Whether you call it propaganda or greenwashing, companies have long used marketing to tout the good they do for the environment while obfuscating any negative externalities of their businesses. However, thanks to the rise of the internet and social media and the proliferation of data on ESG performance, consumers are now acutely aware of whether organizations are actually practicing what they preach.
The term greenwashing was coined by environmentalist Jay Westerveld in 1986 as a rebuke to companies that claimed to be environmentally friendly without offering any evidence to back up their claims. Recall, for example, Chevron’s 1980s ad campaigns featuring employees lovingly protecting cute sea turtles while the company was