Greenwashing in Marketing: New Perspectives for Companies

Greenwashing, originally understood as a company's deliberate attempt to mislead the public into believing it has an environmentally friendly image, now carries a more nuanced meaning. This broader perspective covers both deliberate deception and unfounded accusations. Companies face the challenge of communicating their sustainability efforts transparently in order to safeguard this credibility.

In 2020, a study by the European Commission revealed alarming findings: exaggerated, false or misleading claims were found in 42% of the cases analysed. The impact of greenwashing on reputation and trust can be considerable. As a result, the European Commission has developed stricter regulations to curb greenwashing. In future, claims will need to be based on solid scientific evidence and verified by independent bodies. Companies must rethink their communication and marketing strategies to ensure transparency and build credibility.

Given the complex nature of greenwashing, companies need to take a nuanced view. Authenticity and clear communication are essential in an era of growing sustainability awareness, in order to avoid accusations of greenwashing and to build trust.

New EU Directive Against Greenwashing

In March 2023, the EU launched a directive on environmental claims (green claims). Here's a brief explanation of what it's about:

The starting point:

• 53% of claims made are too vague, misleading or unsubstantiated
• 40% of claims are made without any scientific evidence
• Half of the labels used cannot be verified at all, or only weakly
• There are more than 230 sustainability labels and 100 eco-energy labels in the EU, all with varying levels of transparency

The goals of the EU directive:

• Transparency: reliable, comparable and verifiable claims across all EU countries
• Protecting consumers from greenwashing
• Contributing to the circular economy by enabling consumers to make better purchasing decisions
• Creating a level playing field for the environmental performance of products across the EU

Concrete measures:

• Establishing uniform criteria for how companies must substantiate their environmental claims and labels
• All claims and labels made must be verified by an independent, accredited assessor
• New rules for managing environmental labelling schemes, to ensure they are robust, transparent and reliable

Claims targeted by the directive:

• Voluntary claims made by companies to consumers
• Claims about environmental impact, product performance, and the company itself
• Claims not currently covered by other EU regulations

Examples of claims:

"Packaging made from 30% recycled plastic"

"The company's ecological footprint has been reduced by 20% since 2015."

"Halving of the CO2 emissions associated with this product compared to 2020."

 

Next Steps: The current directive provides an important foundation for the implementation of binding regulation. Even though it will still take some time before legally binding rules come into force, the directive already underscores the importance of correct product labelling.

You can read the exact directive here.