From 'Greenwashing' to earning your 'Return on Sustainabilty'

Greenwashing. Several books have been written about the concept since as early as 1996. In recent years, the term has become mainstream and the associated risks (e.g. bad reputation) have started to sink in for companies & investors. FT writes about it. For those less familiar: here is a useful overview of how to spot it (or, in Dutch: this link). A good starting point: vague, abstract 'green' or 'conscious choice' claims with no or few numbers, proof or back-up.

The term is associated with (over-)marketing limited efforts of companies to operate more sustainably. As being unfair to ‘us, the consumers’. Which isn’t great. Transparency is a cornerstone and great enabler of a more sustainable economy.

But consumers are not the ones to suffer most from greenwashing. It is the company itself that bears the opportunity costs. That could have spent those efforts to improve their return across dimensions. We call this “Return on Sustainability”. Not necessarily just to do good, also to improve financial results. We now know that more sustainable companies outperform their peers (if not next quarter, then next year and surely after that). Hollow green claims might boost your sales once, but will likely backfire if it is not sufficiently backed up by true actions or change.

A nice definition of greenwashing that I encountered: “spending more effort to SHOW what the organization does in the sustainability/CSR realm, than to actually make it more sustainable”

Does this mean that sustainability efforts should be undertaken silently? NO! The opposite is also true, you could call this ‘grey-washing’. This is a wasted opportunity to attract new customers, talented employees and to inspire a broader ecosystem to join you in your efforts. By all means, more sustainable companies and a more sustainable economy need a great story and the marketing and communication that goes with it.

So keep telling great stories of sustainability, regeneration, circular solutions. Just make sure to base it on what you’ve done “under the hood”. Not on the team-offsite day past summer, a monthly Thursday evening theme workshop or on something that your Foundation sponsored in a far-away place, with little connection to what you do as a company. Make it about your core business! And make the core business better, more profitable & more sustainable, whilst you are engaging with others about it.

Not sure how? What sustainability means in your context? Or where to start? Just drop us at The Wearth Company a line…

Photos courtesy of Unsplash