In the UK today, concern over climate change and the environmental impact of a modern consumer economy is at an all-time high. Companies are changing their processes to become more sustainable and environmentally conscious as a result of public pressure and increased government oversight.
Many marketing campaigns are now focused on highlighting businesses’ commitments to protecting the environment. Worryingly, some companies are exaggerating their environmental and sustainability efforts. In fact, firms that spend the most time marketing their environmental performance often have the worst environmental reputations and do the most harm to the environment.
Misleading information, whereby businesses exaggerate or lie about their green accomplishments to improve their public perception is called greenwashing. Greenwashing can cause environmental and social harm.
This article will look at three sectors where greenwashing is most prevalent
Fashion
The fashion industry has become one of the worst contributors to global climate change.
In the UK, 300,000 tonnes of clothing is burned or buried in landfill each year, according to a 2019 UK Parliament report; globally, the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of emissions, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
The major cause of environmental damage in the fashion industry is the growth of fast fashion, whereby clothing products are designed and manufactured at minimal costs using cheap materials from across the world, then imported into Britain where they are sold at a low cost and worn only a few times before being disposed of.
Public concern over the fashion industry has grown and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) estimates that 60% of UK consumers are willing to spend more for environmentally friendly clothing products.
Fashion brands in the UK have responded by advertising their increased sustainability efforts and launching alternative sustainable collections for environmentally conscious consumers. However, a 2021 report by the Changing Markets Foundation found that of the 39% of UK clothing products that have green claims, 59% broke the CMA Green Claim Codes.
Some of the worst offenders include clothing retailers H&M and ASOS, whose ‘green’ products broke the CMA’s guidelines 96% and 89% of the time respectively.
This blatant greenwashing by fashion brands has led to the CMA launching a compliance review of environmental claims in the UK fashion sector in January 2022, threatening to name and fine any businesses that break consumer protection law.
Food and drink
Greenwashing is also prevalent in the food and drink industry. Many food and drink manufacturers have made efforts to reduce their environmental impact and promote their increased sustainability to consumers. For example, many businesses in the Coffee Processing industry have advertised their efforts to reduce deforestation and sustainable farming methods due to their poor environmental reputation.
However, firms often overstate these benefits while ignoring other causes of environmental damage. Greenwashing in the food manufacturing sector clouds the true carbon footprint of products through the whole supply chain. Often operators focus on one section of the production process to highlight environmental benefits.
For example, Quorn Foods was forced to stop a marketing campaign for its Thai Wonder Grains lunch pot, which it claimed helped it reduce its carbon footprint, as the product used single-use plastics, one of the largest sources of waste in the UK.
The complicated nature of food supply chains and lack of information can make if difficult for consumers to make informed decisions. As a result, in October 2021, the Environmental Agency began the process of standardising environmental performance metrics in the food and drink sector.
This project is hoped to benefit consumers by making it easier to make environmentally conscious choices through a standardised system, as well as allowing an easier method for sustainable businesses to promote their environmental efforts and is due to be completed later in 2022.
Energy
Some of the most egregious greenwashing is done in the energy industry.
Multinational energy companies are the source of 89% of the world CO2 emissions, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The use of renewable energy is becoming increasingly popular with both the public and governments worldwide in an effort to reduce carbon emissions. In response, energy companies have promoted their investments into renewable energy sources.
However, in 2019, energy firm BP was forced to withdraw its global ‘Keep Advancing’ and ‘Possibilities Everywhere’ marketing campaigns following a complaint by environmental charity ClientEarth. The campaigns claimed BP was working to make energy cleaner and focused on the firm’s low-carbon products; however, at the same time 96% of BP’s annual spending was on oil and gas.
The UK energy production industry is also subject to greenwashing and in December 2021, Ofgem published a list of 20 energy suppliers that overstated their share of renewable energy supply. Untrustworthy reporting can deceive consumers into thinking they are buying energy from renewable sources when in reality they are contributing to CO2 emissions. This reduces the public’s ability to contribute to environmental protection efforts, regardless of willingness.
Businesses are also able to take advantage of this, as many consumers are willing to pay a premium for more sustainable energy sources. In August 2021, the government launched a review of ‘green’ electricity tariffs in an effort to curb greenwashing in the energy retailing market, though the results are yet to be published.
Clamping down
Corporate greenwashing has a number of harmful consequences, both environmentally and socially. Misinformation can mislead people to act unsustainably, despite their efforts to contribute to environmental protection efforts, and can reduce public trust in environmental causes.
Greenwashing also damages businesses that make real efforts in green initiatives, as corner-cutting competitors are able to underwrite them by using cheaper unsustainable methods while still benefiting from an outward reputation of being an environmentally friendly company. This slows innovation in new green technologies and lengthens national sustainability goals.
The government is set to clamp down on false advertising following CMA advice published in March 2022, which included recommending that the government pass new legislation to ban misleading and unsubstantiated environmental claims. Mandatory climate-related financial disclosures are already set to be rolled out through 2025 and are expected to increase transparency in corporate sustainability efforts, making it harder for business to mislead in marketing campaigns.
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