What is Greenwashing?
The term “greenwash” or “greenwashing” has been apart of environmental policy and market transformation program vernacular for quite some time. The word itself, however, did not officially enter the English language until 1999 when it was included in the Oxford English Dictionary which defined “greenwash” as: “Disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image.”
Sustainability continues to receive an increasing amount of media attention as more large corporations, like General Electric, announcing green initiatives. The U.S. market for sustainable products is well over $226.8 billion according to the Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) Journal. The large and quickly growing marketplace means sustainability is more than a passing trend, it is here to stay. With more products to choose from, it’s important to identify between fact and fiction when it comes to the environmental qualities of the products you choose be they for your building or your home.
Green Products
From refrigerants to cleaning products, many items facility managers purchase for their buildings offer environmental benefits. Many products are available that contain recycled content, do not use HCFC’s or Halons, and use innovative technologies to improve energy efficiency. To identify green products, look for a standard you can trust. Environmental labels including ENERGY STAR© and Green Seal© are backed by strict independent certification, while others are unregulated and can be used entirely at the discretion of the manufacturer. This is typically true of labels that make vague claims such as “energy saving” and “all natural.” This does not mean that “energy saving” products will not reduce energy use, but there is no guarantee these products will perform noticeably better.
Learn the Vocabulary
It can be difficult to determine what adds to the green attributes of a product and what is marketing spin. Below are some common terms used in the marketplace:
Recycled Content—refers to materials that have been recovered or otherwise diverted from the solid waste stream.
Pre-consumer—recycled content diverted during the manufacturing process that never makes it to the marketplace, such as paper scraps at a paper mill. It is necessary for the manufacturer or advertiser to substantiate the pre-consumer material would have otherwise been thrown away and entered the solid waste stream. Sources of pre-consumer recycled content could be process waste that one industry has sold or traded with another through the marketplace. Pre-consumer content does not include in-house industrial scrap or trimmings, which are normally fed back into the same manufacturing process.
Post Industrial—now called pre-consumer to highlight that industrial scraps fed back into the manufacturing process do not constitute recycled content.
Post-consumer—recycled content material that comes from consumer waste, much of which is collected from residential curbside recycling programs for aluminum, glass, plastic and paper. The raw materials need to have served a useful purpose in the consumer market before being used again.
Recyclable—a product or package that can be collected, separated or otherwise recovered from the solid waste stream for reuse, or in the manufacture or assembly of another package or product, through an established recycling program.
Source Reduction—refers to any change in the design, manufacture, purchase, or use of materials or products (including packaging) to reduce their amount or toxicity before they become municipal solid waste.
Environmentally Friendly—this is a general claim that currently has no standard or independent verifying organization, unless otherwise specified, certifying the claim. Environmentally friendly is often used to imply the product or packaging has an environmental benefit or that it causes no harm to the environment. The producer or manufacturer decides whether to use the claim and is not free from its own self-interest.
Biodegradable—the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued general guidelines on how the term should be used, but they do not verify that products labeled biodegradable are true to their claim. According to FTC guidance, biodegradable should mean that a product is degradable when exposed to air, moisture, bacteria or other organisms and that the materials will break down and return to nature within a reasonably short time after customary disposal.
Ask the Right Questions
When a product manufacturer approaches your company claiming environmental benefits about their product, be sure to ask specific questions about how the claim can be substantiated. Be sure to ask questions about the raw materials used to make the product, the manufacturing process, operational performance and how the product contributes to indoor environmental quality. It is also important to note the corporate environmental policy of the product manufacturer to determine if a company-wide commitment has been made to truly reduce negative environmental impacts. Below are some questions a product manufacturer should be able to answer about their environmental claims:
- Have efforts been made to reduce the negative environmental impact on natural resources in obtaining the raw materials for the production of this product?
- Does the product contain recycled content? If yes, what is the percentage and is it pre or post-consumer?
- Does the manufacturing process limit emissions of harmful toxins and pollutants that contribute to global climate change?
- How durable is the product once installed and what type of maintenance will be required? A product that needs replaced frequently adds to the waste stream.
- Can the environmental claims be supported with data, invoices or other documentation?
Get Informed
Before purchasing a product take the time, even if you can only spare a few minutes, to find out more about the product and the issues. For example, consider waste generation. Waste generation plays a large role in the environmental impact of a building due to the negative environmental aspects of waste disposal through landfills or incineration. It is a commonly held belief that purchasing products with 100% recycled content is the best environmental solution to mitigate the negative environmental impacts. It is true that purchasing products with 100% recycled content is generally a good idea and a laudable practice, but from a waste (and often cost) reduction perspective facility managers can do better. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s hierarchy of waste reduction strategies, source reduction – because it reduces all impacts of the material life cycle including the supply chain, use, recycling and waste disposal – is the best waste reduction strategy. Reuse ranks second because reused materials do not become waste or produce the environmental impacts associated with recycling processes. Recycling which many think is the best ranks third because it does not deliver all the benefits of source reduction and reuse, but does divert waste from landfills and incinerators thus reducing the need for virgin materials. So, in meshing the purchasing decisions with the environmental goals of your organization consider products that result in the greatest source reduction.
Additional Resources:
WasteWise www.epa.gov/wastewise—a free, voluntary, EPA program through which organizations eliminate costly municipal solid waste and select industrial wastes, benefiting their bottom line and the environment. WasteWise provides free technical assistance to help you develop, implement, and measure your waste reduction activities
ENERGY STAR www.energystar.gov—a government-backed program helping businesses and individuals protect the environment through superior energy efficiency.
Green Seal www.greenseal.org—an independent organization whose purpose is to set standards for and certify a wide variety of environmentally sound products. Its standards are designed to address the environmental impacts of a product from manufacturing to use to disposal.
The Consumers Union Guide to Environmental Labels www.eco-labels.org—learn more about labels that are used on products and compare conventional products to environmentally beneficial products.
U.S. Green Building Council www.usgbc.org—operates the LEED© (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System to certify buildings that are less costly to operate, are healthy and more productive places for employees to work, and reduce environmental impact. The LEED for Existing Buildings Rating System allows building owners and facility managers to certify the sustainable performance of their building and delivers a clear set of standards you can trust to optimize the energy and water efficiency of your building and reduce operating costs.
