More and more businesses are taking measures to limit their impact on the environment. By doing so, they are not only doing their part to fight climate change, they are also reaping significant benefits, such as greater customer attractiveness, improved brand value, and the ability to attract and retain employees more easily.
These advantages therefore encourage businesses to exploit them, which can lead them to make Greenwashing 😱, that is, to disseminate erroneous information to give yourself an environmentally friendly public image and obtain the associated rewards.
Is a company that does greenwashing have bad intentions? Unfortunately, it's not that easy. Greenwashing is not always voluntary. Corporate sustainability is a rapidly evolving field, and the rules of the game are constantly changing. Even the best intentioned companies can unwittingly find themselves in a greenwashing situation.
Regardless of their intentions, companies that practice greenwashing face three risks:
| # | Risk |
|---|---|
| 1 | Reputational risk, such as brand damage |
| 2 | Financial risk, for example in the form of government fines. |
| 3 | Legal risk, such as exposure to legal proceedings |
Greenwashing also represents a risk for society and for the environmental transition because:
| # | Impact on society |
|---|---|
| 1 | Greenwashing delays the realization of the reality of the efforts to be made. |
| 2 | Greenwashing prevents companies that are genuinely committed from standing out. |
| 3 | Greenwashing undermines trust in societies and hampers behavioral changes. |
You have implemented a CSR strategy (congratulations!) , and want to start communicating about it?
Alright, but you should know that communicating about your commitments is easier said than done. It is the transparency and reliability of the information that will make the difference.
Here we explain how to adopt open, explicit and factual communication that will allow you not to fall into the trap of exaggeration and thus avoid being accused of Greenwashing, even if unintentional.
1 - Communicate on numerical, concrete and specific data
Even if you have not yet reached your goals or if your results do not seem profitable to you, always prefer to use concrete data and/or figures that you have achieved, rather than established marketing styles (for example “environmental-friendly”), fuzzy language and images with vague claims. Combining numbers with promises or sharing data to support information helps to clarify progress for stakeholders.
Is that not entirely clear? Here are two examples of communication:
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The main difference between these two examples is whether or not concrete data on company activities are shared.
| Example | Description |
|---|---|
| First example | In the first example, progress is illustrated by comparing data between two periods, highlighting years of achievements and reduction percentages. |
| Second set of examples | Conversely, the second set of examples (cliches, but yet very true) consists mainly of buzzwords, with no supporting evidence. |
Credible ESG communication must be based on facts, which you must be able to share with your stakeholders to justify your words. The best way to have this data is to set up ESG reporting.
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2 - Use quality and verified data
Let's say you want to communicate about efforts to reduce your waste production, or about the valorization of the waste produced.
Do you know how these rates were calculated? Have you made sure that you are not using terms like “zero waste” when you only cover 12% of all waste?
The quality and reliability of the information you provide is crucial. Review how they were calculated, the sources you rely on to collect them (especially if they come from third parties), or the units in which they are displayed.
You do not need to share all the details of your calculations with your audience, but you must be able to provide them if they are ever requested (in addition to having them available for your own management).
3 - Focus on transparency
Transparency is essential, not only with respect to your customers, but also internally, especially between the marketing/communication team and other departments. Indeed, marketing and communication teams are often far from more operational departments such as production and supply chain, and can communicate erroneous information due to a lack of information. A reporting tool, shared within the company, can greatly contribute to the prevention of such errors, in particular by allowing those who develop the messages to ensure their accuracy and to fully understand the impacts of the business.
4 -In case of doubt, wait and analyze
We are in a period of climate emergency, but if there is an urgent need for action, there is no harm in waiting to communicate about your efforts in case of doubt. Indeed, if you are not sure that an assertion in your communication is not greenwashing, do not use it. Wait until you have more information, more evidence, concrete data or much more time to be able to make a comparison.
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