The European Union began the yr by adopting a brand new regulation — the Greenwashing Directive — to cease corporations from greenwashing. Airways had been the commonest culprits this yr, with claims that air travellers can “fly carbon impartial” or “fly inexperienced” based mostly on carbon offsets or sustainable aviation gas receiving complaints to promoting watchdogs or discovering their method into European courtrooms.
In Australia, arguably Asia Pacific’s most progressive nation in tackling greenwashing, finance regulator Australian Securities and Investments Fee (ASIC) sued corporations for making doubtful inexperienced claims for the primary time – and was profitable, with responsible manufacturers slapped with hefty fines (see under).
After South Korea turned the primary nation within the area outdoors of Australia to threaten fines for greenwashing in 2023, no such penalties had been dished out this yr. Nations resembling Singapore up to date tips for the way funds can keep away from greenwashing, however avoided stringent regulation.
Promoting and media industries got here underneath scrutiny for enabling manufacturers to greenwash, with United Nations secretary basic António Guterres decrying promoting corporations as “enablers of planetary destruction” for carrying commercials for coal, oil and fuel manufacturers. Nonetheless, the promoting business’s greatest gamers resisted calls to cease working for fossil fuels purchasers, whereas media organisations went noticeably quiet on the topic.
Carolina Rodriguez, Asia Pacific managing director for communication providers agency Leidar, famous that harder rules have led to an elevated give attention to information assortment, verification, and disclosure of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) info. “This trickles into advertising and promoting – typically efficiently and typically not,” she famous.
“Customers and workers will proceed to assist corporations that combine sustainability into their enterprise practices and talk their actions and efforts to scale back their footprint. The secret’s that communications want to return after companies do the actual work,” she stated.
Europe’s stronger rules, such because the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and the Company Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), have raised the bar at a world degree, noticed Rodriguez.
However corporations are caught between doing what is true versus what’s authorized, she says, and this creates a fancy area for communications. “Companies attempting to promote their services whereas sharing their sustainability observe file, and doing merely what’s authorized shouldn’t be a compelling promoting level,” she stated.
One other pattern is “eco-fatigue” – shoppers are extra discerning and usually are not notably moved or impressed by sustainability claims. Sending the mistaken message could be extra punishing than inaction as corporations come underneath extra public scrutiny. This defuses a few of the greenwashing as individuals aren’t shopping for as earlier than, nevertheless it’s additionally an issue for corporations doing the correct factor,” stated Rodriguez.
There have been fewer circumstances of manufacturers referred to as out for greenwashing in 2024 – we’ve listed 15 situations right here – than in 2023, based on Eco-Enterprise’ reporting on the difficulty. This might replicate the pattern of “greenhushing”, the place corporations retreat into their shells and cease speaking their inexperienced credentials for concern of reprisals. In 2023, 22 circumstances of greenwashing had been recorded, up from 18 circumstances recognized in 2022, 11 in 2021 and eight in 2020.
Eco-Enterprise casts a crucial eye over the instances organisations made inexperienced claims in 2024 that didn’t seem to move the credibility check.
Greta calls out COP
“Azerbaijan has no ambition to take local weather motion. It’s planning to develop fossil gas manufacturing, which is totally incompatible with the 1.5°C restrict and the objectives of the Paris settlement,” wrote Thunberg. Picture: COP29 Azerbaijan
Convention of Events (COP) local weather conferences have confirmed to be “greenwashing conferences” that legitimise a collective failure to make sure a habitable future and have allowed authoritarian regimes like Azerbaijan and the 2 earlier hosts – the United Arab Emirates and Egypt – to proceed violating human rights, wrote Greta Thunberg in an opinion piece in The Guardian simply earlier than the beginning of COP29 in Baku. The youth activist echoed the considerations of a bunch of coverage specialists together with the architect of the Paris Settlement, Christiana Figueres, who stated COP wants an overhaul following the revelation that an official from Azerbaijan’s COP presidency had been utilizing the occasion to dealer fossil gas enterprise offers. The open letter listed particular proposals for a COP reform.
EU sued over “inexperienced” labels
The Paris Settlement requires EU member states to chop their transport and aviation emissions between 10 to 50 per cent from 2005 ranges, and contribute to the EU’s total objective of decreasing internet emissions by 55 per cent by 2030. Picture: Flickr/ Kyle Wagaman.
Inexperienced teams together with Local weather Motion Community took the European Fee to court docket over guidelines that label some airplanes and ships as climate-friendly investments and sought to drive Brussels to improve its emissions guidelines for 2030. Campaigners stated the European Union was greenwashing by labelling planes and ships that run wholly on fossil fuels as “climate-friendly”. It stated nationwide limits on greenhouse fuel emissions for sectors resembling transport and agriculture are illegal, as they might fail to chop Europe’s emissions quick sufficient to fulfill the Paris Settlement’s 1.5°C goal.
Virgin’s transatlantic “sustainable aviation gas” flight
Virgin Atlantic’s banned radio advert acquired 5 complaints to the UK’s advert watchdog for greenwashing SAF. Picture: SAF Investor
A radio commercial for Virgin Atlantic was banned in the UK in August for claiming to make the primary transatlantic flight “on 100 per cent sustainable aviation gas.” Complaints to the UK’s promoting watchdog argued that the declare misrepresented the flight’s environmental influence and gave the deceptive impression that burning the gas at altitude was not dangerous for the atmosphere. Virgin argued that customers would perceive that the declare referred to the kind of gas relatively than implying the gas had no environmental influence, however the advert was banned anyway.
Coke reneges on reuse goal
Coke has dropped its re-use goal to give attention to recycling. Picture: The Drum
Coca-Cola dropped a goal made in 2022 for 1 / 4 of its drinks to be offered in refillable or returnable containers by 2030 simply earlier than the worldwide plastic treaty negotiations in November. It now has no goal for reuse, and is focusing as an alternative on rising its use of recycled supplies – though that concentrate on has slipped too, dropping to 35 to 40 per cent from 50 per cent by 2030. Environmental campaigners referred to as the fizzy drinks model’s abandoning of its 2030 pledge a “masterclass in greenwashing”.
Woodside drills whereas “decarbonising”
Woodside was criticised for a internet zero goal that allowed ongoing enlargement of oil and fuel extraction. Picture: pgonline
Australia’s greatest oil and fuel firm was accused of flouting its internet zero “aspiration” by ramping up manufacturing. Woodside Vitality’s decarbonisation plan solely covers its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions – these from its operations and the electrical energy it makes use of – which the corporate has stated it has lower by 11 per cent in 2022. The Australian Conservation Basis (AFC), a non-profit, stated the claimed emissions discount was based mostly primarily on the agency shopping for carbon offsets, and famous that the local weather air pollution from Woodside’s operations has truly elevated by 3 per cent. AFC referred to as Woodside’s plan “internet zero greenwashing”. The corporate’s chief govt has argued that the agency can nonetheless decarbonise whereas drilling, pointing to sure decarbonisation pathways that allow it to.
No meat to JBS internet zero claims
“JBS USA’s greenwashing exploits the pocketbooks of on a regular basis People and the promise of a wholesome planet for future generations,” New York Legal professional Common Letitia James stated. Picture: Clara Bastian/Slate
The world’s greatest meat firm, JBS, was sued in america for deceptive shoppers over its decarbonisation claims. JBS’s declare that it might obtain internet zero emissions by 2040 was questionable given the corporate’s plans to extend manufacturing, and subsequently develop its carbon footprint, stated legal professional basic of the state of New York Letitia James. JBS Group’s reported greenhouse emissions are 71 million tonnes, greater than the carbon footprint of some nations.
Cooking with “renewable fuel”
“Renewable fuel” sponsored widespread Australian cooking present MasterChef. Picture: renewable-gas.com.au
Gasoline producers and infrastructure corporations joined forces to create the ‘Renewable Gasoline‘ model in 2024, which claims that biomethane or hydrogen can be utilized in houses throughout Australia. The model sponsored widespread cooking present MasterChef, which prompted non-profit Comms Declare to make a criticism about potential deceptive promoting to Australia’s shopper regulator. A radio advert for Renewable Gasoline claimed that it has “no extra emissions” and {that a} “carbon-friendly croquembouche would style even sweeter”. Comms Declare director Belinda Noble stated the advert may probably be greenwashing. “Renewable Gasoline is a imprecise time period that refers to a number of hydrogen and biomethane merchandise at completely different concentrations and availability, and people used within the MasterChef kitchen nonetheless create vital local weather air pollution,” she stated.
“Fly carbon impartial” with Qantas
Qantas claims its prospects can “Fly carbon impartial” by buying credit that go in direction of reforestation tasks in Papua and clear cooking stoves in Ethiopia. Picture: qantas.com
Australia’s nationwide provider Qantas was on the receiving finish of a criticism to the Australian Competitors and Client Fee over its use of phrases like “appearing sustainably” and “fly carbon-neutral” in its promoting. The complainant, advocacy group Local weather Integrity, stated that Qantas makes use of equally deceptive language in its communications to Dutch airline KLM, which was discovered responsible of greenwashing in a European court docket this yr (see under). Australia’s nationwide provider, which permits prospects to offset their emissions by way of a carbon credit programme, produces the equal of 4 per cent of the nation’s annual carbon emissions.
Historic precedent in aviation greenwashing?
KLM’s promoting was discovered to be unlawful, setting a precedent for airline promoting globally. Picture: KLM
KLM was discovered to have breached European shopper regulation in its promoting by a Dutch district court docket in March. The court docket guidelines that the Dutch provider’s claims suggesting that flying could be sustainable, in addition to promoting suggesting that its “offsetting” merchandise compensate for the local weather influence of flying are deceptive and are subsequently unlawful. The ruling set “a significant authorized precedent with ramifications throughout the worldwide aviation sector and for all corporations promoting their dedication to the Paris Settlement,” stated environmental regulation charity ClientEarth.
Exxon funding local weather options?
NTUDivest’s social media marketing campaign in opposition to their college’s Exxon-sponsored low carbon options company lab. Picture: NTUDivest
The launch of a low-carbon options lab at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological College (NTU) was challenged by a scholar activist group, which questioned the credibility of the corporate sponsoring the lab, ExxonMobil, funding local weather options. “From local weather breakdown to poisonous environmental air pollution, ExxonMobil is not any stranger to enjoying down their results,” the group NTUDivest stated. It challenged NTU on whether or not the lab’s options can be accompanied by a discount in Exxon’s merchandise and subsequently emissions.
NGO created by PR agency to greenwash plastics business?
Alliance to Finish Plastic Waste was created by a PR agency to greenwash the plastics business, an investigation by Greenpeace alleged. Picture: Water Alternate options Images, CC BY-SA 3.0, by way of Flickr.
One other yr, one other take-down of the Alliance to Finish Plastic Waste (AEPW), the Singapore-headquartered non-profit backed by a few of the world’s greatest plastic producers. An investigation by Greenpeace discovered that 5 oil and chemical corporations on AEPW’s govt committee – Shell, ChevronPhillips, ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, and Dow – produce extra plastic in two days than AEPW’s tasks have cleaned up in previous 5 years. The investigation additionally revealed that AEPW was created by public relations agency Weber Shandwick at a time when bans and taxes had been being launched to curb plastic air pollution. “It’s arduous to think about a clearer instance of greenwashing on this world,” stated environmental campaigner Invoice McKibben. A spokesperson for AEPW informed the media that it “respectfully disagrees with the allegations and inferences, together with that the organisation’s goal is to greenwash the status of its members.”
“Sustainable Plus” fund invested in fossil fuels
In a landmark case in Australia, Mercer was discovered to have false claimed that its “Sustainable Plus” fund excluded fossil gas pursuits. Picture: mercersuper.com.au
Australia’s federal court docket dominated in August that Mercer Superannuation, a pension financial savings scheme, had misled the general public with its “Sustainable Plus” fund, which was promoted as excluding corporations that revenue from fossil fuels, alcohol or playing. That declare was discovered to be false, because the fund was discovered to have invested in 15 fossil gas corporations, in addition to varied playing and alcohol shares. Mercer was fined AU$11.3 million (US$7.2 million) and obliged to publish a correction discover on the sustainable investments web page of its web site. The case was the primary of its type to be dropped at court docket by ASIC.
Vanguard’s “ethically acutely aware” fund
Vanguard didn’t correctly display its investments for ESG standards, an Australian federal court docket discovered. Picture: carboncredits.com
One month after the Australian federal court docket’s ruling in opposition to Mercer, ASIC efficiently sued Vanguard Investments Australia over the funding administration agency’s Ethically Acutely aware International Mixture Bond Index Fund, which was discovered to have misled the general public by not correctly screening the fund’s securities in opposition to ESG standards. ASIC famous that the A$12.9 million (US$8.2 million) high quality Vanguard acquired was “the very best [penalty] but for greenwashing conduct” in Australia, and will ship a “sturdy deterrent message to others available in the market to fastidiously assessment any sustainable funding claims”.
“Eco-friendly” air journey
VietJet claims its prospects can “fly inexperienced”. The airline’s inexperienced credentials are based mostly on the gas effectivity of its fleet and the usage of digital providers. Picture: VietJet.com
Airways took a hammering for greenwashing in 2023, with the likes of Lufthansa, Austrian Airways and Etihad dealing with authorized expenses for claiming that burning kerosene at altitude could possibly be good for the planet. So it was stunning to see Vietnamese finances provider VietJet claiming that flying for lower than the value of a spherical of drinks to Vietnam could possibly be performed in a method that helped its passengers “contribute to a greener future” in a gross sales promotion in November, even with its fuel-efficient fleet and digital providers that saved on paper. A criticism was lodged with Singapore’s promoting watchdog. A ruling is pending.
Sustainable finance greenwashing?
MUFG was accused of sustainable finance greenwashing for funding the operation of RGE. Picture: Robin Hicks / Eco-Enterprise
Sustainability-linked loans (SLLs) got here underneath scrutiny this yr for funding ecological destruction in Asia. A report by marketing campaign group Rainforest Motion Community discovered that Mitsubishi UFJ Monetary Group (MUFG), a Japanese megabank, had lent tens of millions of {dollars} in SLLs to Indonesian assets agency Royal Golden Eagle, which it stated was linked to deforestation within the palm oil concessions of an organization it recognized as an RGE subsidiary. RGE refuted the claims, whereas MUFG says it conducts a “rigorous” evaluation of purchasers to make sure plantations are supervisor in an “environmentally and socially accountable method” when contemplating financing for enterprise actions related to palm oil plantations.
Did we miss different examples of greenwashing? Tell us at information@eco-business.com.
This story is a part of Eco-Enterprise’ 12 months in Assessment sequence, which appears to be like again on the tales that formed the world of sustainability in 2024.
