Embracing sustainability in the global mobility industry can yield significant benefits, as environmentally conscious customers willingly invest extra resources in eco-friendly solutions. However, not all environmental claims hold the same weight. The prevalent practice of "greenwashing" often entices well-intentioned green consumers, as companies make bold proclamations about their commitment to sustainability, biodegradability, or environmental consciousness, only to fall short of fulfilling these promises.
Within the global mobility landscape, numerous brands flaunt their eco-friendly credentials, utilizing terms like nontoxic, plastic-free, zero waste, biodegradable, compostable, and recyclable. Yet, distinguishing the genuine meaning behind such claims and verifying a company’s actual environmental dedication becomes an arduous undertaking. Consumers within this industry face the challenge of discerning factual information from deceptive greenwashing campaigns, where companies mask disinformation as an environmental concern to market their offerings or improve their public image.
What Is Greenwashing?
Greenwashing occurs when a company or organization devotes greater resources to portraying itself as environmentally sustainable rather than genuinely reducing its ecological footprint. This deceptive marketing tactic aims to attract consumers who prioritize supporting businesses that actively contribute to the betterment of the planet.
“If you think about how much green claims have changed over the last decade, it’s so much more complex and sophisticated now," Stephanie Erwin, the vice president of strategy, impact, and people at the American Sustainable Business Network, recently told Business of Home.
Greenwashing can manifest as blatant falsehoods or deceptive manipulation of the truth. Environmentalist Jay Westerveld coined the term in 1986 when he exposed the irony of the “save the towel" movement in hotels. Despite promoting towel reuse as an eco-friendly measure, he noticed a lack of sustainable practices elsewhere in the hotels, suggesting that the primary motive was cost-cutting rather than genuine environmental concern.
“Greenwashing is [a practice] adopted by companies who want to be allied with a positive response from consumers by using a certain kind of language to describe their product," Alison Mears, director and co-founder of the Healthy Materials Lab at Parsons School of Design, recently told Business of Home.
Here is a classic example: Greenwashing can be found in a plastic package that holds a food storage container, falsely labeled as “recyclable." The ambiguity lies in whether the package itself or the food storage container can be recycled, creating a misleading impression. If any substantial portion of the package or its contents, excluding minor components, cannot be recycled, the label becomes deceptive.
Identifying other forms of greenwashing can be challenging. Consider the case of carbon offsets: To counterbalance their own emissions, certain companies allocate funds to initiatives like tree planting projects, aiming to absorb the carbon released into the atmosphere. Critics argue that relying on offsets allows companies to maintain their polluting practices under the guise of environmental responsibility.
Despite all the complexity around green practices, green business is in demand.
“Consumer demand for sustainability is almost insatiable," Ellis Jones, a sociologist who studies greenwashing at the College of the Holy Cross, explained to National Geographic magazine last year. “It’s good news. It means many consumers are wanting to do the right thing. The problem is they can’t always tell what the right thing is."
Although complicated, with the right training, anyone can identify and avoid greenwashing.
How Mobility Professionals Can Identify and Avoid Greenwashing
With an increasing number of companies capitalizing on sustainable marketing, governments are stepping up their efforts to safeguard consumers.
Consumer protection laws exist to shield individuals from deceptive practices, and the Federal Trade Commission’s Green Guides impose accountability on businesses that breach environmental marketing standards.
To help consumers discern between genuine green products and greenwashed ones, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is targeting greenwashing by corporations with updated “Green Guides," aiming to strengthen its legal stance against deceptive marketing on sustainability and environmental responsibility. But the issue of greenwashing is not confined to the United States; it is a global concern. Recently, the European Union has expressed its intention to address this issue, highlighting the need for concerted efforts to combat this deceptive practice.
Here are some red flags to look for when it comes to greenwashing:
- Beware of “fluffy language," which includes vague terms like “eco-friendly" or “produced sustainably" that lack clear meaning. These environmental buzzwords have no legal significance and provide little insight into a company’s actual sustainability practices. They aim to persuade customers of a product’s benefits while remaining subjective and unregulated.
- When evaluating companies, their services, and products, it is important to view certifications as a starting point and seek multiple accreditations. Although it requires additional time, taking a moment to investigate brand claims allows you to prioritize quality over quantity. By adopting a smarter and less frequent shopping approach, you can select fewer, high-quality items that will endure. While not infallible, certifications from reputable third parties such as USDA Organic, B Corp Certification, and Fair Trade can instill consumer confidence in a product’s environmental claims.
- To aid in your quest for sustainable brands and to avoid those that merely claim sustainability, utilize online tools and search engines like Project Cece and Ethical Made Easy. Additionally, Green America offers a database of businesses certified as environmentally and socially responsible. These resources can assist you in making informed choices aligned with your values.
By being able to identify greenwashing, professionals in the global mobility industry can protect their clients and themselves from misleading claims, ensure responsible business practices, and contribute to the larger effort of combating deceptive practices on a global scale.
Understanding Greenwashing Is Important for the Global Mobility Industry
Understanding the mechanisms of greenwashing is a crucial tool for global mobility professionals to avoid supporting companies that make false claims. Deceptive practices like greenwashing not only mislead genuine investors and eco-conscious consumers in their pursuit of environmentally friendly products and businesses, but they can also lead to overpricing.
Over time, the prevalence of greenwashing erodes consumer trust, causing skepticism toward all environmental claims, even the ones that are valid and legitimate. Moreover, greenwashing provides an unfair advantage to certain companies, making it harder for those truly committed to sustainability to stand out in the crowded marketplace.
By accurately identifying greenwashing, professionals in the industry can advocate for transparency and hold companies accountable for their environmental impact, promoting a truly sustainable approach to global mobility. Understanding greenwashing empowers professionals to make informed decisions, contribute to the fight against deceptive practices, and drive positive change in the industry.
To learn more about the basics of sustainability, how it is affecting the global mobility industry, and what to consider with your own organization, read Worldwide ERC®’s sustainability guide for global mobility professionals. If you’d like to learn how chief human resources officers and senior HR leaders are implementing their organizations' sustainability goals, read Worldwide ERC®’s sustainability research.