Greenwashing Terms, Explained
Photo by Lampos Aritonang
What is Greenwashing?
“Greenwashing is communication that misleads people into forming overly positive beliefs about an organization’s environmental practices or products.”
Source: The Means and End of Greenwash (Lyon and Montgomery, 2015)
Greenwashers exaggerate favorable environmental performance to improve the opinion of one or more stakeholders, rather than fully disclosing both the negative and positive aspects of environmental performance.
Source: Greenwash vs Brownwash: Exaggeration and Undue Modesty in Corporate Sustainability Disclosure (Kim and Lyon, 2015)
What is Greenhushing (also known as Brownwashing)?
Greenhushing, or Brownwashing, refers to the issuing of communications that understate environmental achievements. Organizations may do this because of fear of scrutiny from external stakeholders or sometimes, as our new research shows, because they are ahead of the pack on sustainability.
Source: Greenwash vs. Brownwash: Exaggeration and Undue Modesty in Corporate Sustainability Disclosure (Kim and Lyon, 2015) and, now in the peer-review process, The Green Hush (Montgomery and Robertson, 2023)
What is Futurewashing?
Futurewashing occurs when an organization communicates vague promises about future performance with no evidence to back them up. A prominent example is net-zero pledges that are far in the future, and do not have science-based evidence accompanying them.
Source: No End in Sight? A Greenwash Review and Research Agenda (Montgomery, Lyon and Barg, 2023)
Types of Greenwashing
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Selective disclosure
Claims that selectively tout positive attributes but omit negative ones or the organization’s broader impact. Sometimes called “the hidden tradeoff,” this is probably the most common form of greenwashing.
Example: “This electric hand dryer saves trees from being used for paper towels”…but uses coal-fired power.
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Irrelevance
When organizations proclaim accomplishments that are either irrelevant to a product’s or organization’s performance or already required by law or to keep up with competitors.
Example: “This bottled water is gluten-free”…as are all waters by definition.
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Lies
Claims that are simply false. Sometimes referred to as “fibs” by those who want to make lying seem a little less bad.
Example: “Clean coal is a renewable fuel.” False.
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Just not credible
Claims that tout environmentally friendly attributes of a dangerous or highly controversial practice, product, service, or policy.
Example: “These cigarettes are eco-friendly”… enough said.
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Inconsistent organizational practice
When an organization acts environmentally in some arenas but not others.
Example: “We use 70% post-consumer waste in all of our paper products”…but our plastic products use virgin polymers from petrochemical feedstocks.
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Dubious certifications and labels
Claims that appear to be certified by legitimate third parties but are not.
Example: “This wine is certified sustainable”…by an industry association with vague guidelines and no enforcement.
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Political spin
Boasting green commitments while lobbying against environmental laws.
Example: “At Giant Oil Company, finding new, lower-emission fuels to power flights is crucial to reducing the risk of climate change”…but we also spend millions of dollars to block passage of a carbon tax.
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Co-opted endorsement
When an organization’s greenwashing is endorsed by other organizations.
Example: “Here at Fancy Food Stores, we only stock wines that have sustainability labels on their bottles”…but we don’t check whether those labels are credible.
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No proof
When a claim can’t be substantiated by easily accessible supporting information.
Example: “We make every effort to bring you a sustainable product”…but we don’t offer a corporate sustainability report, so you just have to trust us.
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Vagueness
When a claim is poorly defined or overly broad, so its real meaning is unclear and easily misunderstood.
Example: “This product is sustainable”…but don’t ask us what that means.
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Misleading symbols
When claims use visuals and symbols that induce a false perception of the organization's greenness.
Example: “Our webpage has a green background”…so we hope you will infer that we are a sustainable company.
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Jargon
When a claim uses jargon or information that consumers can’t understand or verify.
Example: “Our ESG funds use blockchain technology and machine learning to ensure our investments comply with the latest SEC and EU CSRD disclosure guidance”… and we sure hope you don’t know what those terms mean, either.