The Climate of Business #75: How to end greenwashing?

Climate Change Reality

Cyclone Freddy slams Mozambique with ‘dangerous’ rainfall (AP News )

Fracking Wastewater Causes Lasting Harm to Key Freshwater Species (Inside Climate News )

Ancient Farming Practice Draws Cash From Carbon Credits (WSJ )

Global internet connectivity at risk from climate disasters (E&E News )

How to pull carbon dioxide out of seawater (MIT News )

A rare blizzard hits California as summer-like heat roasts the eastern U.S. (Yale Climate Connections )

A looming El Ni?o could give us a preview of life at 1.5C of warming (Grist )

We Can Vacuum Carbon From the Sky. Will It Make a Difference? (Bloomberg )

Business Climate Reality

Is Sustainable Fashion Elitist? (Business of Fashion )

‘We have no time to lose’: Ban Ki-moon criticises climate finance delays (The Guardian )

Texas Oil Workers Find Work In Solar Industry (Nexus )

The bonanza of the ESG software market has started, though the best is yet to come (PwC )

New Environmental Sustainability Index Shows Businesses Are Still Optimistic On Climate Goals (Forbes )

EU Targets Big Plastic With Rules to Cut Packaging Waste (Bloomberg )

Skilled workers from India encouraged to fill gap in Germany’s solar industry (Clean Energy Wire )

How Small- To Mid-Sized Businesses Can Achieve Their Sustainability Goals (Forbes )

Italy seeks alliance with France and Germany to tame EU car emissions laws (Reuters )

Reality Check

Greenwashing has become a prevalent problem as sustainability has grown in importance.

Greenwashing is a barrier to concrete climate action and sustainable development, making it difficult to assess which corporate’s effort is genuinely sustainable. For example, during the first Earth Day in 1970, corporations spent eight times more on establishing a green image through advertising than the amount they spent on environmental research initiatives.

What are the principles a business can follow to end greenwashing and protect it own credibility?

Be honest and accountable

In sustainability, being honest and authentic is vital. Avoid using words like “green”,“- climate positive”, or “from recyclable materials” without documenting or explaining what your company has done or will do to make sure that your statements are factual. Avoid labelling your services/products as “better for the environment” as any product still impacts our ecosystems. Buying recycled plastic is still purchasing plastic. Also, be careful not to use numbers and statistics from reports out of context to suit your marketing needs.

Evaluate and verify your sustainability claims over time

Simply avoid making claims if you are not able to back them up with scientific evidence. If you are stating that your product line is sustainable, make sure to conduct a complete life-cycle analysis to understand the environmental impact of your company’s products and services. If you claim to be carbon-neutral, use a rigorous carbon accounting framework. Also, ensure your claims’ conformity - clients and partners should read across channels the same claims backed with data.

Be transparent about your carbon footprint

Simply claiming “carbon-neutrality” does not make a company sustainable. When calculating your company’s carbon footprint, you have to consider scopes 1,2,3, emissions. Be transparent about what you calculated: only scope one or all scopes? Conversely, sharing your emissions should not be seen as putting the brand in jeopardy. Research has shown that half-truths can have as adverse effects on corporate reputation as do lies. Do not under-communicate your company’s emissions and negative environmental impacts or frame the fulfilment

Don’t just set up goals. Take immediate action

Announcing new sustainability initiatives is a different game to putting them in place, and the noise is even confusing for the experts. Make short-term, mid-term goals, and make a realistic plan to act upon them. The journey towards sustainable practices does not happen overnight.

To learn about the rest of the 10 principles to end greenwashing read more here .

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