Abuse of “Green” Labeling

Not long ago I wrote a law review article about the emerging Social Enterprise/Fourth sector in the United States.  One of many challenges that social entrepreneurs face is distinguishing their double or triple bottom line philosophy from practitioners of mere Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”).  According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, social entrepreneurs have yet more reason to distance themselves from CSR.  The Journal says that the phenomenon of “greenwashing” is rampant in the corporate world.  That is, many, many corporations in the U.S. claim that their products are environmentally responsible, or “green,” when in fact there is absolutely no evidence to support the “green” claims.  In fact, more than 95% of consumer products examined in a recent study committed at least one “greenwashing” offense.  Interestingly, the article mentions that there are two firms that offer to provide third-party “green certification” for corporations that make green claims.  Such firms could provide CSR practitioners the same sort of seal of approval that B-Lab purports to provide for social enterprise organizations.

TAK