With COP28 dominating the headlines, and many talks and sustainability related stories appearing, it is important to stay vigilant of the agendas of these world-stage events.
All the pomp and circus, chest puffing and ‘oh look at what we’re doing, aren’t we clever’, I feel it is imperative that the general public stays somewhat grounded in all of this. To look at what is really being actioned by governments and businesses alike.
To that end, I feel like sharing the different shades of greenwash might be useful at this time.
What is greenwashing?
Greenwashing covers a range of sub-terms, all of which, whether intended or not, divert attention from bad environmental practices. Below I go into more detail about each sub-term of greenwashing.
What is Greencrowding?
Relying on safety in numbers and the fact that a crowd will move at the speed of the slowest. Case in point with COP28, and all COPs, governments, organisations, and companies are afraid to push too far away from what everyone else is doing. They set lower than required targets, and even then, don’t meet them. They do this because they are in a large crowd of others, they can hide in plain sight.
What is Greenlighting?
Spotlighting something green–to draw attention away from more unsustainable practices, operations, or products. Another example at COP might be the UK government stating they have much bigger targets in place than other EU countries, whilst they have been systematically pushing back many targets over the past year, such as the ban on new gas boilers or the sale of ICE vehicles.
What is Greenlabeling?
Marketing something as sustainable, when on closer inspection this is often not the case. Misleading consumers. A recent story making the headlines that could be considered is the first transatlantic flight using ‘sustainable’ aviation fuel. Whats missing from this information is what makes it sustainable. For example, how much land and water would need to be used to harvest enough monocrop material to roll this out for all flights.
What is Greenshifting?
Implying that a consumer is at fault, shifting the blame from government, organisation, or company onto the consumer and their decisions. BP’s “Know your carbon footprint” campaign is a key example. The campaign invited customers to share pledges for reducing their individual emissions, whilst BP’s core business continues in oil and gas.
What is Greenhushing?
Under-reporting, hiding, or not sharing sustainability credentials and measurements to evade scrutiny from investors and customers. I see this all too often. Businesses are now scared to share their carbon footprints, even if they have some well laid plans for reduction because they are afraid they will lose customers based on those less than perfect figures. Ever more so customers are becoming aware of this, and while you may lose a few, honesty and progress are far better than hiding away the facts. The truth will out in the end.
What is Greenrinsing?
Regularly changing environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets before they are met. This is very devious. This shows not only a lack of progress, but a clear knowledge in that fact and a cover up to make people think they are progressing and meeting targets regularly. The biggest plastic producer out there, Coca-Cola, has repeatedly missed and moved its recycling targets. Between 2020 – 2022, the company dropped its targets for using recycled packaging from 50% by 2030 to 25%.
I hope this article has shed some light into the current situation of half-truths and lies real people are putting out into the world. It is a very tough market, and now that there are new laws and legislations coming into place, (at least in the EU) I have hope that some of these tactics will slow down and cease to be.
We need the truth. We need compassion, honesty and trust. We need to be human. We need to work together to overcome these challenges if we are to make it through this alive. It’s as simple (and complicated) as that.