| What is Greenwashing? |
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| Written by Paul Nutcher |
| Wednesday, 14 July 2010 20:16 |
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Greenwashing is the unjustified appropriation of environmental virtue by a company, industry, government, politician or even an non-governmental organization (non-profit) to create a pro-environmental image, sell a product or a policy, or to try and rehabilitate their standing with the public and decision makers after being embroiled in controversy, according to SourceWatch.org. Furthermore, the Federal Trade Commission regulates consumer goods making environmental claims such as recyclable, bio-degradable, among others. The Environmental Protection Agency regulates claims made by businesses selling building products to the AEC Industry. In some cases especially in states such as California, the restrictions on such term as recyclable and other environmental claims can be even stricter than federal regulations. So greenwashing could land the offender in trouble with a federal agency or state regulators and should be avoided by following the existing standards for reporting of the sustainable attributes of building products. Companies selling building products should become familiar with the standards such as ASTM E-2129 or the relevant ISO 14000 Standards. |
