Today, consumers are increasingly committed to the environment and are mostly looking for responsible brands. This shift has led to an increase in products that present themselves as sustainable. However, these messages do not always guarantee greater care for the planet. To make correct environmental claims and avoid falling into greenwashing, it is essential to raise awareness and train the teams involved, as well as encourage their collaboration and coordination.
Forética has prepared the guide Greentrusting vs. Greenwashing: A Roadmap for Responsible Environmental Communication with the aim of helping organizations to understand the advances and challenges of the new requirements in environmental communication, and to guide companies to take the necessary steps to ensure that it is honest and truthful.
On greenwashing or greenwashing is a deceptive marketing practice in which companies present their products or services as more environmentally friendly than they really are. This may include the use of false, exaggerated or inaccurate information about green benefits, with the aim of attracting environmentally concerned consumers.
This document is part of the working group "Boosting Confidence in Corporate Environmental Communication", with the support of HEINEKEN Spain, which aims to generate knowledge and awareness and promote a real transformation in environmental communication among B2C(business to consumer) companies that are members of Forética.
The guide incorporates six key steps for integrating responsible environmental communication into the company's ecosystem:
- Develop a formal commitment aligned with the company's values, purpose and strategy in this area.
- Establishing a governance process for managing environmental claims
- Conduct a communications diagnosis to determine the organization's starting point, strengths and areas for improvement.
- Develop internal policies and guidelines that define a harmonized communication framework for the entire company.
- Training and sensitization of teams to strengthen collective commitment
- Review and update communications.
The document, prepared by Forética's expert team, is aligned with the European Union' s new legislative package against greenwashing and is framed within a context of greater demand for clarity and transparency from organizations by consumers and stakeholders.
In this context, organizations that are committed to sustainability and communicate their efforts in a responsible manner will be drivers of greentrusting, clearly differentiating themselves from those that promote greenwashing practices . The aim of this work is to seek common criteria in environmental communication in order tostrengthen the trust of consumers and stakeholders, thus promoting the transformation towards more responsible and environmentally friendly consumption models.
