Greenwashing

November 17th - Edition #10

Communication on Sustainability is quite a hot topic and there is a word associated with it that identifies the "bad" behaviours: greenwashing. The concept basically refers to those corporations who talk a lot about Sustainability but do very little. The following image (vertical axis meaning Sustainability Performance and horizontal axis representing Communication) is a good way of positioning the issue.

Our view is that no Company should attempt to move from Low Balance to High Balance. First, you need to move up on the vertical axis, improving all angles of Sustainability (in the holistic sense), and only then you should embark on any sort of “serious” communication. Otherwise, it will be very easy to fall back to where you do not want to be - and be called a "greenwasher". Reputation will be at stake.

Have a great and impactful week!

Center for Responsible Business and Leadership
Católica-Lisbon School of Business & Economics