Green claims: genuine merit or greenwashing?

by British Association of Landscape Industries

National AGM 2023

Sustainability, the environment, carbon footprint, net zero, climate change…

Today these words and phrases, along with a whole host of others are part of our daily conversations and embedding deeper within our personal and professional values. A key growth area, as a result, is companies promoting their green credentialshow they are environmentally friendly, sustainable or reducing their carbon footprint. But how do you know if the claims a company is making have genuine merit, or is simply greenwashing?

Green marketing

Also known as environmental marketing or sustainable marketing, green marketing focuses on promoting products and services by highlighting their environmental benefits. The primary goal of green marketing is to encourage consumers to make more environmentally responsible choices and support products or companies that are committed to reducing their environmental impact. Green marketing has gained prominence as consumers become more environmentally conscious and seek products and services that align with their values.

Green marketing strategies can cover a range of sustainability principles including eco-friendly packaging, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from production processes, investing in renewable energy sources and adopting sustainable business practices. Unlike greenwashing, any green marketing statements made are based on transparency, providing accurate and substantiated information about the environmental benefits of their offering.

What is greenwashing?

Greenwashing is an attempt to make people believe that your company is doing more to protect the environment than it really is. It is often used as a marketing or PR tactic to make consumers believe a company, product or service is more environmentally friendly than it is. In contrast (and not to be confused with), green marketing uses environmentally friendly messaging to promote a company, product or service honestly and transparently.

The terminology used for greenwashing tends to be more fluffy and generic, for example using phrases such as environmentally friendly, natural, and sustainable - none of which are substantiated. In contrast, green marketing terminology is more specific and can be backed up with evidence.

For the most part, greenwashing is not a malicious action by a company, but more over-exuberance. However, the result has become a lack of trust towards companies that do not substantiate their environmental claims. As the consciousness of what environmental impact means has increased, consumers - whether business or personalare more astute, and companies are progressively required to back up any claims made with evidence.

In addition, it is likely that anti-greenwashing regulations will be introduced in the UK. In the EU, proposals for a 'Green Claims Directive' were published in March 2023. Subject to the approval of the European Parliament and the Council could be implemented as early as this year. Any UK business trading within the EU making voluntary environmental claims directed at EU consumers will be required to comply with the new regulations.

EU Green Claims Directive

The proposal for a Directive on Green Claims will address greenwashing by tackling false environmental claims made towards consumers. The new rules establish a clear regime for environmental claims and labels, aiming to ensure consumers receive trustworthy information about the environmental credentials of the products they buy. The green claims proposal also tackles claims relying on offsetting - notably to environmental claims that products or entities are 'climate neutral'. This directive will only apply to companies with more than 10 employees and higher than €2 million turnover, although smaller companies are able to work to this if they wish.

Green Claims Code

In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched the Green Claims Code in September 2021, with the aim of eradicating greenwashing activity. The code sets out 6 key points to check environmental claims are genuinely green:

1. Be truthful and accurate: businesses must live up to the claims they make about their products, services, brands and activities

2. Be clear and unambiguous: the meaning that a consumer is likely to take from a product’s messaging and the credentials of that product should match

3. Not omit or hide important information: claims must not prevent someone from making an informed choice because of the information they leave out

4. Only make fair and meaningful comparisons: any products compared should meet the same needs or be intended for the same purpose

5. Consider the full life cycle of the product: when making claims, businesses must consider the total impact of a product or service. Claims can be misleading where they don’t reflect the overall impact or where they focus on one aspect of it but not another

6. Be substantiated: businesses should be able to back up their claims with robust, credible and up-to-date evidence

The code applies anywhere a green claim is made by a firm towards a consumer. And the crackdown on greenwashing is gathering further pace with a proposed update to the UK Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill.

UK Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill

An update to this bill is currently working its way through Parliament. The proposed changes give the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) greater power to clamp down on misleading environmental claims. If these changes are mandated to the Bill, companies using unsubstantiated or misleading claims could face penalties of up to 10% of global turnover. For individuals, the fine could be up to £300,000.

Green hushing - a growing trend

Green hushing is the latest growing trend, as a company's green marketing activities and statements come under greater scrutiny. Some businesses are playing down their environmental activities, or not reporting on them at all, due to avoiding any greenwashing accusations or receiving criticism for not doing enough in relation to sustainability.

Although green hushing is not on the surface a negative practice, it does pose its own challenges. Companies that green hush miss out on the opportunity to drive positive change and support more sustainable activities within their industry. They also prevent customers who are looking for more sustainable and environmentally conscious businesses from making informed decisions.

Despite this, a journey more and more companies are now taking is the road to green accreditation. There are many different accreditation schemes available for companies to choose from. Different schemes may suit different types and sizes of businesses or company philosophies. We've covered a selection of some of the schemes currently available.

Iso 14001

ISO 14001 is an internationally agreed standard that sets out the requirements for an environmental management system. It helps organisations improve their environmental performance through more efficient use of resources and reduction of waste, helping organisations identify, manage, monitor and control their environmental issues in a 'holistic' manner.

Achieving ISO 14001 certification involves a formal audit process conducted by a thirdparty certification body. This process ensures that an organisation's EMS conforms to the ISO 14001 standard's requirements. iso.org

B Corp

Launched in the US in 2007, B Corp Certification is a third-party certification standard by non-profit B Lab, that evaluates a company’s impact on all stakeholders. Described as the Fairtrade of business, B Corp not only considers financial profitability but also looks at the triple bottom line, using the power of business to address social and environmental problems.

To get certified a company must meet stringent requirements, including completing a comprehensive assessment of their company’s impacts on all stakeholders, and having their assessment verified by B Lab. bcorporation.uk

Carbon Trust

The Carbon Trust offers independent verification, certification and assurance services, which recognise organisations that have achieved significant reductions in their carbon emissions and have demonstrated commitment to sustainability. The services include the route to net zero standard, product carbon footprint label, and organisational verification and PAS 2060 - the only recognised standard for carbon neutrality. carbontrust.com

Green Mark

Green Mark aims to reduce a business's environmental impact through the development of policies and measurement. The sustainability certification process reviews performance and identifies steps to save energy, reduce waste and become more sustainable, establishes an environmental policy, and provides a mechanism that enables the monitoring of progress.

Green Mark is a three-step green accreditation scheme - Level 1 helps businesses identify opportunities, Level 2 starts the development and implementation of action plans, and at Level 3 businesses have a full set of practical processes and guidelines to help drive continuous environmental improvement. greenmark.co.uk

Planet Mark

Planet Mark accreditation process is clearly divided into three tracks: starter, pro and enterprise. The starter is for small businesses, the pro is aimed at mediumsized businesses, and the enterprise is for larger organisations.

Planet Mark’s certification provides a platform for commercially resilient and sustainable change by measuring and reducing an organisation’s carbon footprint, year on year. The process also includes engaging staff and stakeholders to build knowledge and skills, and support in communicating progress with authenticity and confidence. planetmark.com

Breeam

Developed by the Building Research Establishment (BRE), BREEAM is internationally recognised as a leading method for assessing the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of construction and development projects.

BREEAM sets standards for buildings, communities and infrastructure in a very broad range of sustainability issues in nine categories: energy, waste, water, materials, health and wellbeing, transport, pollution, land use & ecology, and management. The assessment process results in a sustainability rating for the project, which helps stakeholders understand and compare the project's overall sustainability performance. bregroup.com/products/breeam/

I would love to hear from members who are actively working with third-party companies to reduce their environmental impact. The Association would be keen to share your journey with other members, including the benefits and challenges to enhance our collective understanding. Please contact Katharine Hughes, Marketing and Communications Manager at katharine.hughes@bali.org.uk