Impact-washing occurs when an organisation attempts to pass itself off as being “better” than it is, communicating claims of social or environmental impact that have no clear positive or demonstrable evidence.
In Africa, where ESG funding is slowly, but gradually taking root, the impact is still more closely tied to development-focused outcomes than climate effects, carbon footprints, labour, or diversity and inclusion . With its lagging growth, in all honesty, Africa’s many developmental challenges seem to aid impact-washing. Socio-economic problems abound; people want solutions to those problems and are more inclined to hold in higher esteem entities that seem to contribute to solving them.
But it is not difficult to determine where an organisation sits and to what degree its activities are authentic. If we look closely, reviewing our activities against global and local priorities, as well as societal needs, we can tell who is true or not.