There’s only so much I can do as an individual to support the environment. At the end of the day, it comes down to major corporations, government entities and companies. I can do my best, but I should also look to the businesses that are producing the food I eat, the clothes I wear, and the tools I use. All of the items I need daily come from somewhere, and I find myself wondering what they are doing.

That’s when I fell into the rabbit hole of greenwashing. Greenwashing refers to companies misleading consumers about the environmental benefits or sustainability of their products or services to remove blame, gain favor and even receive tax benefits from the government. In other words, it occurs when a business gives false impressions or exaggerated claims that their offerings are more environmentally friendly than they actually are.

It’s a given that this is not a productive practice; it often does more harm than good and can severely impact the trust between companies and clients. One of the struggles here is that greenwashing can be difficult to identify, having little access to most companies’ private information makes it hard to see how they’re actually contributing to the causes they claim to be supporting or work they are allegedly doing to support sustainability and renewables.

So, what are some ways companies are currently greenwashing? Well, there are several to consider:

Environmental Buzzwords: In general, these hold no legal weight. Companies like to toss out terms such as “natural,” “sustainable,” and “eco-friendly” to give a vague promise to their clientele about the ethical weight of their purchase without any follow-through.

Action-calls to Consumers: This is a growing method. Oftentimes you will find that—especially with plastic products—there is a label or design encouraging buyers to recycle. This method gives the illusion that the companies care deeply about plastic waste, but shifts all of the responsibility onto consumers.

Nature-based Imagery: Many companies use advertising with images, such as springs, trees, animals leaves and so on, which often falsely implies to consumers that there is environmental consideration attached to the product. 

Carbon Offsetting

But one of the most popular methods of greenwashing is called “carbon offsetting.”

Imagine, if you will, taking an apple from someone’s kitchen and promising that you will replace it to make up for the loss of that apple. Instead of simply purchasing another apple, you plant an apple seed and call it even. In a sense, yes, you have provided this friend with another apple, but that seed won’t supply that apple for a long time, rendering the whole thing ineffective for years.

That is the same concept as carbon offsetting. The official definition of carbon offsetting is the action or process of compensating for carbon dioxide emissions arising from industrial or other human activity, by participating in programs designed to make equivalent reductions of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

For example, one of the most popular applications is planting trees. Companies will offer to plant a tree for a decided amount of sales, uses or interactions with their product as a way to “offset” the damage done by the carbon emissions released during production and via their facilities. This can also earn “carbon credits,” which are essentially permits that allow owners to emit a specific amount of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gasses without pushback.

There are, on occasion, fairly useful carbon offsets such as larger projects from companies to install large wind turbines, hydroelectric dams, carbon capture and storage, etc. These are some of the decent examples of productive carbon offsets that you may find in your research when looking into the integrity of a company’s sustainable and renewable energy policies.

Carbon credits are a major issue as well. Carbon credits are provided to companies when they contribute to carbon offsetting in any capacity and are essentially the backbone of carbon offsetting, because the more offsetting done, the more credits are given, which allow companies to release as much carbon as they like. It all cancels out and only promises to show results far into the future, but action needs to be taken now to compensate for the damage being done to the atmosphere.

As I said earlier, we as individuals are not equipped with the tools to end greenwashing alone, but we can discuss it and spread the information necessary to make a substantial difference. With the technology we have, we can research which companies are truly making an effort to be sustainable and contribute to lowering carbon emissions, consider the life-cycle and disposal aspects of products, and consider a company’s transparency regarding its practices with incorporating green practices into their manufacturing. 

Additionally, we have the ability to share this information on a massive scale with the power of the internet, social media, text, e-mail and so on. Greenwashing has been an issue for a long time, and it is not unusual among large corporations. Accountability is low, interest in the topic is only just beginning to gain mainstream traction, but that’s progress.

Everyone has the ability to play a personal role, research, speak out and hold those you buy from accountable for their practices. 

I encourage everyone to learn more about greenwashing; carbon offsets; and carbon emissions. Keep our home clean, make a better future for the coming generations and make a difference that’ll last forever.