What Is Greenwashing? How Does It Work?

This article, written by Karsten Neumeister,  was originally obtained from EcoWatch: Greenwashing in the Energy Industry? Here’s How to Spot It – EcoWatch. 

Words like “sustainable” and “eco-friendly” are everywhere — labels, ads, even oil companies’ environmental plans. Sometimes, those terms might refer to real action taken to protect the environment. But often, they’re eco-tinged marketing. And there’s a word for that: Greenwashing. 

Greenwashing is a term used to describe marketing schemes that make a product or service seem much more sustainable than it is in reality. In most cases, greenwashing is used to convince the public that a company has a positive ethical or environmental impact in order to appeal to human sensibilities. Greenwashing has become so normal that, often, companies will spend more money on marketing the sustainability of their products than making actual changes to their business.

Companies use greenwashing in a handful of ways:

• To deflect attention away from underlying unsustainable practices (...)

• To attract new eco-conscious customers or investments (...)

• To gain eco-friendly credibility in the public eye (...)

Greenwashing in Energy

As we transition away from a fossil-fuel economy, we’ll continue to see a steady stream of green energy products, plans and services entering the marketplace. Again, we’re moving in the right direction, but there can still be some misleading messaging and, although some cases may not be malicious, this messaging can ultimately hurt the reputation of renewable energy. In energy, specifically, greenwashing can sometimes take the form of:

• Exaggerated claims about carbon neutrality

• Solar companies distracting from the ethical ambiguities that accompany the resources needed to produce panels and batteries

• Electricity providers using energy offsetting as a tool to market themselves as “green”

• Misleading advertising tactics that use green color schemes and images

For more information and to read the whole article click on 

https://blog.donboscogreen.org/blog-articles/064-greenwashing-in-the-en…