Trust me, I'm lying

“Is your room tidy?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Can I check?”

Pause.

“Yes… But don’t look in my cupboard.”

Getting Ayva to clean her room is a daily struggle (she didn’t earn her nickname “The Ayvalanche” for nothing).

This kid can tip a room upside-down in five seconds flat.

But getting her to clean up the mess is a different story.

She bitches and complains.

She mutters, “It’s not fair”, under her breath.

She tries reverse psychology and manipulative tactics, like: “It would be so nice if you’d help me.”

Eventually, the room is tidy.

But by tidy, I mean surface tidy.

On closer inspection, I’ll find toys, clothes, and sweet wrappers stuffed in her cupboard.

Under her bed.

Or crammed inside a cardboard house that we’d made for her to play in…

She almost caught me out with that one.

This, dear reader, is a perfect example of greenwashing.

It's when companies tell you they've cleaned up their act, but there are a few skeletons hanging out in their closets.

This week, the European Union drafted plans that will force companies to prove their green claims. Any business promoting their products as “climate neutral” or “made from recycled materials” will have to provide science-based evidence to support the claims.

About bloody time.

And so, this newsletter is all about greenwashing and why it's never a good idea – in any of its forms.

— Tarryn ✌️

What is greenwashing?

On the surface, everything looks good, so we take their word for it.

But there may be skeletons hanging out in weird places.

Why is greenwashing a problem?

Greenwashing has gotten out of hand because there are no laws or standards in place to prevent it. So, businesses can claim to have reduced their impact in one area but fail to mention that they fucked up somewhere else.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports only mention the good stuff, like having a diverse workforce, the number of trees it planted, and the wonderful work they do with local charities. But because they aren’t required by law (yet) to do so, they leave out things like overuse of natural resources, inadequate employee health and safety conditions, data breaches, and so on.

This means companies have been able to get away with making false or misleading claims without any consequences or repercussions. 

In fact, a global investigation found that FORTY PERCENT of environmental claims made by companies may be fraudulent. 

Things are changing, though.

Regulators and global stock exchanges are putting increasing pressure on businesses to measure, disclose, and improve on sustainability issues – starting with carbon emissions.

And at COP27, the United Nations said organisations should not claim to be net-zero while still supporting fossil fuel projects. Hear, hear!

Soon, businesses will need to report on the good and the bad, which will allow stakeholders to make better-informed decisions about who they buy from, what they invest in, and where they work.

Pulling the wool synthetic fibres over our eyes

The absence of standards has been an effective marketing tool for companies.

They’ve been able to promote their products or services as “sustainable”, “eco-friendly”, or “organic” to appeal to eco-conscious consumers who are willing to pay a premium for products that align with their values.

Companies would spend more time, money, and effort marketing themselves as sustainable instead of actually putting in the hard work to make their operations more sustainable.

Here are some infamous examples:

• ⛽️ BP was slammed for its "Beyond Petroleum" campaign, which emphasised the company's investment in renewable energy, despite the fact that the vast majority of its business was still focused on fossil fuels. In. Just this week, it was reported that BP plans to spend double the amount on oil and gas projects than on renewable investments next year.

• 🍟 McDonald’s was criticised for its “McGreen” campaign, which highlighted the company's commitment to using renewable energy and reducing waste, even though most of its operations still relied on fossil fuels and generated significant waste.

• 🚰 Nestle was accused of greenwashing for its "Green Peace" brand of bottled water, which was marketed as being environmentally friendly, even though the water was sourced from a single well and the bottles were not recyclable.

• 🛍️ Wal-Mart was criticised for claiming that its products were "Made in the USA" when they were actually imported from China and other countries.

• 🚙 Volkswagen was accused of greenwashing for its "Clean Diesel" campaign, which promoted the low emissions of its diesel cars, even though the cars were equipped with software that cheated emissions tests.

• 🛢️ And in one of the biggest doozies, oil giant Exxon "correctly and skilfully predicted global warming" way back in the 1970s, only to spend decades publicly rubbishing such science to protect its core business and stymie any action to reduce fossil fuel use.

When you’re not transparent about the environmental and social impact of your business, it undermines customer trust and can create a repetitional, legal, and financial shitstorm when someone finds the skeleton lurking in your closet.

It’s just not worth it.

The good news is that customers are more understanding and supportive if you expose your flaws, as long as you also explain how you’ll be better in future.

Yes, the scale of the climate problem is beyond comprehension, and it’s going to take a considerable global effort to fix it.

All we can do, is to do what we can.

And be honest about the things we can’t do, have messed up, or are working on improving.

You have to be able to back up your sustainability claims and impact. Consumers and activists are increasingly calling out – and in some cases suing – businesses and governments that aren’t doing enough fast enough.

Just ask:

• 🥛 Danone, which is being taken to court for not reducing its plastic footprint,

• 🍫 Nestle, which is being sued by Greenpeace over its use of palm oil from suppliers that were destroying rainforests in Indonesia, and

• 🏛️ The US and Canadian governments, which are being taken to court by young activists for failing to take sufficient action against climate change.

Honesty, it turns out, can be a differentiating factor for your business.

With nothing to hide, there won’t be any nasty surprises – for you or your customers. And with your blemishes on display for the world to see, you’ll be more accountable and motivated to improve.

Climate and sustainability news worth noting

🇮🇳 India has enforced a ban on coal burning, forcing industries to shift to biomass energy.

💨 Research from UCLA has found that the dust spread across the oceans by desert storms has had a slight overall cooling effect on the planet. But that means the dust layer could have masked up to 8% of greenhouse warming.

🪫 Well, that backfired. Research from MIT has found that the future energy required to run just the computers on a global fleet of autonomous vehicles could generate as much greenhouse gas emissions as all the data centres in the world today.

🌡️ Watch this video from NASA showing the progression of global warming from 1880 to 2022. And then this video of an iceberg the size of London breaking off the Antarctic ice shelf.

❎ In an attempt to fight greenwashing, the European Union has drafted plans that will force companies to prove their green claims. Any business promoting their products as “climate neutral” or “made from recycled materials” will have to provide science-based evidence to support the claims.

🐝 The European Union has proposed "Buzz Lines" that would allow bees and other pollinators to move across Europe and find food and shelter. Insects are vital for crop production, and the seven-year plan aims to reverse the decline of insect populations across the 27 member states by restricting pesticide use and enhancing pollinator habitats.

🌎 The European Commission, EU member states, and 26 partner countries have launched “The Coalition of Trade Ministers on Climate”, the first ministerial-level global forum dedicated to trade, climate, and sustainable development issues. It aims to build partnerships between trade and climate communities to identify ways that trade policy can contribute to addressing climate change.

I'll leave you on this happy note...

Enjoyed this newsletter? Please tell your friends about it ✌️