ESG communication and greenwashing
Greenwashing is presenting a company's activities as more environmentally or socially responsible than the facts support.
ESG communication concerns how a company describes its impact on the environment, on people and its approach to governance. Expectations from investors, banks, customers and regulators are rising, and with them the risk: general, unverifiable or selective claims are increasingly challenged by the media, NGOs and competitors.
Sound ESG communication rests on facts that can be checked. Rather than slogans about being a ‘green company’, it is better to describe specific actions, their scope and their limits. Targets should be distinguished from achievements, and product claims should be supported by data.
- every claim has a source and an owner,
- language is precise, without vague generalities,
- reports and marketing materials say the same thing.
For the board, this is a question of consistency between reporting, marketing and operational reality. Material claims should also be reviewed with a lawyer involved, as requirements in this area continue to change.
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