2. Recycling is another form of greenwashing, albeit not as blatant as the VW example above. The idea of recycling was carefully curated by the fossil fuel industry, in the late 90s, so that they could keep producing and selling more plastic goods while shifting the blame of plastic pollution onto the consumer. Today, after decades of plastic recycling campaigns, less than 10% of plastic ends up getting recycled. 90% of all plastic ends up in landfills, or it is incinerated producing toxic gases or it is thrown in rivers and oceans.

Image courtesy:Conscious Consumers @Reddit

3. Another example, at a global scale, is the idea that natural gas is somehow a ‘cleaner’ fuel than coal. Firstly, calling it ‘natural’ is a form of greenwashing in itself, as gas is no more ‘natural’ than other types of fossil fuels. In theory, burning gas releases 50% less CO2 than burning coal, which is why Western countries have rallied behind it across the last two decades. But in reality, because natural gas is nothing but methane = CH4, which has orders of magnitude more heat-trapping capability than CO2, even a small leak along its supply chain (during extraction or in the pipelines or at the destination) can quickly make natural gas worse for the environment than coal. Recent reports are pointing to exactly that. Some studies have even estimated that the climate impact of natural gas is twice as much as coal. It doesn't sound like a great transition fuel, as some politicians have claimed in the past.

Image Source: Climate Coalition

1. Time lag: Governments are typically slow to react to shifting trends in a capitalistic market. Take the lack of regulation around Artificial Intelligence at the moment. It can take years or even decades for the government to understand and react to market practices that may harm society in the long term.

2. Lobbying/corruption: Lobbying/corruption: Large corporations have deep pockets to sponsor misleading scientific studies and bribe elected officials to block regulations. The tobacco industry bribed doctors and government officials to downplay the risks associated with smoking. Regulations around climate change and greenwashing have similarly been blocked by the fossil fuel industry, through bogus research studies and lobbying.

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Thankfully, after years of rampant greenwashing, governments around the world have started to take this matter seriously. Last month, the Indian government passed new guidelines to limit greenwashing. According to the Mint, “Under new guidelines issued Tuesday (Oct 15, 2024), companies claiming environmental benefits in advertisements to promote their products or services must ensure that consumers receive accurate and transparent information”, said Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare. It remains to be seen whether the government will be able to enforce these rules effectively. But it’s a step in the right direction.

According to the European Union, “On 22 March 2023, the European Commission put forward a proposal for a directive on green claims. The proposed directive would require companies to substantiate the voluntary green claims they make in business-to-consumer commercial practices, by complying with a number of requirements regarding their assessment (e.g. taking a life-cycle perspective).” The directive is currently in the negotiating phase, with the EU Council and the EU Parliament still needing to agree on the final content.