Is It Green or Greenwashing?
By Emily Wray
Marketing & Communications Intern, Summer 2023
What is Greenwashing?
Greenwashing is a marketing strategy where companies exaggerate their sustainability efforts to improve the public perception of their brands.
Common greenwashing strategies that corporations adopt include:
Focusing on one green initiative to distract from other unsustainable business practices
Using vague buzzwords and phrases like “green” or “eco-friendly” on product packaging without specifying how their product is environmentally conscious
Promoting only one product or line of products as sustainable rather than all products
What Can Businesses Do To Be a Force for Good?
Companies of all sizes can make adjustments in their practices to make positive environmental impacts. For example:
Transportation and Commuting: Offering employees access to local public transportation or allowing them to work virtually for at least a portion of their work week allow for less cars on the road and lower carbon dioxide emissions.
Sustainable Office Spaces: Secondhand office furniture, energy-efficient appliances and reusable dishware won’t hurt productivity, but will help to prevent unnecessary waste production.
Smart Shipping: Shipping items in recycled packaging and opting for paperless communications as often as possible can be just as cost-effective as environmentally conscious.
How Bohlsen Group Keeps it Green
Today, Bohlsen Group is celebrating World Environment Day along with millions of people across the globe. As a certified B-Corp, we’re held to specific standards for operating in a socially responsible manner, and one of those pillars is environmental sustainability. Since 2021, Bohlsen Group has been carbon neutral, and we’re in the process of renewing that commitment. We’re proud to work with businesses and organizations that align with our own environmental goals, and while we hope to exceed the goals set before us as a B-Corp, our sustainability efforts aren’t rooted in the need to meet those standards. We aim to operate in a sustainable way this World Environment Day and every day.
