Why Founders are afraid of being accused of Greenwashing, and how to protect your business from negative press coverage.

Undoubtedly there has been a huge amount of noise in the media regarding sustainability, although meaningful dialogue is still experiencing some poverty of language.

What hasn’t typically shifted the dial on consumer interest is PR activity from brands. While arguably progress has been made on topics such as diversity and feminism, brands have struggled to find a voice with sustainability — perhaps because of the uncomfortable tension in the relationship between overconsumption and environmental damage. Fundamentally, consumerism and sustainability are completely at odds with one another — the most sustainable thing to do is to not consume. The risk of “greenwashing” is enormous, if brand rhetoric gets ahead of actual progress, with some 40% of current green claims made by brands online possibly misleading — which makes the task of creating sustainably led communications like walking a tightrope. The very nature of sustainability as a business core, is subjective at best and combative at worst. Most recently, H&M, Zara and Uniqlo have all been accused of leading with a false narrative surrounding their sustainability efforts. Other early examples include; McDonald’s in 2009, who changed its logo to green in Europe to “clarify their responsibility for the preservation of natural resources”. However, the rebrand was not enough to persuade the skeptics. If the brand is ingrained in people’s minds as “unhealthy” and “wasteful” this is clearly not enough to convince them otherwise. Brands need to show real, long-term commitment to environmental causes and a logo change to green accompanied by empty promises just won’t do. The brand ran into another greenwashing scandal in 2019 when they replaced their plastic straws with a paper alternative. This created a huge media buzz, however, it quickly turned into bad publicity for the brand. As it turns out, the new paper straws were not actually recyclable. On top of that, the impact was minimal as straws only take up 0.025 % of total plastic waste in the ocean.

One of the main problems with the dialogue around sustainability, is that it is a confusing, flammable and tangled topic, that we have been presented with through media conjecture and extremism. There has been significant distortion with regards to the reality of what we can do day to day in our businesses and what the media has shown us is standard. Extinction Rebellion, chaining ourselves to high profile railings + flying the flag for disruptive activism, pressurises businesses into a social architecture that lands as performative rather than truly impactful. There is already considerable skepticism from discerning, largely Gen-Z consumers, in pursuit of truth + ready to flex their activism credentials, usually online, and loudly. Cause led brands are now inextricably linked to impact, and badges such as B Corp status sit neatly on the puffed chests of brands with activism sewn seamlessly into the fabric of their DNA. The watch out, for businesses in the next 5 years, is to find a way to manage what is achievable and realistic, with what the woke digital mob request that week as an acceptable level of commitment.

Greenwashing, also called “green sheen”, is a form of “marketing spin in which green PR and green marketing are deceptively used to persuade the public that an organization’s products, aims and policies are environmentally friendly.” The fundamental problem with trial by consumer definition, is that the language used is vague, and subsequently, it can be confusing for brands to know what the parameters within which they can operate, promote their value system and avoid being called out for greenwashing. In essence, it should be simple; don’t make false claims about your business and it’s integrity. But what if you’re a start up? What if your factory only lets you produce MVQ’s in products that have a percentage of plastic in? What if your postal bags are compostable, but the glue used on the envelopes is not? What if you use a factory that produces garments for other brands with less sustainable products? What if you went to see the factory by flying on an aeroplane? When does business efficiency and reality collide? Who decides that you are doing the best you can, and how do you avoid being caught out? We want businesses to effectively communicate their sustainability credentials, and such credentials ought really to be a prerequisite of any modern brand. But we are in danger of terrifying Founders into not starting at all. It goes without saying that large brands such as Patagonia has more options than an enthusiastic start up. Money equals choice. It also goes without saying that large brands earning more money, should be putting more back in — it’s a basic tax structure, earn more, pay more. For many start up Founders, it’s impossible to make all the good choices that we want to when we start out, because we don’t have time, money, resource + advice in abundance. In that case, how can we possibly deduce what we should be doing, in the face of so many confusing and conflicting statements + examples. The advice, is to choose one thing and do it well, but what are the practical steps?

What can be done about it?

• Be clear about what it is that you can do that is authentically impactful in. You need to make a discussion about your business and brand value system without bending it to the needs of all your employees.
• Communications experts need to commit to accurate reporting of statistics and sustainability efforts, and not be caught up in PR ‘spin’
• Reduce exaggerations in order to achieve headlines. Whilst most PR’s won’t let the truth get in the way of a good story, deliberately misleading consumers should be advised against.
• When applying for B Corp status, it’s about a lot more than just recycling + having a healthy supply chain. Great internal initiatives, thoughtful company culture + diverse hires should also be talked about.
• PR’s can encourage their clients to think about how they are working with other creative agencies, digital + advertising for example, suggesting inclusive marketing campaigns.
• While ambition is to be applauded, beware vague over claims in your messaging. Be specific and provable.
• You need to have the capacity to be able to defend your business in the commitments that you make.
• Speak to experts to help you know where to start.
• Be honest. Consumers seek truth and authenticity. It is imperative to be open and honest about efforts, failing, commitments and learnings, in order to start a dialogue, rather than a monologue.
• Pick you cause.
• Greenwashing is easily recognized by looking at a brand’s budget. 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.