As climate change becomes a key focus for B2B businesses across the UK and around the world, we’ve seen a big uptick in clients looking for help communicating their sustainability goals to their customers. And the more we navigate this subject area, the more we recognise – it really isn’t easy being green.
We sat down with one of our copywriters, Evelyn Chapman, to discuss what it means to ‘greenwash’ and how businesses can promote their sustainable agendas in as responsible a way as possible.
Sustainability – a green wave or a black hole?
Not even a decade ago, sustainability was still a relatively niche topic, seen as impractical and naive – especially in the corporate world. Now, companies are under increased scrutiny for their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategies, and sustainability has become a key corporate goal.
Because it’s tangled in policy, governance, science, economics and business, sustainability is a complex landscape with various shades of green. Claims like ‘eco-friendly’, ‘carbon neutral’ and ‘net zero’ carry a lot of weight with consumers and business customers alike, but who’s regulating these terms? The short answer is no one – and this ambiguity and lack of oversight has given way to a lot of what’s called ‘greenwashing’.
What is greenwashing?
Greenwashing is when a company presents itself as more environmentally responsible than it really is, typically by exaggerating or falsifying its green claims. And because there’s so much ambiguity, it’s all too easy to fall into greenwashing without even realising it.
This may feel like a fairly recent trend, but one of the most well-known examples of greenwashing comes from the 1980s, when Volkswagen was cheating their emissions tests and marketing their cars as eco-friendly. They were eventually exposed by the EPA who found that their engines were emitting nitrogen oxide pollutants up to 40 times over the allowed limit in the US.
And this is what makes greenwashing so dangerous – unintentional or not. False or misleading ‘green claims’ can lead to real, negative environmental impact in a time when the stakes couldn’t be higher.
"Research shows that 40% of green claims online could be misleading."
That’s why the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) released the Green Claims Code. This aims to crack down on greenwashing and provide businesses with guidance on how to communicate their green credentials as honestly and transparently as possible.
The Green Claims Code
The CMA’s Green Claims Code aims to dispel the green sheen that has, with its false labels and fluffy language, made it impossible to discern between genuine sustainability and misdirected assurances.
What are ‘green claims’?
Green claims suggest that a product, service or brand is better for the planet than an alternative. As everyone looks for ways to reduce their environmental impact, promoting green claims can be a big win for companies. And that’s why it’s so important that they’re as accurate as possible.
The Code outlines six key principles for communicating your green credentials:
- Claims must be truthful and accurate
- Claims must be clear and unambiguous
- Claims must not omit or hide the important relevant information
- Comparisons must be fair and meaningful
- Claims must consider the full lifecycle of the product or service
- Claims must be substantiated
How to rise above greenwashing
In this highly competitive arena, you don’t just want your messaging to be truthful – you want it to be effective. You want it to stand out from the sea of green and build credibility for your brand. But this isn’t easy – and we should know.
At Proctors, we’ve been on a journey – to improve our own sustainability and to help our clients communicate their progress. We’ve made it our goal to deviate from the standard clichés and find fresh, creative ways to represent green credentials in a clear, responsible way.
We’ve learned a lot along the way – and the more knowledgeable we become, the more important this is to us. That’s why we’ve created a Sustainability Marketing Guide with everything you need to know about greenwashing, the Green Claims Code, and tips on how to make the most of your green claims.
Register to receive our free e-book and get our insider’s tips and tricks on crafting effective green campaigns.
Top-tips on how to become a website developing pro.
We spent some time asking our experts in design, UX, copywriting and technology what their top tips would be for building a website that converts prospects to paying customers.
From how important design is and the placing of your content to how fast you could lose the attention of a user, this series of YouTube shorts tells you all you need to know.
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