This article is part eight of a nine-part series that focuses on climate change. More specifically, this series will go in-depth on the human disconnect of accepting the reality of climate change, the role of the media, the power of student voices in environmental movements, climate science, sustainability and the pressure for the University of Denver to divest from fossil fuels.
How can we be preaching sustainability when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) expects our world to be experiencing catastrophe in just 10 years?
It is not a secret that our planet is experiencing climate breakdown at an unfathomable rate. The frequency of weather disasters has increased by 46% since 2007 due to climate change. Roughly, 87% of the world’s population lives in areas that exceed the World Health Organization’s air quality guidelines.
A major culprit to the planet’s degradation are corporations. Many companies are using the term sustainability to promote their products and services when actually their company is unethical. These unethical practices consist of, remaining invested in fossil fuels, poor working conditions, using plastic to create and ship the products and more. This is a concept called greenwashing, which is a form of marketing where a company deceives and persuades the public into purchasing a product that claims it is environmentally friendly.
A few popular examples of greenwashing are when IKEA was exposed for logging illegally in Ukraine, which is when timber is improperly processed or sold in violation of the law. Also, BP and ExxonMobil claimed to be more sustainable by adding solar panels to gas stations when they spend up to 96% of their money on oil and gas.
In 2018, Nestle, one of the world’s top plastic polluters, said they would have recyclable or reusable packaging by 2025. Their statement was vague, and Greenpeace said it “sets an incredibly low standard as the largest food and beverage company in the world.”
This creates unfavorable consequences for the consumer because they are not actually purchasing a sustainable product, and it is also negatively impacting the environment. These products contribute to environmental pollution, global carbon emissions and unsustainable practices. Companies are taking advantage of the influx of sustainable consumers by using greenwashing tactics to promote their businesses. This is extremely misleading to the public, as they are deceiving them.
The reason greenwashing has become so popular across popular brands–like Volkswagen, Starbucks, IKEA, Zara–is because these companies want to maintain the appearance that they are environmentally friendly. The act of being sustainable and purchasing eco-friendly products is trendy.
The University of Denver has fallen subject to this method of marketing through creating a faculty-led Carbon Neutral Task Force, opening up a mountain campus, adding a sustainability minor and developing new LEED buildings, all while remaining invested in fossil fuels. These actions are a form of diversion from the real issues of climate change, which is an example of greenwashing. It is difficult to celebrate these steps in the right direction for the environment when the university is contributing to the number one cause of climate change.
Students at other universities have exposed their institution for greenwashing. At Cambridge University, students accused the institution for greenwashing because of their ties with oil firms. The university was continuously promoting sustainability projects and the creation of green technology, which the students were not satisfied with due to their connection to the fossil fuel industry.
So why even do the smaller-scale actions if it is not making a direct impact on our environment? That is a question many people may be battling with because they want to be socially responsible and practice sustainably, but the act of fighting climate change is much too large for only one person.
This article is not meant to stop you from completing your small-scale sustainable efforts like recycling, composting, using reusable water bottles and straws. This article is meant to inform you of the sad reality of many large business models, and how they are not actually benefiting the consumer and the environment, but rather are making grand statements to appease the people, but not follow through with sustainable and ethical practices.
Are companies for the environmental movement or the economic gains received from using this movement to their advantage? This is a question that many ethical consumers may want to start asking before purchasing an item that is marketed as being sustainable.
The solution to this problematic practice is to educate yourself on which companies are using greenwashing tactics, and to protest and avoid these labels. There needs to be greater public awareness on the relationship between companies and their use of marketing unsustainable products to be viewed as sustainable. At a broader level, there needs to be rules and regulations set in place that control greenwashing within businesses.
