by Amanda D. Smith, Ph.D., Hannah Jurist-Schoen and Duncan Meisel
Net zero climate marketing is ramping up while trust in corporate climate claims is plummeting. How do you share good news about emissions reductions while being honest about emissions that are still occurring?
Carbon neutral products. Net zero buildings. Climate-neutral certified brands. Companies are eager to show that they’re taking action on climate and doing their part to help the world reach “net zero” emissions, the point in time when humans stop adding more planet-warming greenhouse gases and other warming agents to the atmosphere each year than can be removed by natural or engineered carbon sinks. It’s a state we must reach for global mean temperatures to stop increasing and for the climate to begin to stabilize, and our path to getting there means cutting emissions until they are tiny – and doing so quickly.
However, net zero targets and carbon-neutral certifications don’t mean that a company’s operations or its products have no impact on the climate. Popular schemes like claiming a product is “net zero” while neglecting emissions throughout the product’s full life cycle or purchasing carbon offsets to write off those emissions are being called out by scientists and watchdog organizations. As a result, consumers are increasingly confused and skeptical. It’s no longer guaranteed – if it ever was – that consumers will accept those claims at face value. Moreover, many countries are now designing policies to address greenwashing, meaning unfounded claims may get you in legal hot water.
In this fraught landscape, marketers are often the first target of green washing. Read more