Greenwashing in Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example

Task: To write a research paper on Greenwashing in Corporate Social Responsibility Student’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: Introduction Sustaining the environment for the future generation has received a lot of air play. It has emerged as a global issue for governments, corporates and individuals. This has been accelerated by the rapid globalisation and industrialisation that has left on its path a lot of environmental degradation in the form of pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, global warming etc. This has heightened the social responsibilities of corporates. Corporate social responsibility is concerned with the fact that organisations should be accountable to all stakeholders; consumers, employees, community, government and public at large. It is required of them that their undertakings should be aligned with the expectations of stakeholders (Aggarwal and Kadyan, 2014). Corporate social responsibility refers to good corporate administration, that is, corporations taking it upon themselves to carry out voluntary commitments in order to manage their impact in social, environmental and economic fields hence obtaining maximum benefits for the whole society. Companies decide to voluntarily contribute to a better society and a cleaner environment (Banerjee, 2007). Corporates in their attempts to be socially responsible has resulted in them practising deception activities one of them being greenwashing. Greenwashing is any activity that gives the picture that the corporation is acting responsibly even if it does not (Jurisova and Abdrabou, 2012). Greenwashing is defined as disinformation disseminated by organisations so as to present an environmentally responsible public image (Banerjee, 2007). This essay will look at the practice of Greenwashing in corporate social responsibility, how it is manifested and the impacts it has on the society at large as well as what drives corporations into greenwashing. Drivers of greenwashing Corporation executives may stress that they are committed to a social responsible philosophy which benefits the community at large yet the same may be a tool to maintain economic power that see them extend their influence to other non-business areas where they are dictators of the highest order. Greenwashing is thus a deception tool used by companies to portray a social responsible image and yet they are not. What drives them to do so vary. What could make a corporation that is performing poorly on the environmental front positively communicate its performance about the same? One of such driver is the consumer, investor and competitor induced incentives. Brown corporations are subjected to enormous pressure from both consumers and investors to portray a green and environmentally friendly image thus firms are forced to positively communicate to the public about their better performance in the environment department even though they know they are deceiving the public. They do this so that they are in good books with the consumer and investor (Delmas and Burbano, 2011). Competition is another driving factor that makes corporations to lie about their environmental performance. Organisations tend to shape themselves after similar firms in their industry whom they perceive successful and legitimate as far as corporate social responsibility is concerned. This tends to apply more when the firms in questions are perceived to be successful especially in the adoption of green practices. This forces firms to deceptively communicate about their good green practices for fear of falling behind their rivals who are already engaged in green practices themselves. Hence greenwashing becomes more prevalent within an industry consisting of many firms that are competing (Delmas and Burbano, 2011). The type of the firm can also be a motivating factor to lie about being engaged in environmentally friendly activities. Statistics indicate that there is more pressure on firms that deal with consumer products to appear more environmental friendly than those providing services. Because of this nature of the firms, those engaged in the production of consumer products are thus compelled to lie about their green practices so as to remain relevant within the market ranks (Delmas and Burbano, 2011). The incentive structure inherent in the company is also a contributing factor to the unethical behaviour of firms of greenwashing. Findings indicate that incentives that reward managers who attain financial goals have often resulted to unethical behaviours by managers in their attempts to attain such goals (Hosner, 1987). Incentives that are administered to those attaining arbitrary marketing or public relations quotas, particularly those that are concerned with communicating about the environmentally friendly image of the corporation has increased the tendency of brown firms to greenwash (Delmas and Burbano, 2011). The ethical climate that exists within the ranks of the firm has also been a driving force to greenwashing. The ethical climate of a firm is composed of the shared perceptions and behaviours by the members of the firm that inform their decision making process (Cullen, Parboteeah and Victor, 2003). There are three basic types of organizational climates; egoistic climate where the norms within the company support the fulfilment of self-interest, benevolent climate where the company norms promote over-all wellbeing and principled climate where the company is in support of following principles. Organisations dominated with egoistic climate frequently greenwash to satisfy their egos. Organisations that subscribe to ethics codes and explicit firm standards of conduct are less likely to greenwash (Delmas and Burbano, 2011). Organisations tend to greenwash since they know that the regulations in place are not clear about the penalties for those that greenwash. There is laxity in implementing stringent measures against those who greenwash. Hence firms engage in greenwashing activities because the risk of being prosecuted for engaging in the same activities is low on average. The provision for voluntary disclosure of environmental information by organisations does little to deter firms from greenwashing (Delmas and Burbano, 2011). It follows that if one corporation gets away with greenwashing, then the other organisations will follow soot thereby creating an illusion of being environmentally friendly. Increased pressure from activists, NGOs and the media for companies to inculcate green practices in their undertakings has given way to greenwashing by most organisations. This pressure has forced organisations to resort to greenwashing to make them look environmentally friendly in the face these activists, NGOs and the media to avoid reproach by the same (Delmas and Burbano, 2011). Manifestations of greenwashing Organisations use many ways to pursue greenwashing. Organisations seduce the public with their image advertisements. An example is the General Motors Corporation promoting their cars as environmentally friendly in their ads by placing a gas a gas guzzling SUV in a natural environment. The Corporation banks on the fact that consumers will associate this environmental unfriendly vehicle with the thought that the company is committed to the environmentally friendly practices (Paetzold, 2010). This is deceptive because even if we assumed that the SUV is environmentally friendly, of which it is not, what about the numerous trucks it produces every year. Companies also engage in distraction tactics. They distract consumers and the general public from their environmentally unfriendly products. For instance a corporation in the business of manufacturing insecticides claiming that their products are produced in energy-efficient factories (Paetzold, 2010). An agrichemical producer selling hazardous pesticides which have already been banned in some countries while claiming that it is involved in feeding the hungry or a large or a petroleum chemical corporation utilising a waste product from one of its undertakings and using it in yet another hazardous process but claims credit for being at the forefront of recycling (Laufer, 2003). The nestle company’s claim that the Nestle eco shape bottle is made of 30% less plastic actually conceals the pollution associated with the production process of the bottle actually what has become to be commonly known as hidden trade-off (Aggarwal and Kadyan, 2014). The companies evade regulations by claiming that they will solve the problems themselves. This is an attempt to cool off the focus on governmental regulations by promising that they are at the top of the concerns. This is also in letting the public to think that the corporation is ahead concerning that particular regulation (Paetzold, 2010). Companies employ the tactic of deceiving the public on how they are committed to environmental projects without giving any proof thus committing the sin of no proof. They make claims of being engaged in environmentally friendly projects, claims which cannot be verified with any conveniently available information. Case in point being the claim made by Nestle that its Nestle Eco Shape bottle is made up of 30% less of plastic. A statement which cannot be verified and since the company does not explain the less of what part (Aggarwal and Kadyan, 2014). Companies also use vagueness to imply to the public that they are engaged in green practices. This where they use such phrases as pure, natural, organic, eco-friendly etc. a good example is the use of ‘natural’ when Tyson Chicken advertises its chicken and yet they treat their chicken with antibiotics (Aggarwal and Kadyan, 2014). The effects of greenwashing Greenwashing has detrimental effects on all the three protagonists; the environment, consumers and businesses. On the environment is that it compels consumers in general to do the opposite of what is good for the environment. This is because the consumers are tricked into thinking that they are investing in green products. In this case the consumer does not help the environment even though he or she believes that he or she is doing so (Paetzold, 2010). The deceits that go around in greenwashing endanger the trust of consumers who honestly want to engage in activities that make the environment in which they live sustainable. Greenwashing is detrimental in that consumers pay more for a product and that willing is being used against them as they don’t get value for their money. The money they pay with the intention that it will go into good use of protecting the environment does not get to do so (Paetzold, 2010). Businesses who truly engage in green practices are also affected by the greenwashing activities carried out by other organisations. They do not get the value of their investment in green practices. They do not gain the reputation they deserve because what they do is overshadowed by the greenwashing of other organisations. Recommendations In the light of the detrimental effects of greenwashing the following is recommended; a) The development of globally applicable standards for curbing and preventing greenwashing practices. This is because enough legislation has not been enacted to address greenwashing practices. b) Consumers to search for supporting evidence on products that are being advertised as embedding green practices. c) Organisations to be transparent and ethical in their undertakings and disclose not only positive environmental impacts they have had but also the negative ones. d) Companies to back up their eco-friendly claims with evidence and true eco labels and certifications. e) Mandate disclosure of environmental performance by organisations. f) NGOs to be strengthened through funding in order for them to be effective in their whistle blowing activities. g) Governments and policy makers in particular to facilitate and improve knowledge about greenwashing. h) The gathering and sharing of information about incidents of greenwashing will also go a long way in helping curb greenwashing. Conclusion In conclusion, greenwashing has gained ground as a tool for corporations to edge out their competitors. Organisations utilise greenwashing practices to make themselves more appealing by hiding behind a mask and concealing their true intentions. Greenwashing has made many corporations prosper extremely at the expense of the environment. This practice is bound to continue with many corporations seeing as the only shortcut to getting to the top. Facts on the ground indicate that greenwashing as a practice growing exponentially and if interventions are not instituted it will gradually undermine the consumers’ trust compelling them to be distrustful and suspicious. Urgent measures are necessary to curb this menace in the business world. References Aggarwal, P., and Kadyan, A. (2014). Greenwashing: The darker side of CSR. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 4(3), 61-66. Banerjee, S. B. (2007). Corporate social responsibility: The good, the bad and the ugly. Montpellier: Edward Elgar Publishing. Cullen, J., Parboteeah, P., and Victor, B. (2003). The effects of ethical climates on organisation commitments: A two-study analysis. Journal of Business Ethics, 46(2), 127-141. Delmas, M. A., and Burbano, V. C. (2011). The drivers of greenwashing. Retrieved from UCLA website: http://www.ioe.ucla.edu/media/files/Delmas-Burbano-CMR-2011-gd-ldh.pdf Hosner, L. (1987). The institutionalisation of unethical behaviour. Journal of Business Ethics, 6(6), 439-447. Jurisova, V., and Abdrabou, L. (2012). Corporate social responsibility contra Greenwashing. Retrieved from arsa website: http://www.arsa-conf.com Laufer, W. S. (2003). Social accountability and corporate greenwashing. Journal of Business Ethics, 43(3), 252-260. Paetzold, K. (2010). Corporate social responsibility (CSR): An international marketing approach. Hamburg: Verlag. Read More