As Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) topics continue to be important discussions for companies, leaders, and boards alike, another term is making its way into the business arena – greenwashing. As companies turn their focus to more sustainable and community-minded practices, positive public relations comes into play, acknowledging the incredible work and effort invested into ESG initiatives. It is inspiring to see large corporations and billionaires like Patagonia Founder, Yvon Chouinard, commit action towards making the world a better place. Some businesses have found, however, that creating the appearance of sustainability is enough to see consumers and stakeholders buy-in, which is known as “greenwashing”.

What is Greenwashing?

Greenwashing is the manner of creating the perception that businesses are more sustainable than they appear. Often conducted through ambiguous messaging, misrepresentative public relations or even simply applying the color green to have packaging appear attuned to environmental care, this is an occasional practice by some businesses to attract the sustainability and eco-conscious market and profit through this with little to no action being taken on the ESG front. Take our examples below.

Nestlé

In recent years, Nestlé announced a commitment that by 2025, 100% of their packaging would be reusable or recyclable. It was quickly acknowledged by critics, environmental groups and even Greenpeace that the company had not released a clear plan or timeline of how this would be achieved. Nestlé’s position as one of the world’s top polluters for many consecutive years also stood out as a talking point. Greenpeace referred to Nestlé’s update as “more of the same greenwashing baby steps to tackle a crisis it helped to create,” and that it would not likely drive change in any meaningful way. Nestlé’s aim to eliminate waste also included burning it, creating toxins that harm wildlife, people’s health, and the environment in the process.

Coca Cola

As another of the world’s top consecutive polluters each year, Coca-Cola has come under fire several times, one of which was regarding their usage of adorable polar bears in advertising despite how the polar bear species’ habitats have been impacted by climate change and pollution. Another example was Coca-Cola’s commitment to a healthier, eco-conscious product called “Coca Cola Life” in 2013, in which they applied a green aesthetic to a plastic bottle.

How Greenwashing negatively impacts your brand

Being dishonest about any business practice is enough to cause a PR nightmare but being dishonest about ESG and sustainability is especially grating, considering how these are rooted in good for our communities and those who are part of it. This can also create skepticism towards brands and companies that are doing an excellent job in ESG and sustainability, which is unfortunate. When companies are honest about their sustainability practices, this goes a long way. This can include work being done and even acknowledgement that there is progress and more work to be done, as we saw with Microsoft’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.

How to avoid Greenwashing

• Data, data, and more data – Back up any claims you have and ensure you are transparent, factual, and not dissuading the public

• Be honest about your practices – Share transparently what has happened, what is happening and what should happen will reduce the likelihood of Greenwashing

• Awareness of all business operations – Be aware of how your operations play into ESG. Promoting an environmentally conscious product while polluting or negatively impacting sustainability in other business divisions is not a good look

• Green imagery – If you are tying green in with environmentally friendly messaging, this can create a misleading correlation between a product and sustainability – be mindful of your facts and practices and how you position them