How to avoid carbon offsetting and stay sustainable

We look at the issue of greenwashing – especially in light of the changing status of carbon offsetting – to determine how print businesses can stay truthful.

The road to net zero is now part of all our lives, and the effect of measures to move us towards a more sustainable future is increasingly apparent. However, while the ultimate goal of net zero may be a noble aim, not everybody who professes to be supporting that challenge is always acting in good faith. 

Individuals, organisations and companies can cynically ‘greenwash’ for their own benefit, to give the appearance of eco-virtuousness. Equally, they can inadvertently greenwash because they do not fully understand the provenance of their supply chain or power supply. And adding to the mix is the fact that carbon offsetting – a previously acceptable way to reconcile your CO2 production – is now seen by many as a variation of greenwashing. 

In this article we will look at the developing issue of greenwashing; how it relates to SME print businesses; what you can do to spot greenwashing in your suppliers; and how you can avoid being accused of greenwashing with your own products. 

What is greenwashing?

Greenwashing is essentially the net zero age’s answer to a ‘whitewash’, in that it is used to obscure the truth behind a false notion of propriety. In practical terms, greenwashing is where an organisation uses misinformation to present itself as environmentally friendly, with the purpose of making itself look more attractive to customers, investors or even regulators. 

However, greenwashing isn’t always a purposely cynical action. For example a lack of knowledge or resources can lead to the act of ‘greenwishing’. Greenwishing refers to a situation where, in the drive to achieve net zero, an organisation is too ambitious with its stated sustainability goals. It says it intends or hopes to meet certain sustainability commitments, while in reality it simply doesn’t have the ability to do so.

As well as any potential legal issues, such as false advertising, the most damaging effect of greenwashing is loss of customer trust

There is also a third related term: ‘greenhushing’. Greenhushing refers to a company’s refusal to release information about its performance in matters of sustainability. While this doesn’t necessarily mean it is dealing in outright lies, greenhushing does nothing to help and may actually hinder efforts to achieve net zero.

Quite aside from the harm that greenwashing, greenwishing and greenhushing does to the goal of net zero, there are significant risks for individual businesses that are exposed as greenwashing. As well as any potential legal issues, such as false advertising, the most damaging effect is loss of customer trust. 

Ironically, the steps needed to make organisations genuinely sustainable actually tend to produce leaner, future-proofed and more profitable businesses. But any revelation of greenwashing is likely to affect an organisation in a far less positive way over the long-term.

Why is carbon offsetting no longer acceptable?

One way that many organisations were able to claim their adherence to net zero goals was through carbon offsetting or buying carbon credits. Carbon offsetting involves investing in schemes that reduce emissions or absorb CO2 and, by doing this, companies can claim they are atoning for their own CO2 production.

However, in recent years, carbon offsetting has increasingly been perceived as a form of greenwashing itself: the key point being that carbon offsetting doesn’t actually do anything to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon offsetting has also become an area of some controversy.

Earlier this year, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) Board of Trustees – one of the world’s leading climate certification benchmarks – issued a public statement that went back on the organisation’s previous objection to the use of carbon credits to offset Scope 3 emissions (Scope 3 emissions are indirect emissions that occur either in the supply chain or upstream of an organisation).

Not only did this change by the SBTi caused significant consternation among its own staff (as reported here), but it also led to a joint statement being issued by 80 civil society organisations (CSOs) expressing their opposition to the use of carbon credits for offsetting purposes. 

Whatever the SBTi decides to do in light of this, the net result of this controversy is further confirmation that carbon offsetting and carbon credits are simply no longer acceptable ways to address carbon footprints. 

How to spot greenwashing in your suppliers

While the purpose of greenwashing is to create the perception of a virtuous veil for bad behaviour, there are some relatively simple signs that suggest the companies you work with, or which form part of your supply chain, might not be entirely honest about their products or operations. 

The most obvious clue is vagueness around the sustainability of products or business practices, or the use of broad all-encompassing claims such as ‘all natural’ or ‘eco-friendly’ without any specific details to back these claims up. In some cases, it may become clear with just a little investigation that the company you are dealing with is lying about the status of its products. 

The key thing required to establish a product or an organisation’s eco-friendly credentials is proof

A slightly more nuanced trick in the greenwasher’s arsenal is to confuse the issue slightly by using comparisons with other products – as in the phrase ‘our most eco-friendly version yet’. Even more underhand is where a business suggests its product is green, on the basis of one small detail, while avoiding any mention of other aspects of production or their practices that are very poor for the environment.

The key thing required to establish a product or an organisation’s eco-friendly credentials is proof, and probably the easiest way to find proof is to look for established and respected certification. Club FESPA has a guide to certification here, and we ran a full article looking at certification schemes relevant to textile printers here. If a product or company has been approved by a certification scheme whose application processes are thorough and trusted, you can have a decent level of assurance that their environmental claims are genuine. 

How to avoid accusations of greenwashing yourself

Print businesses also have to be wary of being accused of greenwashing themselves. The simplest way to avoid such accusations is to commit to more sustainable approaches to business, which have the side effect of also making you more profitable. According to the CarbonTrust, “even low and no-cost actions can usually reduce energy costs by at least 10% and produce quick returns”.

To accurately achieve a reduction in areas such as energy usage, first you will need to have an accurate idea of your organisation’s carbon footprint. There are various carbon footprint calculators for SMEs available that can help you with this, but the main business areas relevant to your carbon footprint are operations and energy consumption, transportation, purchased goods and services, employee commuting and waste disposal. Ecohedge has an excellent guide to understanding an SME’s carbon footprint here.

Once you know your organisation’s carbon footprint you can then take practical steps to reduce it, such as becoming green energy efficient, improving waste management, and encouraging staff with cultural change such as commuting habits. On that first measure, it’s worth reading the CarbonTrust’s full ‘Better Business Guide to Energy Saving’.

With genuine steps being taken to address your carbon footprint, you can then promote any achievements and improvements your company makes knowing you have the evidence to support it. 

Be honest

At this stage, it is important to use specific language to communicate your message. Say exactly what has happened using your real, achieved figures – don’t round up or use projected outcomes. Where you can, back up any of your claims with proof from trusted third-party bodies and look to achieve certification. Some certification schemes may require evidence of wider systemic change within organisations – such cultural change will also help to buttress your company against accusations of greenwashing. (We recently ran a dedicated article looking at how to get certified without greenwashing.) 

Finally, be honest about your carbon footprint, especially if there are any areas with room for improvement. You can say what your end goal is, and how far you are planning to go with your sustainability journey. But make sure any statements you make about the current status of your business or its products are backed up by detailed, accurate and provable evidence.