My buddy Pat in Seattle (Not pictured here) is so incensed over greenwashing, and what he believes is the left wing fallacy of global warming, that I think he sometimes misses the point of sustainable programs that are doing much more than just being green or curbing global warming.
Just see our conversation in an earlier post about New York city’s sustainability initiative. It’s had positive impact on reducing traffic, increasing the fitness of New Yorkers through biking and walking, dampening the noise in Time Square, and increasing business. It’s even increased the life expectancy of New Yorkers by just over a year.
These are all wonderful sustainability efforts with a bi-product of helping clean the air. But that is lost on Pat and the multitudes of consumers like him who are legitimately cynical about greenwashing organizations.
Then yesterday I recieved an email from Hunter Richards about Software to Hold “Greenwashers” Accountable.
Perfect timing. In order to save me time (it was exhausting trying to keep up with Pat’s rants about my post on N.Y.) I asked Hunter if he would share some insights into the development of Enterprise Carbon Software.
Greenwash (verb, \ˈgrēn-wȯsh\) – to market a product or service by promoting a deceptive or misleading perception of environmental responsibility.
The U.S. is a leader in financial accounting (thanks in part to accounting software systems), but we need the same caliber of environmental accounting to prevent fraudulent green marketing. Enterprise Carbon Accounting (ECA) software enables companies to track their carbon emissions and identify opportunities for waste reduction. For ECA software and environmental accounting adoption to stop greenwashing and drive truly green business practices, we need action in five main categories:
- Clear government action on regulations – like increased coverage of the EPA’s Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule;
- Adoption of carbon accounting principles – stricter requirements for disclosure of standardized corporate emissions information;
- Expansion of “scope 3” emissions accounting – mandatory inclusion of suppliers’ emissions in environmental reports would prevent under-reporting of emissions;
- Better green business incentives – using ECA software to identify eco-friendly savings opportunities can make it cheaper to go green;
- Demanding, informed consumers – demanding the numbers, while boycotting the liars, forces green marketing campaigns to prove their sincerity.
To learn more about ECA software and greenwashing prevention, check out Software to Hold “Greenwashers” Accountable.
One other insight into Pat’s reaction to the N.Y. story is important for all green marketers to remember: Sustainability programs should NOT focus solely on the highly-charged global warming debate. Environmental programs should be about convenience, accountability, saving money, creating better health, promoting more sustainable communities, etc. Helping to curb what some believe is fictitious global warming is just a happy bi-propduct, wouldn’t you agree?
