Why brands should care as much about greywashing as they do greenwashing
Reputation director at Salterbaxter Australia, Karen Dunnicliff, says that while the focus has been on brands greenwashing to date - brands should be more worried about greywashing: where they have a strategically sound sustainability strategy that's completely uninspiring.
Last year, while attending a panel session at a sustainability industry event, I looked to my left and right and realised the attendees sat on either side were snoring.
In their defense it was right after lunch, the session was in a dark theatre and the subject matter was technical. But what does it say about our ability to drive progress toward a sustainable future when talking about solutions literally puts people to sleep?
I’ve heard of greenwashing but what is greywashing?
Greenwashing is front page news – much to the displeasure of brands that see the marketing potential in ‘going green’ but lack the authentic foundations and plans to back up the rhetoric. I’m sure we’ll hear a lot more as regulators like the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission continue to clamp down on companies that try to inflate their sustainability credentials with vague and misleading claims.
As a custodian of brand reputation for clients, I see why this makes companies nervous. But on the flipside, we’re hearing very little about greywashing and its equally negative impact. Greywashing is when you have a technically brilliant sustainability strategy that’s drier than a desert, lacking in creativity and unable to engage people, let alone drive them to action. Right now we need creativity combined with credibility to make the changes necessary for a sustainable future.
We’re losing the battle for hearts and minds
Let’s be honest – despite dire warnings, a bad situation is getting worse. Businesses have precious little time to make meaningful progress toward achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. And report after report tells us human activity is pushing the earth’s system to the point of collapse.
This is not just a climate crisis, this is a ‘way of life’ crisis. And we won’t change the way we live and work with a box-ticking exercise.
Disclosure is only half the battle
Transparency is key to driving progress toward sustainability. You can’t improve what you don’t measure. But reporting is not the destination, it’s a tool you use along the way. As businesses attempt to navigate the alphabet soup of sustainability frameworks, they must also invest in using that data to drive the sustainability agenda forward. Otherwise, the achievement in meeting these standards of disclosure will only contribute to a false sense of progress. We need transparency and action to drive change.
Using our words wisely
Words can be powerful. They can galvanise support for a common goal. They can convince, cajole, influence, or inspire. They can move entire countries full of people to act – and we’ve seen it. But words can also be dangerous. They can deceive and divide. They can hurt people and progress.
My worry is that in a world full of soundbites and cynics, we’re all so preoccupied with spotting the spin that we might be missing the biggest danger of all – when words are meaningless.
If you are worried about greywashing, here are some things you can do:
1. Approach your sustainability strategy with creativity from the outset – don’t try to sprinkle the stardust as an afterthought. You need to achieve cut-through and engagement with stakeholders and activities in a spreadsheet won’t do that.
2. Integrate your sustainability strategy with your business strategy – don’t approach sustainability as a siloed risk management exercise. Ask yourself, “if we achieved everything set out in our sustainability agenda, how would it impact our business goals?” If the answer is “it wouldn’t” you’re doing it wrong.
3. Be honest about where you are as a business and the progress you are making – and use language and creative that is true to your brand. Strong connection, trust and understanding between sustainability teams, brand and marketing teams and legal and risk teams is critical.
Karen Dunnicliff is the reputation director at Salterbaxter Australia.
