The American Sustainable Business Network Releases “Unearthly Promises: ASBN’s Guide to Greenwashing”
New York – The American Sustainable Business Network (ASBN), a movement builder organization committed to mobilizing business and investor communities toward a sustainable economy releases “Unearthly Promises: ASBN’s Guide to Greenwashing“.
Greenwashing is the act or practice of making a product, service, organization, or policy appear more environmentally-friendly or less environmentally harmful than it actually is. When companies greenwash their products and reputations, they’re creating the false or misleading impression that the use of such products and/or support of those businesses makes a meaningful contribution to environmental progress and ecological sustainability. Sometimes this perception is inadvertently created. More often, it’s a deliberate attempt to exploit public concerns for the purpose of enhancing profits and/or deliberately direct attention away from ongoing crimes against the planet.
“Greenwashing has a long history that goes back decades. In recent years it has accelerated as consumer demand for environmentally friendly goods and services has grown. Through this guide, ASBN provides businesses an overview of what greenwashing is and best practices on avoiding it.” – Jeffrey Hollender, CEO & Founder of ASBN.
ASBN’s Guide, using real world examples, highlights in-depth how greenwashing is bad for business, human health and the environment. Readers will learn that though environmental messaging has become an essential marketing tool, the temptation to exaggerate or manufacture green product claims and company bona fides comes with grave risks to bottom lines, corporate reputations, and other essential things. Additionally, as detrimental as greenwashing is for businesses, it is even harder on the environment. When it comes to critical issues like the climate crisis, solid waste production, and toxic pollutants, making things look better when they are actually making things worse than they already are. Greenwashing’s deleterious effects on the environment extend to its impacts on the health of communities and the people who inhabit them.
ASBN acknowledges that members of our organization and the business community in general have an important role to play in reining in greenwashing. By providing key takeaways and calls to action we can make the crucial difference to end today’s greenwashing scourge.
About American Sustainable Business Network:
The American Sustainable Business Network partners with business organizations and companies to advocate for solutions and policies that support an equitable, sustainable stakeholder economy. ASBN is a multi-issue, business organization advocating on behalf of all sectors, sizes, and geographies of industry. ASBN and its association members collectively represent over 250,000 businesses across our networks. ASBN is coalition-focused in our approach to solving the pervasive and systemic issues of climate and energy, infrastructure, circular economy, and creating an inclusive just stakeholder economy. ASBN is changing the rules by which business is done so it is better for all people and the environment. www.asbnetwork.org