Greenwashing

GREENWASHING

Psalm 119:66a …”Teach me good discernment and knowledge….”

We should all want to know the truth about industries’ decisions which negatively impact our climate and world. We will then be better able to make better choices in our lives.

Greenwashing

This information is from Green America (No, I am not greenwashing you), and also from Natural Resource Council (NRDC)

Have you been greenwashed before? Do you even know what it is? I was talking to a friend about this new blog and asked her if she knew what it is. She thought it might be something environmentally friendly. So we hope to give you more information about greenwashing. It would also be great if you shared some of your own stories about greenwashing.

The following is from Green America.

What is greenwashing and some examples.

Nike is “moving to zero”. Delta Airlines is “carbon neutral”. Shell is using renewable fuels. At least that is what they say. These are some of the corporations under investigation by the EPA for falsely labeling products as sustainable.

Greenwashing is defined as any misleading advertising labeling an item or action as sustainable. The companies most likely to greenwash are often linked to fossil fuel industries. BP briefly rebranded as “Beyond Petroleum” and added solar panels to its gas stations. Behind the scenes, it spent 96% of its annual capital expenditures on oil and gas. BP was later sued for greenwashing.

Sometimes companies are greenwishing – which is well intentioned thinking that the company is moving forward on greener practices., For example, while a company may think it’s supporting the expansion of wind or solar power by purchasing unbundled renewable energy credits, the credits aren’t adding new renewable energy to the grid.

Spotting Greenwashing in Action

Corporations greenwash with false or questionable certifications, product labels, or press releases and commercials. Vague promises of plant-based or eco-friendly products are widespread.

Research from  UK think tank The Behavioral Insight Team, from 2021 found that 57% of survey respondents believed greenwashed claims about a company’s eco-practices. The research also showed that the more concerned consumers are about the environment, the more likely they are to believe greenwashing claims. One of the most common forms of greenwashing is describing a product as “all natural”. Per the founder of Going Beyond Sustainability, when big companies use scientific words like “carbon-neutral” and “net zero emissions” it’s difficult to know if it is truly green, green-wishing or greenwashing.

Some trusted certifications are USDA Organic, Non-GMO Project, Rainforest Alliance, Environmental Working Group (EWG) verified and Green America’s own certified Green Business. To read more go to greenamerica.org/greenwashed-or-sustainable.

From NRDC – It states in 1979 Exxon admitted that “the present trends of fossil fuel combustion will lead to dramatic world climate changes within the next 75 years”. Exxon and its peers have marketed and lobbied to convince lawmakers and the public that the science behind climate change is not certain.

Also the oil giants have actively deceived the public about their commitment to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. Internal documents reveal that BP said “no one is committed to anything other than staying in the game”.

There is also the industry’s effort to portray climate busting methane gas (a.k.a. “natural gas”) as a “friend to renewables”. There is also the millions of dollars that the oil giants have powered into the academic research programs.

Another industry that does greenwashing is the plastic industry (the fossil fuel industry). I have often read that making more plastic is plan B for them since plastic is made from fossil fuels. One of the ways they can greenwash us is telling us how much plastic is being recycled. I was thinking I would like to share something about this but needed more information. I went looking for more such as in my old Sojourners issues because I had an article about this subject in their older issues. I couldn’t find the article, but when I turned my computer on soon after, there was an email from an organization called U.S. PIRG. How lucky was this? Or something else?

Here is what U.S. PIRG* said:

*(Public Interest Research Group [PIRG] is a federation of U.S. and Canadian non-profit organizations that employ grassroots organizing and direct advocacy on issues such as consumer protection, public health, and transportation)

Misleading tricks by the plastic industry

1. Recycling – These industries knew from the start that most of their products weren’t being recycled. For the most part they weren’t designed to be recycled. The plastic industry chose to spread misinformation about recycling’s effectiveness for more than 30 yrs. Less than 5% of plastics are recycled into new products.

2. The fossil fuel industry has claimed so-called “chemical recycling” would seriously increase recycling rates. But this term just hides where the plastic is going – the incinerator. They want to burn plastic, transforming it into toxic fumes. As little as 1-14% of plastic sent to “chemical recycling” plants is actually turned into new products. Instead, plastic processed by these plants is being burned for energy and fuel, sometimes producing more pollution than the original plastic did.

We can’t do the right thing if the plastic industry is putting recycling labels on items that are almost guaranteed to end up in a landfill per U.S. PIRG.

There are also Buzz Words, states Green America, that may also be used to greenwash. Vague claims are often accompanied by idyllic images, such as a pristine lake or fresh flowers, which can lull people into a sense of eco-friendliness, even if the pictures have nothing to do with the snack or laundry detergent. Savvy consumers should become familiar with popular buzzwords.

1. Biodegradable or compostable

Biodegradable is great but can also cause problems: chemically treated items like wood and paper products can become toxic in the process of being broken down. Instead of buying items that are labeled biodegradable, look for Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) certifications. Many items marked as compostable are only compostable in industrial composting facilities (like “compostable” bioplastics). Other compostables can take hundreds of years to decompose in environments like the oceans and landfills. Learn more at “Breaking Down Barriers to Composting” at greenamerica.org/composting-barriers

2. Carbon-Neutral.

Carbon Neutral does not mean emissions-free but that a company is reducing its emissions until it gets to the point where its emission output is equal to its emissions. Until it reaches that goal it may be buying carbon offsets to make up the difference. While carbon offsets are better than ignoring the problem, they don’t always result in forward momentum in battling the climate crisis – they simply claim to cancel out damage that’s already happening or done. Many carbon offset projects are based on planting trees that may never be planted.

While a plan for carbon neutrality is still more than many companies are doing, net zero emissions is the next further step which accounts for all green-house emissions from a company ,not just carbon.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst’s top 100 Polluters indexes can provide more context for how company emissions rank, as well as acquainting yourself with carbon scope – classification system to label a company’s greenhouse gas emissions.

3. Eco-Friendly or Sustainable

Since neither of these terms is regulated, they can lead to gray areas or straight-up greenwashing. Instead of taking the words at face value, investigate the packaging, website, or social media to look for sustainability pages and victories.

There are many certifications that are trustworthy when looking for products that are truly eco-friendly and sustainable. Green Business Network certification covers businesses across 30+ industries. Other labels to look for that have third party certification are GBN, USDA Organic, Leaping Bunny, B-Corp, Environmental Working Group, Green Guard GOTS, Fair Trade certified. Each industry, such as food or textiles, has its own certifications.

4. Ethical

Reading the word “ethical” is an instant signal to pull out the magnifying glass and investigate the company further.

Finding a Fair Trade certification on the product’s label or website is a great sign. This is not the only way to think about or verify ethical behavior. Does the company work in good faith with employees, unions, have sustainability and workers rights reports on its website?

You can even check on your EGS funds (Environment, Social Justice, Government funds) by going to As You Sow, Invest Your Values website (as you sow.org/invest-your values). If you want to dig deeper into this, see me (Carol). I can show the article that explains much further.

Hopefully this explains more about greenwashing and what clues to look for to spot it.

On a rather sobering note, the New York Times reported, January 20, 2025, that some corporations are leaving even the attempts at “greenwashing”, because of the current political climate:

…….. America’s largest banks , such as JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, as well as asset managers have  abandoned one of the most overt symbols of their commitment to reaching green goals: Climate Action Networks , such as Net Zero Banking Alliance. Even the Federal Reserve withdrew from a network of regulators that studied climate change risk. A Columbia University professor stated that “It’s like you would have a litigation bull’s-eye on your back, if you were a C.E.O. staying in one of these alliances”.

I am sure we have all experienced greenwashing before, but we still need to be on the look-out for it. It doesn’t mean we are stupid,  but shows how clever corporations are in trying to fool us. We all need to be skeptics and look for the facts.