This is a much-discussed subject these days, and one I find both interesting and genuinely important. It is also complex, and it deserves to be pulled apart.
In this article we are going to settle once and for all what greenwashing actually is, why it is dangerous for society, and I will go through a few simple examples to help you spot it in your own day to day.
What is greenwashing?
The term greenwashing, by analogy with “whitewashing”, rests on using misleading information to cover up behaviour that is questionable, or outright wrong.
Greenwashing is an unfounded claim made to mislead consumers into believing that a company’s products are “green”. That is, ecologically responsible and sustainable. Companies doing this give a false impression, or put information into the market about their sustainability practices that does not match what they actually do day to day.
In greenwashing, organisations set out to earn the status of “sustainable” or “green” company through marketing and communication, with the aim of improving their image and reputation in the market.
Over the years there has been more concern with ethical and environmental questions, so consumer behaviour is gradually shifting: people are increasingly aware of, and bothered about, the kind of products they buy and whether companies pay attention to any of this. Consumers look for labels and certifications, and are often led astray by marketing campaigns.
Because change is slow and demands a great deal from companies, many end up reaching for greenwashing in an attempt to meet the growing demand for eco-friendly products. Others greenwash because they do not know enough about sustainability, and think there is no harm in leaning hard on one “green” aspect in how they talk about themselves.
Consumers are paying closer attention to whether products are natural, organic, healthy, whether chemicals are used in making them, whether they are recyclable or recycled, whether they can be reused. There are countless things that make a product more conscious, and they weigh more and more on the decision to buy.
The dangers of greenwashing
In the middle of a frantic day, consumers often have neither the time nor the appetite to dig into any of this, which makes them easy to mislead.
According to Luísa Schmidt, we are on the right path towards awareness of a subject that matters this much. She argues that we have a society paying ever closer attention to environmental impacts and to climate change, and singles out younger generations, who she believes are genuinely committed to this and to making politicians take the right decisions.
She also argues that journalists have a central part to play, since they are in a position to expose greenwashing’s manipulation strategies, warning people and handing them the tools to “protect” themselves against this kind of corporate behaviour.
GreenPrint’s 2021 Business of Sustainability Index (full report here) states that 64% of Generation X consumers seek out and pay more for a product if it comes from a sustainable brand, rising to 75% among millennials. So brands feel the need to satisfy that demand.
In an article in Business News Daily, Philip Beere, VP of marketing at Sightline Payments, argues that “the number one violation is embellishing the benefit of the product or service”.
Let me share two examples of greenwashing from different sectors, so you can get a better sense of what it does:
1. Fossil fuels
Companies and industries selling fossil energy, oil, coal, natural gas. Using this energy has an extremely negative impact on the environment and on human health, since burning it releases air pollutants and greenhouse gases.
Unfortunately it is common to see news and articles reporting that this kind of company is researching and developing renewable alternatives, while never walking away from one of the main sources of environmental pollution: fossil fuels.
One example is a recent BP campaign, “drive carbon neutral”, with the line “Walk, or fill up at BP”. For anyone distracted, or willing to believe, it might sound as though BP’s product has the same impact as walking, which it plainly does not. The brand does buy carbon offsets, but they do not offset the impact its line of business has on the planet.
2. Hotels
It is increasingly common to find signs in hotel rooms suggesting you reuse your towels.
In marketing, and in behavioural economics, this is called a nudge, a small push to steer someone towards a particular behaviour.
In this case the practice was named as greenwashing by environmental activist Jay Westerveld, after staying at a hotel in Samoa, in the South Pacific.
When reusing towels is the only thing a hotel does towards using fewer resources, it is not really environmental concern. It is concern about the laundry bill.
It is an easy, legible example of trying to project the image of an ecologically conscious and responsible company without practising it daily across the way the business runs. At bottom this is greenwashing because sustainability is not built into the business.
If, on the other hand, that kind of measure sits alongside other processes that genuinely cut resource use and protect the environment, we are out of greenwashing territory, as with the Orchard Hotel in San Francisco.
That hotel installed low-flow baths, showers and flow restrictors, which cut water use by 20%. The showers deliver 1.5 litres a minute instead of the previous 2.3, which brings water waste down.
It is true that at first glance this looks like a hotel simply cutting its water bill. But when they make social responsibility one of their values and change a number of their internal processes and workflows, the measure reads, genuinely, as a good one.
These are just two of the many examples out there.
If you liked this article and want to see more examples of greenwashing, tell me what you think, and which brands you would like me to look at.
