/M&ADr Thomas Hirse, Partner, Dus­sel­dorf, In­tel­lec­tu­al PropertySven Krause, Senior Associate, Dusseldorf, Intellectual Property