Greenwashing and Impact Washing Jargon Buster

Hannah Duncan

Sustainability marketing & Investor relations

The car company that fudges their emissions, the fast fashion brand that inflates their eco credentials - it seems like everyone we see is misrepresenting their green commitments. In this video, Hannah Duncan explores exactly what greenwashing and impact washing is.

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Greenwashing and Impact Washing Jargon Buster

4 mins 30 secs

Key learning objectives:

Understand what impact washing is
Define greenwashing

Overview:

Greenwashing is when a company or organisation claims or implies to be more sustainable than it actually is. Impact washing on the other hand, is when a company or organisation claims or implies to be making more of a green impact than they actually are, intentionally or unintentionally. Both practices are dangerous and we should all be keeping a watchful eye. Firstly, because it takes money away from genuinely sustainable companies and secondly because it doesn’t solve any problems.

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Summary

What is greenwashing?

Greenwashing is when a company or organisation claims or implies to be more sustainable than it actually is. For example, the Volkswagen emissions scandal, where it was found they deliberately rigged their diesel engines to fake the amount of emissions produced. Other examples of greenwashing can be less malicious, often borne from the fact that there’s a huge incentive to appear green.

What is impact washing?

Impact washing is when companies claim or imply to be making more of a green impact than they actually are - either intentionally or unintentionally. For example, BP taking the money from investors to turn into a clean energy company while ramping up oil production.

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Hannah Duncan

Hannah is a passionate and experienced copywriter, with a flair for all things finance. Hannah worked as the Senior Content Manager at Invest Click & Invest, before becoming a contributing writer for Hargreaves Landsdown and Fintech Finance where she wrote blogs, white papers and web copy for businesses - as well as articles for magazines and newspapers. Hannah now is the content writer & founder of Hannah Duncan Investment Content.

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