What Is Greenwashing?

To paraphrase U.S Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart from Jacobellis v.Ohio (1964), "I can't define pornography, but I know it when I see it." This is how I feel about greenwashing. The Oxford English Dictionary doesn't quite illuminate the essence of the term with the definition "disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image" because it doesn't distinguish between enlightened corporate behavior that helps build a sustainable future from cynical corporate behavior that confuses the public with green claims.

Perhaps there is a formula we could devise to determine if a company is greenwashing. If a company spends X dollars to buy renewable energy credits then spends X dollars times 1,000 to publicize it, its efforts could be characterized as greenwashing.

Many people cite WalMart as a prime example of greenwashing but the case is not so clear. WalMart set and met its goal of selling 100 million compact fluorescent lamps and is in the process of raising the average fuel efficiency of its trucking fleet from 6 mpg to 18 mpg. They are building new stores that meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building criteria, are buying renewable energy, and are demanding that their suppliers reduce packaging. And yet last I heard, they still didn't offer health insurance to most of their employees, and the siting and shuttering of their stores is disruptive to many communities.

But any sustainability efforts with such far reaching effects should be praised, while we keep the pressure on these organizations to do more. While WalMart is not perfect, their efforts are made in the spirit of continuous improvement.