Council: Firms should certify green claims

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Jun 13, 2008 by Martino, Kristina

When the next local company announces it's going green, ask how and what it's doing to physically become part of this global movement, says Tracie Hall, executive director of the United States Green Building Council's Upstate chapter.

The business may not always present a clear answer, signaling that the company is greenwashing - an act of misleading other businesses and customers with regard to a company's environmental practices or a product or service's environmental benefits.

"Greenwashing is not a new phenomenon. It's something that has grown in popularity as everyone has tried to jump on board this green ship," Hall says. "Greenwashing is when grandiose claims are stated that can't be verified or quantified by a third-party source."

The most obvious way to check the veracity of a "green" claim made about a building, service, or product is to look for certifications or seals of approval from a third-party source, she explains.

Many energy-efficient buildings acquire The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, which is a green-building rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, based in Washington, D.C.

The rating system offers four certification levels titled certified, silver, gold, and platinum. The number of credits a project earns in five categories - water efficiency, sustainable sites, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor-environmental quality determines what level certification it acquires.

Companies apply for the certification, but a building becomes certified, not a company a common misunderstanding, Hall explains.

Individual employees can obtain a LEED accreditation called LEED Accredited Professionals (AP).

"Buildings become certified, people get accredited," Hall explains.

Many companies that sell green products have them certified by Green Seal, a non-profit, third-party certifier and standards development body started in 1989. The Federal Energy Star program is another labeling program designed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to identify and promote energy-efficient products.

"Third-party certifications are expensive for manufacturers but it certainly validates their 'greenness' in a way that can't be disputed," Hall says.

According to a December 2007 survey called "The Six Sins of Greenwashing," results showed that 99 percent of 1,018 common consumer products randomly surveyed for the study were guilty of greenwashing. About 10 percent of those products falsely claimed to be verified by a third party. TerraChoice Environmental Marketing, Inc, based in Philadelphia, produced this report.

If not verified by a third-party vendor, Hall says every company, product, and service is subject to accusations of greenwashing.

Examples of commonly greenwashed products include cleaning supplies, makeup, and paper products, Hall says. A manufacturer can easily create a product label stating that it's environmentally friendly without producing it all with green components, Hall contends.

Looking at paper products as an example, Hall explains that the amount of recycled content in paper can greatly vary and that some of the dyes used to make paper white are actually unhealthy for the environment.

"They are all trying to get in on this [green movement] but when you ask the manufacturer, 'what makes this green?' they don't always have a good answer," Hall says.

To determine the environmental-friendliness of a business' product, Hall suggests reviewing the following four points:

* Look at the composition of the product including if it's manufactured using recycled materials and how it's harvested

* Determine a product's lifespan - when the product is thrown out and whether or not it's recycled or sent to a landfill

* Sustainability of a product - how the product is manufactured and by whom

* The product's value - "Just because it's green, we need to determine if it's going to perform efficiently."

By investigating the prior points, Hall says a consumer can determine if a product is green even if it doesn't have third-party authorization.

"Look at the manufacturing process and its sustainable philosophy. We have to look at a company's marketing and how they are presenting a product or service in sales," Hall says. "[Consumers] have to look at [the product's] lifecycle and make sure the product doesn't end up back in the landfill."

Businesses also have to wary about possible regulatory repercussions from greenwashing.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is in the process of updating its "Guides for the use of Environmental Marketing Claims "to crack down on greenwashers.

The guides list standards businesses must meet to market products as environmentally friendly on labels, advertisements, and promotional materials. The FTC can bring law-enforcement actions against false or misleading marketing claims, including environmental or green marketing claims.