CSSN Special Projects
Greenwashing Assessment Framework

How do you think an organization might be greenwashing?
Impact
Selective disclosure
Claim is based on a narrow set of attributes and distracts consumers from the organization's greater environmental impact- Examples+
1.1 Does the organization fail to disclose relevant information regarding the environmental claim being made, such as lifecycle or cumulative impacts?
- If yes...+
1.2 When making a comparison, does the claim provide insufficient information to assess the difference between the claim and alternatives?
- If yes...+
1.3 Is a claim of environmental neutrality based on offsetting rather than reduction of direct environmental harm?
- If yes...+
Empty claims
Making claims/policies that either exaggerate achievements, or fail to live up to them- Examples+
2.1 Does the claim over-state positive improvements to the environment?
- If yes...+
2.2 Is the marketing budget disproportionately large compared to the budget allocated for the claim, or when compared to the marketing budget for other products or initiatives that are a higher proportion of the organization's activity?
- If yes...+
Irrelevant
Proclaiming accomplishments that are irrelevant or already required by law/competitors- Examples+
3.1 Is the claim presented as voluntary when it is required by law or policy?
- If yes...+
3.2 Is an unrelated issue included in a claim about a particular environmental benefit?
- If yes...+
Falsehoods
The claim cannot be substantiated by accessible supporting information- Examples+
4.1 Is the claim based on solutions or justifications that are not supported by scientific consensus?
- If yes...+
4.2 Does the claim contain statements that are not based on robust, independent, verifiable and generally recognized evidence?
- If yes...+
4.3. Is the claim based on implementation methodologies that are not clear or transparent, do not have robust metrics or are based on aggregated broader sector data that benefit the organization?
- If yes...+
Just not credible
Claim touts environmental friendly attributes of a practice / policy / product that is environmentally harmful or focuses on minor issues- Examples+
5.1 Does the claim try to make the public feel positive about a product, service, or policy that is demonstrably dangerous, harmful, or unsafe?
- If yes...+
5.2 Is the claim disproportionately small or concerned with minor issues compared with the scale of the environmental impacts associated with the organization/practice?
- If yes...+