Legal Literacy - This article discusses the phenomenon of Greenwashing and examines how regulatory policies are implemented in Indonesia. Let's check out the explanation!
Is Greenwashing Illegal in Indonesia?
Some companies have recently launched sustainability campaigns as a form of CSR or to attract customers; examples include environmentally friendly drinking water packaging and recyclable packaging.
This is known as greenwashing, which is defined as a marketing and communication strategy used by companies to create an environmentally friendly image.
Greenwashing is a term that combines the words "green" and "whitewash", and refers to making false or inaccurate claims about environmentally friendly products, services, and/or practices.
In 1986, an environmentalist named Jay Westerveld coined this phrase after discovering that many hotels were using "towel saving" campaigns to reduce operating costs.
In TerraChoice's findings, there are six (6) errors or what are later referred to as the "6 sins" in green claiming activities, which are divided into several categories, namely:
- Committing hidden trade-offs
- Making unsubstantiated environmental claims
- Making speculative environmental claims
- Making insignificant environmental claims
- Choosing the lesser of two evils
- Lying
Royal Dutch Shell, the parent company of Shell oil and gas, was recently sued by activists at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) based on news in the Washington Post where Shell was considered to have misled investors by classifying its investments in natural gas as part of the company's efforts towards renewable energy.
The activists consider this action as "greenwashing", where the company portrays its business or products as environmentally friendly, when in fact they are not.
It is unfortunate that the goal of "greenwashing" is only to display an environmentally friendly image, but does not actually provide or contribute to environmentally friendly actions. The only goal is for customers to have a positive experience so that they will be loyal to the company's products in the future.
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