Every day, people are becoming increasingly aware of their role in society and the need to protect and care for the environment. It’s a conscious and radical shift that allows no delays or hesitations.

This has led some companies, whose economic activities affect the environment and health, to significantly reduce their consumption levels and therefore choose more responsible, environmentally and socially friendly options. Consequently, organizations are seeking different strategies to inform consumers about the organization’s values and social responsibility.

However, some still actively follow trends and attempt to create intimate relationships with end-users, thus distorting information that was not actually implemented or has already been implemented. It’s not an entirely positive environmental practice.

This is called “Greenwashing or green space”.

What is Greenwashing?

According to Greenpeace, greenwashing is the practice of confusing consumers about a company’s environmental moves or the environmental benefits of a product or service. It’s a marketing tactic used by some companies to show their audience that they are a responsible organization committed to the environment.

How to identify a company engaging in greenwashing?

• Lack of evidence: the communication lacks datato demonstrate that the product is environmentally friendly.

• The hidden message: a product is advertised as eco-friendly or environmentally respectful, but some aspects that may be important and have a different impact on the environment are neglected.

• There is imprecision: the quality definition given to the product is scarce or can be misinterpreted. This is the case with products labeled as “natural,” which does not guarantee that the product is truly sustainable.

• The use of false labels: these products give the false impression that they have been approved by a third-party sustainability certificate, using suggestive images or text that do not completely guarantee that the product is sustainable.

• Non-compliance: an organization’s claims about its environmental practices aim to gain consumer trust, even if those practices are illegal and therefore cannot be practiced by any other company.

• Lying: a product falsely claims to be certified according to a standard or makes false claims. And those who support actions that are not implemented.

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Most notorious cases of companies engaged in greenwashing.

In recent years, we have witnessed a relentless increase in corporate eco-messages, but this does not always correspond to reality.

For example, in 2019, McDonald’s began selling paper straws that actually cannot be recycled.

In the textile sector, H&M and Decathlon recently announced that they would review their “ecodesign” brands after failing to demonstrate why their clothing was organic.

On the other hand, “Ryanair” changed its flight segments in 2020 and declared itself “Europe’s least emitting airline,” but no data backed up this sustainability claim.

Its impact on consumers

This practice impacts different areas and sectors in various ways, not only in environmental issues but also in terms of consumer loyalty loss.

Environmental issues: the company has not taken any measures to improve protection and be respectful of the environment. Furthermore, they hide their negative effects through practices that are nothing more than smoke screens.

Deceiving consumers: “greenwashing” companies sell consumer goods that they don’t own.

Public mistrust and dissatisfaction: when “greenwashing” incidents are discovered, consumers lose trust in their products. Not only do leading companies get punished this mistrust also extends to other companies in the sector. Consumers prefer companies that make a genuine effort to protect the environment and reduce their negative impact.

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Is there any other type of “Washing”?

Social Washing

Just as today’s consumers care about the environment, they also care about social issues, so many prefer to buy products from companies that contribute to society.

To meet the needs of these consumers, companies opt for practices similar to “greenwashing”, but focus on expressing concern for the well-being and current issues of society.

This is called “social cleansing”. Companies practicing this type of “greenwashing” include social and current issues in their communications, even though they do not undertake any projects that directly benefit these communities.

For example, some brands carry out marketing campaigns promoting LGBTI community values and actions against climate change to demonstrate that they are an empathetic brand. For consumers, it may be difficult to determine if an activity is carried out for commercial purposes or if it is genuinely carried out for social purposes.

When a false commitment to the values and rights of the LGBTIQ+ community is made, we call it Pinkwashing.

Some practices that demonstrate that a brand is engaged in social cleansing:

• The brand is committed to social issues, but its actions lack direction and a clear action plan.

• Insufficient traceability and low transparency. They don’t show the impact of social programs.

• Perpetuates racist behavior within their teams and rejects inclusion and diversity that unpopular members of society can offer.

• What they communicate externally has no relation to internal practice. They do not provide favorable conditions for employees.

• Concern for social issues is reflected solely in the implementation of the marketing campaign; it is not constant.

Health Washing:

Another form of deceptive advertising is “health washing,” a term used to describe companies that position themselves as promoters of health campaigns. But behind these behaviors are practices that promote unhealthy eating.

The easiest way to know if a company is engaging in this type of practice is through labeling, so you should be suspicious if the product contains the following words:

• Low fat.

• Low calorie.

• Low sodium.

• Sugar-free.

• Cholesterol-free.

• Dairy-free.

• Free of dyes.

• 100% natural.

• Source of fiber.

• Source of omega-3.

• Gluten-free.

How to avoid Greenwashing?

That is why the best way to avoid this type of action is to carefully read the ingredients of the selected product, ignore the above labels, and understand that natural and organic do not always mean healthy.

Some organizations avoid communicating about their ESG work for fear of being accused of “greenwashing.” To avoid these allegations, marketing specialists must be careful if they promote sustainability efforts that only slightly reduce the environmental impact of their organization.

Below are some steps that companies can take to avoid greenwashing:

1. Increase transparency of environmental behavior

One way to implement this action is to promote voluntary disclosure of environmental behavior. This is because many countries do not have the authority to promote such internal or external analysis.

2. Be honest in communication

When deciding to publicly report environmental results, it is critical that these publications be honest, truthful, and reflect the true goals of the organization. Results that have not yet been achieved should not be communicated, nor should statements of action that are too ambitious.

When communicating environmental actions, it is essential to prioritize transparency in terms of goals, timelines, and expected results. This will prevent misunderstandings about the reality of the company’s environmental commitments and, therefore, be classified as a “greenwashing company”.

Before communicating, companies should carefully see how quickly their organization can reach their environmental goals. When developing communication objectives, managers should consider that companies tend to have a natural tendency to overestimate and communicate the likelihood of positive events that have not yet materialized.

3. Promote and improve knowledge about greenwashing

For educational purposes, it is essential to gather information about greenwashing incidents and share them with company employees. It is crucial to analyze these cases and prevent them from being repeated. At the same time, it also allows employees to understand specific cases of greenwashing and see the severity of such behavior.

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4. Improve messages related to environmental communication decisions

Often greenwashing occurs due to poor communication between different departments of the company. This happens, for example, when the marketing strategy department receives a message, but cannot accurately convey the results.

Effective internal communication in the company can reduce the risk of greenwashing. Creating a culture of open communication and cooperation among employees and departments also helps effective communication within the company.

Another way to avoid “greenwashing” is certification according to voluntary environmental standards, such as ISO 14001 or the certificate awarded by System B. These certifications are accompanied by an external audit process that ensures that the company’s objectives and activities are realistically achievable. 

On the other hand, it will consolidate the process of exchanging information between departments to avoid ambiguities and errors in the communication of these activities.

5. Provide ethical leadership and training spaces for employees

Companies that operate according to high ethical standards are less likely to engage in greenwashing than companies that do not. Managers can try to create an ethical climate in the company. 

This can be achieved through ethics training or courses designed to educate employees about the risks that greenwashing can pose to the company. In addition, a code of ethics and clear corporate standards can be documented to reduce the likelihood of unethical behavior.

6. Employee motivation

Another mechanism to reduce the risk of greenwashing is to reward employees who identify allegations of greenwashing both inside and outside the organization. They can also strongly reject projects with clear cases of greenwashing.

This can encourage employees to reduce their tendency to make biased decisions that can lead to “greenwashing”.