Green Washing Business Enterprises

Question: Discuss about the Green Washing for Business Enterprises. Answer: Introduction In the present times, the attention of the governments, community and the business enterprises on increasing environmental degradation. Several global organizations and governments have criticized the business enterprises for their unconstrained exploitation of the natural resources and contribution in the rising pollution level. As a result, several companies have started taking initiatives to control their environmental impact and contribute towards the betterment of the environment and society as a whole (Lyon, 2012). However, there are several business organizations that either do not perform social responsibility activities or perform to a very less extent. However, they publicize themselves as environmental-friendly organizations (Lyon and Maxwell, 2011). The corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities encompass the activities that a company undertakes to contribute positively to the society. The CSR is the practice of reducing the environmental, social and economic aspects of the businesses and being responsible towards the society wherein the company is operating. The business organizations engage in CSR to contribute towards the sustainable development of the society, uplifting its public image, enhancing employee engagement and consumer loyalty (Dahl, 2010). Although the CSR activities are directed towards controlling the environmental degradation, many organizations use it for green marketing. The green marketing is a techniques used by large multinational organizations to promote themselves as concerned entities for the society. It is an emerging trend among the companies to obtain competitive advantage over their competitors (Dahl, 2010). The companies use green marketing to promote environmental-friendly image among the customers. The main reason for this growing trend is the wide public attention that environmental degradation and role of business enterprise in it is getting. The consumers, society and the government are becoming increasingly concerned about the environment and the society. The consumers also take these factors into consideration while making a purchase decision or investment. As a result, the business enterprises all across the world are becoming increasingly aware and forced to undertake the social grounds and think beyond profits. In essence, Corporate Social Responsibility refers to all the activities which make it accountable to the society, environment and the investors (Delmas and Burbano, 2011). The companies also use sustainability reporting to measure, disclose and present the sustainability practices of the organization in front of all the stakeholders. However, several times the companies use green marketing to project themselves as environmental friendly organization. It promotes an environmental-friendly image of the organization and encompasses a range of activities including product development, manufacturing, packaging and advertising. It can be posited that the primary motive of the business organizations is creating maximum profit. The marketing managers prefer maximizing their profits over the environmental interest of protection. A large number of marketers only engage in the environmental activities to enhance their public image and increase the customer base. The green washing activities can be referred to as false advertising or fraudulent activities that misguide the customers. Along with it, several companies also use eco labels and certifications in their manufactured products; however, the company can also engage in green washing activities along with it. The green washing activities are used by the business organizations to change the consumer perception regarding the product. Moreover, the environmental friendly programmes of the different organizations are almost similar; however, differences occur in their implementation. The business organizations also shy away in disclosing the full range of activities or their comprehensive environmental performance. In the present era of sustainability, the companies are using green washing or green marketing to compete in the marketplace. It can be critiqued that companies often misuse green marketing to build a false environmental friendly image in from of consumers and society as a whole. The green washing can be categorized into two categories, namely, hard green washing and light green washing. The hard green washing activities encompasses the activities wherein the companies do not perform the CSR activities and completely focus on environmental communication. In contrast to it, the light green washing activities occurs when the company has minimal contribution to the environmental protection but project itself as an environmental friendly organization (Feinstein, 2013). There is a negative correlation between the CSR practices and the green washing. It means that the higher the firm engages in the CSR activities, it is less likely that it will conduct green washing practices. The CSR prac tices of the organisation can be measured by CSR ratings of the company. It is a scale to measure the environmental practices and considers two factors, namely, the emission levels and the number of violations imposed on the company (Akturan, 2016). Green washing is defined as the practice of misguiding the customers regarding the environmental practices of the company. The companies make superficial claims regarding the eco-friendly image of the organization and invest more sources in marketing rather than actually reducing the adverse impact of the product and companys operations. A large number of organizations follow green washing practices such as Royal Dutch Shell, which is heavily criticized for its misleading advertising campaign. Its marketing campaign that it can grow flowers with carbon dioxide emissions was found to be false. Along with it, there are other companies which have also tried to green wash their image (Pearce, 2009). For instance, General Motors has changed the colour of its logo to green to create an environmental-friendly image. However, only one model of the company Chevrolet Volt, an electric car, was an eco-friendly product (Web Ecoist, 2009). It can be state that the companies should regularly be audited for their environmental performance and should include both negative and positive environmental performance of the organization. In order to combat the practice of green washing, the companies should be regularly audited and penalized. Several times, the companies do not disclose the negative environmental performance to maintain their public image and gain the trust of the consumers. However, in the long term, it results in the loss of public and the stakeholders trust which is not beneficial even for the company (Walker and Wan, 2012). The green washing marketing encompasses several set of activities, for instance, when the companies promote only a limited range of product qualities to divert the attention from the product features which are harmful for the organization. In addition, several marketers make claims which cannot be verified from the available information. Sometimes, the companies also use misleading words and vague information to mislead the audience. Other than that, the companies use fibbing (false information), presentation of irrelevant information and showing false environmental labels and certifications to project a green image (Chen and Chang, 2013). Conclusion It can be discussed that the issue of green washing is a rising phenomenon which needs to be controlled by the regulatory frameworks. In the green washing advertising, the business enterprises engage in false representation if their environmental practices. The companies either hide the environmental dangers of their products or falsely promote their CSR practices. It has been identified that the companies engage in such activities as they are more concerned about their profits than environmental degradation. There are no specific international guidelines or regulatory framework that controls the green washing practices of the organization. In the absence of any regulations, the green washing practices of the organization will increase dramatically and mislead the customers and other stakeholders. References Akturan, U., 2016. GREEN TALK AND GREEN WALK: HOW OIL COMPANIES POSITION THEMSELVES IN SOCIAL MEDIA?. In 9th Annual Conference of the EuroMed Academy of Business. Chen, Y.S. and Chang, C.H., 2013. Greenwash and green trust: The mediation effects of green consumer confusion and green perceived risk. Journal of Business Ethics, 114(3), pp.489-500. Dahl, R., 2010. Green washing: Do you know what youre buying. Environmental health perspectives, 118(6), pp 246-252. Delmas, M.A. and Burbano, V.C., 2011. The drivers of greenwashing. California Management Review, 54(1), pp.64-87. Feinstein, N., 2013. Learning from past mistakes: future regulation to prevent greenwashing. BC Envtl. Aff. L. Rev., 40, p.229. Lyon, T. (2012). Good Cop/Bad Cop: Environmental NGOs and Their Strategies toward Business. London: Routledge. 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