Page 343 - The Green Building Bottom Line The Real Cost of Sustainable Building

MARKETING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 321

RULE 1: GREENWASH DOESN’T WASH
The target for a green product or service is sensitive to over-the-top claims and hype
about what a product or service can deliver relative to its competitors. The term
“greenwash” is commonly used to describe the practice of making green claims with-
out the ability to deliver on them, and while that is always a bad idea, this target is par-
ticularly sensitive to these claims. Avoid exaggeration, take extra care to be authentic,
and your target will reward you.
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In December 2007, the environmental marketing company TerraChoice gained
national press coverage for releasing a study called “The Six Sins of Greenwashing,”
which found that 99 percent of 1,018 common consumer products randomly surveyed
for the study were guilty of greenwashing. Here’s a list you don’t want to find your
name on:

■ Sin of the Hidden Trade-Off: “Energy-efficient” electronics that contain hazardous
materials. 998 products and 57 percent of all environmental claims committed
this sin.
■ Sin of No Proof: Shampoos claiming to be “certified organic,” but with no verifi-
able certification. 454 products and 26 percent of environmental claims committed
this sin.
■ Sin of Vagueness: Products claiming to be 100 percent natural when many naturally
occurring substances are hazardous, like arsenic and formaldehyde. Seen in 196
products or 11 percent of environmental claims.
■ Sin of Irrelevance: Products claiming to be CFC-free, even though CFCs were
banned 20 years ago. This sin was seen in 78 products and 4 percent of environ-
mental claims.
■ Sin of Fibbing: Products falsely claiming to be certified by an internationally rec-
ognized environmental standard like EcoLogo, Energy Star, or Green Seal. Found
in 10 products or less than 1 percent of environmental claims.
■ Sin of Lesser of Two Evils: Products in a category with questionable environmen-
tal benefit, e.g., organic cigarettes or “environmentally friendly” pesticides. This
occurred in 17 products or 1 percent of environmental claims.

RULE 2: DON’T LET YOUR TALK EXCEED YOUR WALK
Similar to greenwash is the practice of overstating the green attributes your product or
service delivers, or using language to imply that you have achieved more than you
actually have. It is important that you make realistic claims. Keeping your talk in line
with your walk is an important factor in winning over your target. This issue is par-
ticularly germane in the context of the green building trade, where there is often an
extended time between the planning of a project on the front end and its eventual
execution, sometimes years later. Developers (and Melaver, Inc. is no exception in
this regard) tend to have this sense that the building they have conceived and planned