{"id":646862,"date":"2024-01-23T06:16:27","date_gmt":"2024-01-23T14:16:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=wherenext&#038;p=646862"},"modified":"2024-05-10T06:14:35","modified_gmt":"2024-05-10T13:14:35","slug":"greenwashing-inspires-transparency","status":"publish","type":"wherenext","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/greenwashing-inspires-transparency","title":{"rendered":"Consumers, Regulators Tire of Greenwashing"},"author":501,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","transcript_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[479702,471622,1331,9412],"department":[488822],"wherenext-category":[],"industry":[],"class_list":["post-646862","wherenext","type-wherenext","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-climate-of-change","tag-esg","tag-supply-chain","tag-transparency","department-sustainability-risk"],"acf":{"short_description":"Greenwashing comes in for scrutiny just as the technology to counter it hits its stride. ","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Left","content":"<strong>Article snapshot:<\/strong> By regularly collecting and analyzing location data, companies can set targets, measure progress, and report on sustainability performance. This ensures transparency and prevents the appearance of greenwashing.","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Consumer patience for greenwashing\u2014the practice of touting bogus environmental credentials\u2014is running thin.\r\n\r\nAccording to Euromonitor International\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/lp.euromonitor.com\/white-paper\/2024-global-consumer-trends\/overview\">2024 consumer trends report<\/a>, consumers are tired of taking positive environmental action in their daily lives while corporations claim to do the same\u2014without evidence to prove it. Governments, too, are taking a dim view of greenwashing, with regulators around the world drafting rules to force companies to prove sustainable practices.\r\n\r\nAs these pressures grow, first movers are leveraging <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/location-intelligence\/overview\">location intelligence<\/a> to provide transparent and verifiable evidence of sustainable practices."},{"acf_fc_layout":"quote","image":646882,"text":"In 2022, Boston Consulting Group reported that approximately 70 percent of global consumers were disillusioned with corporate claims of sustainability.","author_name":"","author_profession_organization":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<h3><strong>Transparency Counters Greenwashing <\/strong><\/h3>\r\nTransparency begins with a thorough inventory of a company\u2019s value chain. Often, that means tracing each supplier and subsupplier, following the connections upstream to determine who\u2019s who, where\u2014and in what conditions\u2014they operate, and how they\u2019re connected."},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"<strong>Showing Traces<\/strong>\r\n\r\nOne method for countering greenwashing is to share interactive maps and data visualizations on websites and in investor reports. Some companies even include QR Codes on product tags that link to a map of an item\u2019s path from raw material to store shelf.","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"A global apparel company, for example, might map the garment factories that supply its sweatshirts and jogging pants, then the dye factories and zipper suppliers those factories work with, all the way up to the farms that produce the cotton and the mines that extract the aluminum for zippers.\r\n\r\nIdentifying each supplier on an interactive map reveals exactly where products and their components originate. With a modern geographic information system <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/what-is-gis\/overview\">(GIS)<\/a>, companies can add data to each supplier, including energy usage and carbon emission estimates, the amount of water used in production, local biodiversity scores, and third-party data on labor conditions in the area.\r\n\r\nInteractive maps thwart <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=__i20tDMVZo&amp;list=PL1U1yOIVhnz8jd4Nk7Lf7CnKQSFUfTgCe&amp;index=6\">greenwashing<\/a> by demonstrating a company\u2019s work\u2014a virtual scorecard of its sustainability commitment. With that information, consumers can decide whether to support the company with their purchases.\r\n\r\nSome companies create deeper transparency and identify areas of improvement by incorporating additional data into GIS smart maps, creating a digital twin of the value chain.\r\n\r\nAs noted in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/the-business-executives-blueprint-for-sustainability\/\">the <em>WhereNext<\/em> article<\/a> \u201cThe Business Executive\u2019s Blueprint for Sustainability\u201d:"},{"acf_fc_layout":"blockquote","content":"By modeling facilities or supply chains into a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/lg\/publications\/finding-business-value-in-the-digital-twin\">digital twin<\/a>\u2014complete with data from IoT sensors and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/think-tank-what-leading-businesses-see-in-remote-sensing\/\">satellite or drone imagery<\/a>\u2014executives gain a comprehensive view of business activity across land and sea. From this vantage point, they can analyze supply chain impacts, create more efficient routing, and ensure long-term responsible use of resources."},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<h3><strong>Regulators Inspire Transparency <\/strong><\/h3>\r\nThe GIS techniques helping companies address consumer distaste for greenwashing may soon help them prove compliance to regulators as well.\r\n\r\nBeginning in 2024, the EU will require certain large companies to report their impact on social and environmental conditions through data on pollution, biodiversity, labor practices, and supplier payment practices. The new rules, part of the EU\u2019s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, include mandatory third-party verification of a company\u2019s assertions. <span style=\"text-decoration: line-through;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nLikewise, California is developing rules that could require thousands of public and private companies to report greenhouse gas emissions and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/about\/climate-action\/overview\/climate-risk-management\">climate-related financial risks<\/a>.\r\n\r\nWith greenwashing in the crosshairs, greater transparency\u2014visualized on smart maps\u2014provides the proof both consumers and regulators are demanding."}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Greenwashing Draws New Scrutiny from Consumers, Regulators<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Scrutiny of greenwashing\u2014the 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