The term greenwashing refers to a marketing strategy used by some companies that is aimed at improving their reputation and expanding their customer base by building a false image attentive to environmental issues.
This advertising operation uses effective slogans, called green claims, aimed at underlining and amplifying the company "change of course" by making the products and services offered appear as eco-friendly and sustainable when, in reality, their production process has not been modified in a sustainable way and continues to have the same negative impact on the environment as it had before.
Greenwashing is not a phenomenon of recent years, but there are examples of it since the end of the 1980s when in the United States the journalist Jay Westerveld used it to denounce a practice common to many hotels that urged customers not to have bed linen and towels changed daily in the name of protecting the environment and reducing pollution.
In reality, the decrease in the number of linen washes was not intended to reduce the environmental impact, but rather translated into a considerable economic saving in hotel management.
From the 90s of the last century onwards, the attention of consumers to environmental protection issues has been gradually increasing and today sustainability is at the center of the general interest so that many consumers are willing to pay a considerably higher price by purchasing organic and eco-friendly products.
To this growing generalized push towards environmental sustainability, companies must respond by adapting to increase and enhance their brand awareness.
However, for companies, adapting means supporting strong economic investments to change their industrial policy, replace production lines and pollute less, but the costs of this transition are still very high.
So greenwashing comes into play with engaging advertising campaigns that enhance the "green" characteristics of a product on the basis of a few insufficient parameters to define it as such.
In Italy, greenwashing is considered to be misleading advertising and as such is subject to the judgment of the Competition and Market Authority which has the power to sanction incorrect companies.
To understand if a company has actually undertaken business policies that reduce the environmental impact, it is necessary to look at the environmental certifications it possesses such as:
- ISO 140001 certification which ensures compliance with ISO 140001 (internationally recognized reference standard for environmental management systems of companies);
- EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) certification, i.e. the eco-management and audit system developed by the European Union whose goal is to encourage companies and organizations to continuously improve their environmental performance.