MANAGEMENT TODAY

GREEN-WASHING

Presented By :

RUCHI MODI
PG-11-094
RUTIKA PATIL PG-11-100

INTRODUCTION
Various definitions and perspectives about greenwashing

Presenting a product or service as green when it's not is called greenwashing.

As defined by University of Oregon Professors Deborah Morrison and Kimberly
Sheehan, greenwashing is when a company or organization spends more time and
money claiming to be green through advertising and marketing than actually
implementing business practices that minimize environmental impact.
The U.S.-based watchdog group CorpWatch defines greenwash as "the phenomena
of socially and environmentally destructive corporations, attempting to preserve and
expand their markets or power by posing as friends of the environment."

INTRODUCTION

Greenwash is defined in the 10th edition of the Concise Oxford English

Dictionary as the Disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to
present an environmentally responsible public image.

From Investopedia, the general idea behind greenwashing is to create a benefit

by appearing to be a green company, whether that benefit comes in the form of a
higher stock price, more customers, or favored partnerships with green
organizations.

Whats wrong with GreenWashing?

It is misleading.
It attempts to trick us into believing that a company with an
awful environmental track record actually has a good one.
If one corporation gets away with greenwashing, then other
corporations will follow, thereby creating an illusion of being
environmentally friendly.

The 7 Sins of GreenWashing

1. Sin of the hidden trade-off : Advertising based on a narrow aspect of the
product while not reporting its entire environmental impact.

2. Sin of no proof : If a products claims about being green can not be proven
with easily accessed data.

3. Sin of Vagueness : Green claims so poorly defined you cant follow up and
prove it.

4. Sin of Irrelevance : Green marketing about environmental improvements

may be true, but their impact is so margin that it makes no sense or is already
required by law. (CFC-free is the example they use; its irrelevant since CFCs are
outlawed.)

The 7 Sins of
GreenWashing (cont)
5. Sin of less of two evils : Environmental claims that a product may be
greener than another product in its category, but that simply distract
consumers from the fact that the whole product category is just plain bad for
the environment, like organic cigarettes.

6. Sin of fibbing : Environmental claims that are simply false. The most
common examples were products falsely claiming to be Energy Star
certified or registered.

7. Sin of worshipping false labels : Marketing and artwork that gives

the impression of a third-party or green underwriter endorsement when the
product does not, in fact, have the certification.

Who is Greenwashing?

A closer look at who is greenwashing, and how

they are successfully marketing false
advertisements.

Krafts Post Selects Cereals

Krafts Post Select cereals
have falsely promoted its
cereals as having natural
ingredients when in fact the
corn used in the cereal is
genetically engineered.

BUSTED

The Kraft website displays this Post Selects

Great Grains Crunchy Pecan cereal, and its
ingredients. Lo and behold, the ingredients
mention nothing about processed corn!
Kraft mentions whole grain a couple times,
making you automatically think NATURAL!!

Tyson Chicken

Tyson Chicken is also guilty of falsely

advertising their products. They promote
their chicken as all natural even though
they treat their chicken with antibiotics

Another Guilty suspect

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 Piece (85g)

Serv. Per Container 0.00 About 8

Amount Per Serving

Calories 130
Calories from Fat 60

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 7g
11%
Saturated Fat
2g
10%
Cholesterol
45mg
15%
Sodium 540mg
23%
Total Carbohydrate
1g
0%
Dietary Fiber
0g
0%
Sugars 1g
Protein 17g
34%
Vitamin A
0%
Vitamin C
0%
Calcium
0%
Iron
0%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000
calorie diet.

After looking on the Tyson Foods website, we are not able to

find anything about them injecting their chickens with
antibiotics. The nutrition facts above say nothing about
injecting their chickens. But of course they wouldnt put it on
their website, that would ruin their business.

Clairol
Clairol has claimed their
line of Herbal Essences
shampoos offer a truly
organic experience, even
though the shampoos use
chemicals such as sodium
lauryl sulfate, propylene
glycol and D&C red no. 33,
which are all not organic.

A Truly INORGANIC
Experience

Fragrance(s)/perfume(s)
PEG-15 cocopolyamine
Linoleamidopropyl PG-dimonium chloride phosphatePEG120 Methyl glucose dioleate
PPG-5 Laureth-5
Here is a list of some ingredients found
Glycerin
Clairols line of Herbal Essences shampo
Propylene glycol
Ethanol/SD Alcohol 40
For a shampoo that is supposed to give
Citric acid
you a truly organic experience, sure h
Dimethyl octyndiol
very long list of inorganic ingredients. A
Panthenol
to think this is only half of the list of
D&C Violet # 2
Lauramide diethanolamine (DEA)
ingredients!

Sodium lauroyl sarcosinate

Lauryl sulfate DEA
Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS)
Glycol distearate
D&C Orange #4
FD&C (or D&C) Yellow #5
Ammonium lauryl sulfate
DMDM hydantoin
Sodium chloride
Water

Comanche Trace
Comanche Trace is a commercial developer.
They claim that their golf courses are great
habitats even though golf course deplete
natural habitats and use pesticides that poison
groundwater.

Active Ingredient

Benfluralin
Decreases red blood cell count and hemoglobin concentration
Benomyl
Causes low birth weight
Chlorpyrifos
Impairs nervous system function
Dicamba
Toxic to fetus
Diquat
Causes cataracts
Disulfoton
Impairs nervous system function;causes optic nerve degeneration
Pendimethalin
Toxic to liver
Propoxur
Impairs nervous system function
Thiophanate-methyl
Decreases sperm formation, causes hyperthyroidism
Thiram
Toxic to nervous system
Triadimefon
Decreases red blood cell count

Potential Health Effects*

I found a table on the different types of ingredients in the pesticides

that are used on golf courses.
Any habitat with these types of ingredients in their pesticides is far
from a great place.

General Motors
General Motors has falsely
promoted its cars as environmentally
friendly, with ads that have their
SUVs in natural habitats as if they
were as natural as the surrounding
trees. Ford, for example, has
launched the new Escape Hybrid.
What they fail to tell the public is
they only produce 20,000 of these
cars a year, while continuing to
produce almost 80,000 F-series
trucks per month!

Suzlon
P.A.L.S. (Pure Air Lovers Society) campaign launched by Suzlon, a
leading wind power company.
Although the company is trying to project itself as a firm
committed to ensuring clean air and thereby protecting the
environment and the eco-system, it has recently been accused of
causing potential hazards to environment and natural resources in
Saurashtra. It was also accused of seizing lands of tribal's in
Maharashtra at throwaway prices and subsequently selling it to
celebrities.

HUL

FMCG giant HUL, whose Surf Excel - Do

bucket paani bachana hai campaign is
creating buzz in the country, has been
charged with accusation of causing
mercury pollution in South India.
Cashing in on CSR: HUL's 'Do bucket paani...' campaign has
helped increase Surf Excel sales by 15 per cent.

Southern Company

Southern Company is a coal company based in

southeastern United States. It ran advertisements in
2010 promoting clean coal. Unfortunately, the concept
of clean coal is false. Also Southern Company is known
for high carbon dioxide emissions which harm the
environment and is one of the reasons of global
warming.

Shell
Shell ran an advertising campaign
Lets Go through which they
aimed to reposition themselves as
an energy company instead of an
oil company. These ads implied
Shells investment in green
technology when in fact; their
contribution towards a better
environment has been devastating.
They continue to drill oil at an
increasing pace, which is reducing
environmental resources every day
across the planet.

Soft Drink
Many soft drink companies claim to be co
champions and come out with several green
initiatives like rain water harvesting, water
recycling, discarding harmful materials in making of
plastic bottles etc. But they dont talk about the fact
that it takes about 5 liters of water to produce 2
liters of soft drinks. On our planet, fresh water
constitutes only 3% of the total water quantity, and
only 0.8% of water is available for drinking, rest is
trapped in ice sheets, glaciers etc. Then is it really
green to waste this precious resource in making
soft drinks? In 2008 alone, Coca-Cola and its
bottlers used 93 billion gallons of water which is
more than the water requirement of many
countries. This continuous exploitation of potable
water can lead to lowering of water table and
hamper irrigation as well. Apart from this, the
chemicals used in bottles can sometimes leach into
liquid and are harmful for environment and health.

Coca-Cola
The company came in for severe criticism from activists and
environmental experts who charged it with depleting groundwater
resources in the areas in which its bottling plants were located,
thereby affecting the livelihood of poor farmers, dumping toxic and
hazardous waste materials near its bottling facilities, and
discharging waste water into the agricultural lands of farmers.
The company campaigned various initiatives such as rainwater
harvesting, restoring groundwater resources, going in for
sustainable packaging and recycling, and serving the communities
where it operated. Coca-Cola planned to become water neutral in
India by 2009 as part of its global strategy of achieving water
neutrality.
However, criticism against the company refused to die down.
Critics felt that Coca-Cola was spending millions of dollars to
project a 'green' and 'environment-friendly' image of itself, while
failing to make any change in its operations. They said this was an
attempt at greenwashing as Coca-Cola's business practices in India
had tarnished its brand image not only in India but also globally.

Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola Company wins Corporate Greenwashing Award
at Polaris Institutes first Corporate Greenwashing Award at
its annual general meeting in Wilmington, Delaware .

Bottled Water

Let us look at certain facts first - in the year 2006 more than 25.5 billion plastic
water bottles were sold in US alone. More than 17 million barrels of oil were used in
plastic bottle production which produced more than 2.5 million tons of carbon
dioxide. It takes about three liters of water to produce one liter of bottled water and
that an equal amount of municipal water costs about 1/2000th the price of bottled
water.

Now, we can decide how much green bottled water is. To clean their act, many
companies have tried various measures to green-wash their products such as
using bottles which have less plastic (Poland spring) or using renewable energies
to become carbon negative (FIJI water) but the fact remains that bottled water is
more a luxury than a necessity which causes more harm to environment than it
benefits.

NESTLE
Nestle claims that its bottled water is green
because of a special eco-shaped plastic
bottle. What is an eco-shape exactly?
According to Nestle , As part of our
ongoing effort to reduce our environmental
footprint, we redesigned our new bottle and
cap to contain 30% less plastic than our
original bottle. What would actually be a lot
greener, however, would be to stop putting
tap water in plastic bottles, calling it spring
water, and then marketing it to consumers
as healthy and better-for-you than
municipal water, thus spewing millions of
tons of carbon into air and the clogging up
landfills with 50 billion non-biodegrading
recyclable plastic bottles per year.

Air Travel
Many aircraft carriers have claimed that they have found a way
to combat the adverse effects of air travel on the environment,
for e.g. British Airways claims to have successfully found a way
to introduce biofuels as a fuel. We have already seen that bio
fuel cant be a substitute for fossil fuels and it would take about
half of the land of United Kingdom to cater to the fuel
requirement of British Airways. Another airline, easyJet has
claimed that its gas emissions are equal to if not less than hybrid
cars. But, they dont reveal the detailed calculation they have
used to arrive at this result.

Diapers
The so called eco-improvements include:
Hypoallergenic, latex and fragrance free.
Features a breathable outer cover that includes organic cotton.
The liner includes natural Aloe & Vitamin E and materials from
renewable sources.
The products outer packaging is sourced from 20% postconsumer recycled materials.
The eco-aspects theyre selling to consumers
Hypoallergenic, latex and fragrance free so are other much
greener diapers.
Features a breathable outer cover that includes organic cotton Is
it certified organic? Where is it sourced? HOW MUCH organic
content? Well Huggies wont tell us on the package so make up
your own answers. Also, organic on the outside cover (NOT
touching your babys skin) makes it a moot point anyhow.

HUGGIES
The liner includes natural Aloe & Vitamin E and materials
from renewable sources those renewable sources would
be? Also, so what about the aloe (is it organic?)
The products outer packaging is sourced from 20% postconsumer recycled materials 20% is laughable. All kinds
of companies make products with 100% recycled
packaging.
The difference between regular Huggies and the
greenwashed version is a small piece of organic cotton that
doesnt even come into contact with babys skin its on
the outside of the diaper. Talk about capitalizing on a
technicality.

Walmart

Happy Birthday, Walmart. Thanks for All the Greenwashing ( 50 th

Anniversary).
Walmart's VP of Sustainability stated that Walmart had three main goals: to be
supplied by 100 percent renewable energy, to create zero waste, and to have
products that sustain people and the environment.
But, the company is falling far short of meeting these goals. A recent report
highlights just how little Walmart has done. For instance, at its current pace,
Walmart will need roughly 300 years to reach its renewable energy goal.
As of 2011, only two percent of its electricity was from its highly touted
wind and solar projects. While the company has increased its recycling
operations, it also has a practice of abandoning existing stores and building
new ones, which leads to acres of abandoned and wasted land.
Walmart cannot become a sustainable company because its business model is
fundamentally flawed. The relentless drive for lower prices creates high levels
of overconsumption and waste. By driving prices lower, it encourages shoppers
to purchase more and more products, many of which are poorly made and last
just a
short while, which then requires another round of purchasing.

British Petroleum (BP)

In 2009 Greenpeace awarded the BP the first Emerald Paintbrush
award for greenwashing. Greenpeace in the UK attempted to
present the company with a trophy: a paintbrush covered in green
paint.
he award was granted to the company in recognition of its 2008
multimillion dollar marketing campaign, boldly stating a pledge to
alternative energy.
Greenpeace UK calculated information from company documents
and found that the companys investments do not match their
public relations statements. BP invested 93 percent of investments
into oil and gas in comparison to 2.79 percent on biofuel and 1.39
percent on solar initiatives. The ratio speaks for itself. It
demonstrates (in actual numbers), the misleading nature of BPs
marketing claims of dedication toward alternative energy.

BP
Its not just misleading advertising and marketing strategies related to
alternative energy that define the companys historical relationship to the
environment. In fact, there have been a number of more detrimental actions
than just deceptive branding.
In 2005, an explosion at a BP refinery in Texas City injured 170 people, killing
15. The company faced approximately $87 million in fines for safety hazards
at the refinery including settling with the families of the victims of the
explosion for $1.6 billion. According to the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration or OSHA, BP was charged with willful "safety violations,
meaning a company was aware of the hazards and violations.
A year after Texas City, in 2006, BP became responsible for the largest spill
on the North Slope in Alaska. A corroded pipeline in Prudhoe Bay dumped
200,000 gallons of oil over the course of 5 days. It was estimated to have
covered two acres. Months later, the pipeline leaked 1,000 gallons again.
And in 2007, OSHA also fined BP again for safety violations at their Toledo,
Ohio refinery. The violations were synched with the cause of the 2005 refinery

McDonalds
McDonalds has begun airing advertisements to convince consumers that
its burgers, fries, and other menu offerings are natural, local, and grown
on small farms. McDonalds is trying to cash in on the slow food trend.
The ads highlight different farmers, showing off their small family farms,
followed by a clip of the farmer enjoying McDonalds food as if they were
reveling in the fruits of their labor. One ad features Frank Martinez, a
potato farmer, biting into a raw potato , saying, Theyre good now. Just
wait until theyre McDonalds fries.
McDonalds actually has no connection with the farmers highlighted in
these ads (except perhaps, in the creation of the ad campaign itself).
While McDonalds would like to persuade viewers that it knows each
farmer and his product by name, McDonalds actually sources their meat
and/or produce through middlemen corporations like Cargill, Lopez Foods,
Golden State Foods, Simplot who contract with such farmers.

 Many of McDonalds menu items arent even whole-food products.

Its 100% Angus Beef Patty, for example, isnt a mixture of
ground beef and spices, as one may assume. Instead, its a
mashed up mixture of artificial flavors, maltodextrin, beef broth,
yeast extract, dried beef extract, caramel coloring, corn syrup,
calcium silicate, lactic acid, and other ingredients.

Samsung
Sprint and Samsung have launched what
the two companies are calling an ecofriendly cell phone. Samsungs phone, the
Reclaim, does boast some environmental
improvements over other phones, namely
that it is made from 80 percent recyclable
materials (not to be confused with recycled
materials), and 40 percent of the phones
outer casing is made from bio-plastic
derived from corn.
But while the phone is a step in the right
direction, it is still manufactured across the
world with precious metals like copper,
nickel, gold, palladium, plastics, lead,
mercury, cadmium, and other non-ecofriendly materials.

Lexus
A national press advertising
campaign for a Lexus hybrid fourwheel drive car has been banned
after it claimed it was perfect for
todays climate.
Viewers complained that the ad
misleadingly implied that it caused
little or no harm to the
environment.
The press ad, for the Lexus RX 400h,
made the claim: perfect for todays
climate. (And tomorrows) Driving
the worlds first luxury hybrid SUV
makes environmental, and economic,
sense

Lexus
Four complaints were made to the Advertising Standards Authority that the claims
were misleading because they implied that the car caused little or no harm to the
environment and gave a misleading impression of the cars CO2 emissions in
comparison with other vehicles.
Lexus said that the use of the word climate in the ad was meant to operate at
two levels.
One was that in the current economic market the Lexus was offered with attractive
financial packages, the other that hybrid cars were more environmentally friendly.
Lexus said that it did not claim that the vehicle caused little or no harm to the
environment, just that it was more environmentally friendly than standard premium
SUV vehicles.
But the ASA said the ad implied that the vehicles emission rate was low in relation
to all vehicles and that readers were likely to understand that the car caused little
or no harm to the environment.

APPLE
Apple and company CEO Steve Jobs
have spent plenty of time in the
GreenPeace spotlight in the past few
years, leading to some tremendous
(and applaudable) greener Apple
promises in May, 2007. More
recently Apple has claimed to be a
leader in green electronics, boasting
about the lack of Mercury, BFR, and
arsenic in their latest products.
When it comes to energy efficiency
and eco-friendly packaging, Apple
has it covered but living up to
green promises doesnt appear to be
part of the green Apple deal. Jobs
vowed to eliminate the use of PVC
and BFR in their computers by the
end of 2008. Macworld 2009
announced a new MacBook Pro that
still contains the same level of

Mentos
Their latest advertisement leaves the
audience under the impression that
their gum is freshly picked, when in
reality its processed and theres
nothing fresh about that.
This is certainly one of the more
obvious signs of green washing due to
the fact that its hard to believe that
gumwhich falls under the candy
category-- is made with real fruit.
Mentos is green washing the public
with their words because no aspect of
this product is green; not the contents
or the plastic container its sold in.

Opposition to greenwash

Organizations and individuals are making attempts to

reduce the impact of greenwashing by exposing it to the
public. "Greenwashers is a new (release in 2011)
documentary aimed at challenging, exposing, and fighting
the issues surrounding greenwash.The Greenwashing
Index, created by the University of Oregon in partnership
with EnviroMedia Social Marketing, allows examples of
greenwashing to be uploaded and rated by the public.
Greenpeace, the international environmental organisation
, has a blog that allows greenwashing claims to be rated.
Greenwashing blogs also exist to reveal any untruths in
claims that are made.

How To Avoid Green Washing

The following green label programs are recognized as good benchmarks by

experts and retailers.
20 Green Seal (www.greenseal.org)
Energy Star (www.energystar.gov)
EPA Design for the Environment (www.epa.gov/dfe)
WaterSense (www.epa.gov/watersense)
Forest Stewardship Council (www.fsc.org)
Scientific Certification Systems (www.scscertified.com)
EcoLogo (www.ecologo.org)
Greenguard (www.greenguard.org)
Cradle to Cradle (www.c2ccertified.com)
Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (www.epeat.net) Global Organic
Textile Standard (www.global-standard.org)
Biodegradable Products Institute (www.bpiworld.org)
FloorScore (www.rfci.com)
Totally Chlorine Free (www.chlorinefreeproducts.org)
Carpet and Rug Institutes Green Label/Green Label Plus (www.carpet-rug.org)

Sustainable Consumerism

When discussing the topic of sustainable consumerism,

the two ways to view this term are; first, it is the
responsibility of the companies and brands to create
environmentally friendly products that would drive
sustainable consumerism and, second, to view this term
as it is the consumers job, when purchasing goods, to
act in an environmentally friendly way and to lead a more
sustainable lifestyle.

The following statement is from the World Business

Council for Sustainable Development explaining their
take on sustainable consumption
Current global consumption patterns are unsustainable. Based on
the facts and trends outlined in this document, it is becoming
apparent that efficiency gains and technological advances alone will
not be sufficient to bring global consumption to a sustainable level;
changes will also be required to consumer lifestyles, including the
ways in which consumers choose and use products and services.
We recognize the need for business to play a leadership role in
fostering more sustainable levels and patterns of consumption,
through current business processes such as innovation, marketing
and communications, and by working in partnership with
consumers, governments and stakeholders to define and achieve
more sustainable lifestyles.

Conclusion
Greenwashing has become a very popular way for
corporations to get ahead of their competitors.
It is a way for corporations to make themselves more
marketable by hiding behind a mask and concealing their
true colors.
Not only has greenwashing fooled the general public, but it
has made many corporations extremely prosperous. With the
amount of competition out there, it doesnt look like the end
of greenwashing is anywhere near. Greenwashing has proven
itself a workable solution for the many corporations using the
technique, but at the same time, has stirred up a lot of
discussion.
Greenwashing will continue to be utilized by many
corporations and the consumer will continue to buy. In a
world where the fight to the top is a never ending battle,
greenwashing will continue to be the tool of choice.