How to avoid ‘Greenwashing’ in a post-truth climate

With only 15% of the Sustainability Development Goals on track for 2030, last week’s UN ‘Sustainability in Action’ conference offers another pause for the Australian corporates to reflect on what’s working and what’s not.

Nearly five years ago, one of the world’s most influential investors called for corporations to take climate seriously. Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, a global investment firm with over $7.4 trillion in assets worldwide, sent a letter each year to over 200 of the world’s leading CEOs. This highly influential letter is a call to action for corporations and a prediction of what’s to come for global business. Two years prior, Fink’s letter called on CEOs across the globe to focus on purpose as well as profit, prompting en-masse announcements from top businesses highlighting their commitment to the communities in which they operate.

Fink’s climate-focused letter was followed by a wave of pledges from some of BlackRock’s biggest clients. Within two weeks, Delta, Microsoft, and Amazon made impact statements and announced strategies ranging from offsetting carbon emissions to Microsoft’s huge pledge to become carbon-negative and invest in innovation to tackle some of our biggest climate challenges.

Amongst financial and business analysts, there has been much controversy around whether these pledges represented systemic change, philanthropic alignment, or just clever marketing.

Since Fink’s call to action, the media and cultural climate have suffered major losses with the rise of misinformation making its way from politics to business. In our new post-truth era, disinformation spreads six times faster than the truth. For businesses, this means the stakes are high when it comes to doing good and communicating it effectively. Particularly for listed entities, there are likely corners of the internet where they’ll be vilified even if they’re doing the right thing.

Consumers and clients are well-informed and culturally, we’ve come a long way. We’re at the point where corporate values are becoming arbitrary, particularly among younger generations. Values like sustainability, integrity, and people-centricity are simply expected, not celebrated. Whether it was Fink’s influence or societal evolution, expectations around community care, environmental stewardship, and diversity have switched from “nice-to-haves” to essentials. Businesses are trying to keep up, jumping on shortcuts such as carbon credits and local sponsorships. 

Expectations are high, and consumers are well-informed. So here are a few ways to provide more context when communicating your ESG commitments.

Marketing your ESG commitments honestly & effectively 

Large entities are, unfortunately, on the wrong side of history and have to play the role of both problem and solution. So, how do you shift the narrative from problem to solution? In the same way that products like Apple and Nike, with a clear sense of why, allow consumers to tell the outside world who they are and what they believe in. Even in the B2B space, companies are looking to work with good folks with genuine ESG roadmaps. Some even go as far as to legislate procurement processes. It’s no longer about what you do. While you can play around with talent and price to differentiate, the why is vital. What used to be a “nice to have” is now an essential investment into effectively marketing the ESG portion of your why.

A warning before we get tactical: don’t do any ESG marketing without reason, commitment, and a funded initiative behind it. Consumers and businesses are too smart these days. Just in the past year, I’ve turned down several projects that lacked depth. To name a few: a CMO asked for a D&I webpage when 95% of the staff are male; a large mining company asked for a First Nations engagement video with no First Nations voices included; and an FMCG giant wanted a program brand and campaign for an eco-project that had no project team or plans to launch. I wasn’t saying no just to be righteous. These sorts of marketing attempts will be picked up on and backfire within the financial year they launch.

Communicate radical transparency across your supply chain

A lesson learned from consumer marketing is the effective execution of radical transparency. This tactic is where businesses openly share their supply chain, often including costs, locations, and working conditions. Brands like US fashion label Everlane address industry and customer sustainability needs through implementing radical transparency across every product sold. This approach, where your ESG efforts become integrated across the entire brand experience, is not only refreshing but also a powerful tool for marketing the why. If you’re in the advanced stages of your ESG journey, open up your supply chain, and make it common practice to share where and how you produce. Thinking creatively, this can be done by service businesses, manufacturers, and consultants. If this isn’t feasible for your business at the moment, it’s an effective internal communications exercise to create transparency around where, on the supply chain, you feel the need to hold back and examine why. This can be an open-ended conversation to work on areas needing alignment with your sustainable business model.

Forget the media, self-produce content

Spending resources on short-term PR stunts that receive even shorter coverage is a waste of marketing spend. Instead, show progress, not just results, by self-producing long-form storytelling pieces. Practically, this means content series, either articles or videos, that show insight into your business’s ESG journey. A great example of this is Australia Post’s series Progress at Post, a project uncovering individuals’ attempts to make changes within the organization and allowing team members to share both, successes and challenges.

Start ugly industry conversations

Collective scrutiny can win you brand loyalty. Open the door to sharing what’s not working with peers. Start industry conversations about the areas of the business that are stagnant in terms of ESG targets, or supply chain issues where you’re finding it difficult to find cost-effective sustainable options. The planet’s burning; people no longer expect your growth trajectory to be perfect. So, if there’s a specific issue you can’t seem to solve, bring it to an industry body and become a mouthpiece for addressing it. This puts your business on the side of finding solutions and promotes the idea of growing with transparency. Your clients and customers will be impressed by your ability to lead with problem-solving, and the market will respond positively.

Legitimise stakeholder commitments pt. 1: Community

I hear this a lot, “But what do they actually do for the community?” To legitimise the notion of seeing your community as a core stakeholder (thank you, Fink), you need to solidify and ideally brand what you’re giving back. Let’s call it a pledge. Whether that be financial support, jobs, or resources, it needs to be packaged up and include proof points, such as testimonials or metrics. Ensure this pledge is overtly incorporated into your communications to answer the above question before it’s asked. At this point, if you say you give back to the community and it’s tokenistic, it’ll affect your ability to hire talent, retain customers, and will likely end up being media-worthy (for all the wrong reasons).

Legitimise stakeholder commitments pt. 2: Employees

Over the past few years, the landscape of employee needs has changed dramatically. Employees now expect more from their employers, and traditional top-down approaches are losing relevance. If you are genuinely at the stage where your staff are seen as a primary business stakeholder, share it. If you’re doing a lot for your employees, communicate the benefits and Employee Value Proposition effectively to the team, and let them become your brand ambassadors. Employee-created content is the best testimonial you can get. Employees sharing their positive experiences will not only reshape internal culture but can also play a pivotal role in shaping public perception and brand awareness. Companies now have an opportunity to harness the power of authentic employee content to attract wider audiences, including consumers, investors, and media outlets.

Celebrate your Sustainability Report better

In today’s media landscape, facts don’t speak for themselves.  They need to be packaged as a compelling story. Some of the world’s leading businesses in ESG have missed out by not leveraging their metrics for storytelling. Turn your reporting into a public-facing campaign with marketing spend and timelines that match consumer campaigns. Create resources such as a campaign microsite that allows stakeholders to digest your impact. This ensures that when people look up what you’re doing, your verified narrative comes up, providing transparency and accountability.

Partner with startups and share their impact

The tide is changing (and rising), giving entrepreneurs a new era of big business collaboration. The average team size of a scaling startup is four to nine people. While it’s difficult to stereotype startups, there are common characteristics: problem-solving, innovation, and ambitious goals. These are precisely the traits needed to dive deep into ESG solutions. This new era of big business taking responsibility for the climate crisis allows small teams to set a benchmark for running sustainable business environments.

In the end, avoiding greenwashing isn’t just about looking good on paper; it’s about building a reputation that stands the test of time. Part of this comes down to dedicating marketing resources, budget, and planning on the same scale as product or internal comms. ESG done right can inspire loyalty, rally employees, and establish a business as a genuine leader. So, before you post that sustainability update, ask yourself: is this built to last or just for applause? Get it right, and the respect, credibility, and market rewards will follow.