PAGE STRAP EVENT GREENING FORUM
Know your green from your greenwashing Sustainability is a steadily growing trend in the global events industry, and one which many attendees, hosts and sponsors value. Which means that, as events begin to re-emerge amid relaxed lockdown measures, we’re expecting to see a greater adoption of sustainable event practices.
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his is wonderful progress for our industry, which we as the Event Greening Forum (EGF) fully endorse and support. Should you find yourself wanting to make this shift, please visit eventgreening. co.za to access our free resources, sign up for our newsletter and find out about becoming a member. While we support and encourage authentic attempts at going ‘green’, we are, however, concerned that many companies may skip the hard work of pursuing sustainable business practices and simply make marketing claims that are guilty of greenwashing. Greenwashing (or adding a ‘green sheen’) is the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the
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environmental benefits of a product or service, and it can be done out of ignorance or as an intentional deceit. Either way, it needs to be called out so that genuinely green efforts are recognised and rewarded, and that end users aren’t duped. Brushing up on your greenwashing identification skills will help you to avoid falling for these false marketing claims or accidentally committing them yourself. And the best way to understand them is using what TerraChoice Environmental Marketing Inc. dubbed the ‘Six Sins of Greenwashing™’: 1. The Sin of the Hidden Trade-Off: Suggesting a product is ‘green’ based on a single environmental attribute or narrow set of attributes, while ignoring
other important, or perhaps more important, environmental issues. For example, paper that promotes its recycled content without addressing its manufacturing impacts, including air emissions and water emissions. 2. The Sin of No Proof: Environmental claim that cannot be substantiated by easily accessible supporting information or by a reliable third-party certification. 3. The Sin of Vagueness: This is committed when a claim is so poorly defined or broad that its real meaning is likely to be misunderstood by the intended consumer. Common examples include: chemical free (nothing is free of chemicals, including water and www.businesseventsafrica.com
