The European Union began the 12 months by adopting a brand new regulation — the Greenwashing Directive — to cease firms from greenwashing. Airways have been the most typical culprits this 12 months, with claims that air travellers can “fly carbon impartial” or “fly inexperienced” primarily based 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 firms 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 have been dished out this 12 months. International locations comparable to Singapore up to date tips for a 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 ads for coal, oil and gasoline manufacturers. Nevertheless, 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 concentrate on knowledge assortment, verification, and disclosure of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) info. “This trickles into advertising and marketing and promoting – typically efficiently and typically not,” she famous.
“Customers and staff will proceed to assist firms that combine sustainability into their enterprise practices and talk their actions and efforts to scale back their footprint. The hot button is 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 worldwide degree, noticed Rodriguez.
However firms are caught between doing what is true versus what’s authorized, she says, and this creates a posh area for communications. “Companies making an attempt to promote their services and products whereas sharing their sustainability monitor document, and doing merely what’s authorized is just not a compelling promoting level,” she stated.
One other development is “eco-fatigue” – customers are extra discerning and should not notably moved or impressed by sustainability claims. Sending the flawed message might be extra punishing than inaction as firms come underneath extra public scrutiny. This defuses a few of the greenwashing as folks aren’t shopping for as earlier than, however it’s additionally an issue for firms doing the proper factor,” stated Rodriguez.
There have been fewer instances of manufacturers referred to as out for greenwashing in 2024 – we’ve listed 17 cases right here – than in 2023, in response to Eco-Enterprise’ reporting on the problem. This might mirror the development of “greenhushing”, the place corporations retreat into their shells and cease speaking their inexperienced credentials for worry of reprisals. In 2023, 22 instances of greenwashing have been recorded, up from 18 instances recognized in 2022, 11 in 2021 and eight in 2020.
Eco-Enterprise casts a essential eye over the occasions organisations made inexperienced claims in 2024 that didn’t seem to move the credibility take a look at.
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 targets 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 gaggle of coverage consultants 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 purpose of lowering web emissions by 55 per cent by 2030. Picture: Flickr/ Kyle Wagaman.
Inexperienced teams together with Local weather Motion Community took the European Fee to courtroom over guidelines that label some airplanes and ships as climate-friendly investments and sought to power 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 gasoline emissions for sectors comparable to transport and agriculture are illegal, as they’d 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 affect and gave the deceptive impression that burning the gas at altitude was not unhealthy for the atmosphere. Virgin argued that buyers would perceive that the declare referred to the kind of gas relatively than implying the gas had no environmental affect, however the advert was banned anyway.
Coke reneges on reuse goal
Coke has dropped its re-use goal to concentrate on recycling. Picture: The Drum
Coca-Cola dropped a goal made in 2022 for 1 / 4 of its drinks to be bought 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 a substitute on growing 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 web zero goal that allowed ongoing growth of oil and gasoline extraction. Picture: pgonline
Australia’s greatest oil and gasoline firm was accused of flouting its web zero “aspiration” by ramping up manufacturing. Woodside Power’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 reduce by 11 per cent in 2022. The Australian Conservation Basis (AFC), a non-profit, stated the claimed emissions discount was primarily based primarily on the agency shopping for carbon offsets, and famous that the local weather air pollution from Woodside’s operations has really elevated by 3 per cent. AFC referred to as Woodside’s plan “web zero greenwashing”. The corporate’s chief government has argued that the agency can nonetheless decarbonise whereas drilling, pointing to sure decarbonisation pathways that allow it to.
No meat to JBS web zero claims
“JBS USA’s greenwashing exploits the pocketbooks of on a regular basis Individuals and the promise of a wholesome planet for future generations,” New York Lawyer Basic Letitia James stated. Picture: Clara Bastian/Slate
The world’s greatest meat firm, JBS, was sued in the US for deceptive customers over its decarbonisation claims. JBS’s declare that it will obtain web zero emissions by 2040 was questionable given the corporate’s plans to extend manufacturing, and due to this fact develop its carbon footprint, stated lawyer 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 gasoline”
“Renewable gasoline” sponsored in style Australian cooking present MasterChef. Picture: renewable-gas.com.au
Fuel producers and infrastructure corporations joined forces to create the ‘Renewable Fuel‘ model in 2024, which claims that biomethane or hydrogen can be utilized in properties throughout Australia. The model sponsored in style cooking present MasterChef, which prompted non-profit Comms Declare to make a criticism about potential deceptive promoting to Australia’s client regulator. A radio advert for Renewable Fuel 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 Fuel 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.
Lululemon, environmentally constructive?
Lululemon claimed to be environmentally constructive whereas its emissions greater than doubled. Picture: Lululemon
Lululemon was topic of a criticism to the Competitors Bureau Canada by non-profit Stand.earth over the sportswear model’s “Be Planet” marketing campaign, during which the corporate introduced itself as an “environmentally constructive” model. The corporate’s personal reporting confirmed that Lululemon’s carbon air pollution has doubled since making a declare to be environmentally constructive, Stand.earth stated. “Tinheritor exponential progress has been constructed on fossil fuels, from clothes actually constructed from fracked gasoline to polluting manufacturing that threatens the well being of communities within the International South. Lululemon’s mantra is supposedly ‘Be Planet,’ when in actuality it’s ‘Be Revenue,’” stated Tzeporah Berman, worldwide programme director at Stand.earth.
Shell wins sustainability award
Shell received a sustainability award in Singapore for bettering the sustainability of its petrochemicals services. Picture: LinkedIn
When Shell received a sustainability award in Singapore eyebrows have been raised among the many city-state’s sustainability neighborhood. The oil and gasoline main stated that “sustainability is an integral a part of our enterprise technique and goal” in a LinkedIn publish to trumpet its award from the South West Neighborhood Growth Council, and cited its biodiversity conservation efforts and power effectivity measures taken at its services. One social media poster stated: “Nearly 1 / 4 of a century on, nothing has modified at Shell. All the time making an attempt to promote a narrative relatively than resolve the issue.” One other remarked: “Suppose they’re lacking the massive elephant within the room – their fossil gas emissions throughout the worth chain. Can settle for this, however the place is the transition, backed up with steadfastness funding?” Shell received the award at a time when the corporate was underneath hearth for rolling again its local weather targets.
“Fly carbon impartial” with Qantas
Qantas claims its clients 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 service Qantas was on the receiving finish of a criticism to the Australian Competitors and Shopper Fee over its use of phrases like “performing 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 courtroom this 12 months (see under). Australia’s nationwide service, which allows clients to offset their emissions by 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 client regulation in its promoting by a Dutch district courtroom in March. The courtroom guidelines that the Dutch service’s claims suggesting that flying might be sustainable, in addition to promoting suggesting that its “offsetting” merchandise compensate for the local weather affect of flying are deceptive and are due to this fact unlawful. The ruling set “a serious authorized precedent with ramifications throughout the worldwide aviation sector and for all firms 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 pupil 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 due to this fact 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 Pictures, CC BY-SA 3.0, through Flickr.
One other 12 months, 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 government 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 have been being launched to curb plastic air pollution. “It’s onerous 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 repute 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 courtroom 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 firms 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 numerous 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 form to be dropped at courtroom by ASIC.
Vanguard’s “ethically acutely aware” fund
Vanguard didn’t correctly display its investments for ESG standards, an Australian federal courtroom discovered. Picture: carboncredits.com
One month after the Australian federal courtroom’s ruling towards 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 towards ESG standards. ASIC famous that the A$12.9 million (US$8.2 million) tremendous 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 evaluate any sustainable funding claims”.
“Eco-friendly” air journey
VietJet claims its clients can “fly inexperienced”. The airline’s inexperienced credentials are primarily based 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 prices for claiming that burning kerosene at altitude could possibly be good for the planet. So it was stunning to see Vietnamese finances service VietJet claiming that flying for lower than the value of a spherical of drinks to Vietnam could possibly be carried out 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 12 months 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 hundreds of thousands 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. We’ve up to date the story to incorporate two extra examples for the reason that time of publishing.
This story is a part of Eco-Enterprise’ Yr in Evaluate collection, which appears to be like again on the tales that formed the world of sustainability in 2024.
