How to Avoid Greenwashing

Nowadays, it should be a given that goals around improving a company's environmental impact are central to its strategy. Customers expect it and look for suppliers who can offer this to meet their own goals, improving their supply chain and in turn, their reputation to the market.

Greenwashing describes misleading claims that a company shares through its marketing messaging, to claim that its environmental impact is better than it actually is. The reason is to gain competitive advantage but ultimately the outcome will be damage to the brand and legal ramifications.

Not all companies who greenwash are even aware that they have fallen into this category - it could be that they are genuinely trying to convey their good intentions to the market, but in doing so, create the opposite effect. The way to avoid this is to make sure your goals and messaging are transparent:

Substantiate any claims that you make - use facts and figures to support your statements. Any reports or documents that you can add to your website or share with your audience will ensure that you can back up what your messaging is saying and that they are easily able to access and research or work that you have carried out to be able to make these claims.

Be clear with the terminology that you use - include a glossary of terms on your website to ensure what you're saying is clear. The words and phrases used within this subject can be confusing and even conflicting. If you can clarify exactly what you mean when you use them, this will help to support your messaging.

Review your supply chain - do they have the same ethos as your brand? Don't get tripped up by their actions and claims, which are associated with yours. Not only is this important from a quality of supply point of view, but also from a branding perspective. If you are working with a company who do not uphold the same values as you, this could have negative ramifications for your reputation.

Ensuring that the above is considered and carried out is vital. However, don't be too cautious around your messaging that you fall into the 'greenhushing' category - actively avoiding talking about your environmental strategies, for fear that you'll greenwash. This will suggest to your customers and the market that you, in fact, don’t have a strategy and that you're not considering your impact on the environment, which can be equally damaging to your brand.

In conclusion, shout about all the great activities that you're doing and objectives that you have in a transparent and clear way. Don't be afraid to talk about any goals you may not have reached yet - it is important in this scenario to explain why not and what you're doing to rectify them. Honesty is key and will lead to a strengthened position in the market from a trust and integrity standpoint.

For further information and advice about how to position your messaging, get in touch below.