Companies are becoming ever craftier in their efforts to pose as more climate-friendly than they are

The name of the ruse: a taxonomy of greenwashing

Mechanism

  • Misleading information
  • Attention deflection
  • Attention reduction (absolute)
  • Attention reduction (peer-overshadowed)
  • Attention timing

Classic application

  • Misleading claims made by firms themselves
  • Greenshifting of blame on to demanding consumers
  • Limited disclosure of worthy ambitions
  • Decent disclosure but substandard vis à vis peers
  • Delayed disclosure

Sophisticated application

  • Greenlabelling by third parties, which certify firms’ performance
  • Greenlighting of good-news case studies
  • Fuller disclosure, but with greenhushing of details
  • Greencrowding: substandard disclosure en masse
  • Greenrinsing: headline-grabbing targets get gradually diluted

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