Greenwashing

How it is used

A critical word used by journalists, NGOs, regulators and lawyers. Companies are accused of greenwashing, and regulators crack down on it. Warning signs include vague words like 'eco' or 'green', hidden trade-offs and claims based only on offsets. A related term is greenhushing: staying silent about climate goals to avoid criticism.

Example sentences

1. The airline was accused of greenwashing after calling its flights 'carbon neutral'.

2. To avoid greenwashing, every claim in the campaign must be backed by verified data.

Common collocations

• accused of greenwashing
• avoid greenwashing
• greenwashing claims
• crack down on greenwashing
• greenhushing

Related terms

• environmentally friendlyDescribing products, services or activities that cause little or no harm to the environment, for example because they use less energy or create less waste.
• carbon neutralDescribing an organization, product or event whose net carbon emissions over a period are zero, usually because the emissions that remain are balanced with carbon credits.
• ESGShort for environmental, social and governance: the three groups of non-financial factors that investors and lenders use to judge a company's risks, impacts and quality of management.
• disclosureThe act of making information public, especially the data, risks and targets that companies must or choose to report to investors, regulators and the public.
• carbon offsetA reduction or removal of emissions somewhere else, such as in a forestry or clean cookstove project, that an organization pays for to compensate for its own emissions.

More terms: Environmental Reporting and ESG

• Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions
• sustainability report
• climate risk
• greenhouse gas inventory
• materiality