Greenwashing

Context

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), the advertising industry’s self-regulatory body, has introduced a 9-point draft of guidelines to combat “greenwashing” by companies.

Greenwashing

Greenwashing is the deceptive practice of misleading consumers into believing that a company’s products or services are environmentally friendly when they are not. This can be done through a variety of means, such as:

• Making false or misleading claims about a product’s environmental benefits
• Using vague or unsubstantiated language to create the impression of environmental responsibility
• Hiding or downplaying negative environmental impacts
• Associating a company or product with environmental causes or imagery

Greenwashing is a serious problem because it can mislead consumers into making choices that are harmful to the environment. It can also undermine the credibility of truly sustainable businesses and make it harder for consumers to find genuinely eco-friendly products.

Here are some examples of greenwashing:

• A company claims that its products are “all-natural” even though they contain harmful chemicals.
• A car manufacturer advertises its new model as “fuel-efficient” even though it gets poor gas mileage.
• A hotel chain claims that it is “committed to sustainability” even though it has a poor record of energy conservation and waste reduction.

About the Guidelines:

• Environmental claims like “environment-friendly,” “eco-friendly,” “sustainable,” and “planet-friendly” must have strong evidence to support them.
• Such claims should consider the full life cycle of the product or service.
• Certifications and Seals of Approval should specify the evaluated attributes.
• Assertions about a product being compostable, biodegradable, recyclable, non-toxic, or free of certain elements should be grounded in reliable scientific evidence

Initiatives to check Greenwashing:

• International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB),will set uniform sustainability and climate standards for companies to follow worldwide from 2024.
• SEBI’s Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) norms
• SEBI issued dos and don’ts relating to green bonds.
• RBI announced to join Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN)’s Greenwashing TechSprint