GREENWASHING Affects sustainability

Greenwashing may be a practice that accrues benefits to the organization but it has some effects or risks to the external environment. First, the central danger of greenwashing is that it can mislead people into acting unsustainably. For instance, a customer may be misled to buy a product when a company claims that they are eco-friendly when they are not. In using the products, customers contribute to environmental damage unintentionally.  If these environmental claims turn out to be false, then innocent customers accidentally contribute to harming the environment by supporting the company. At the same time, greenwashing affects the business itself as it may create a negative brand image. The business reputation may be severely affected by greenwashing practices. Sequentially, the revenue and bottom line of the business is affected. By demonstrating a false commitment to sustainability, the company may appear dishonest to the public hence a negative brand image. Further, false sustainability claims contribute to an increase in global carbon emissions by burning fossil fuels and advertising environmentally friendly products. This leads to climate change as the fossils emit greenhouse gases from thus triggering human-induced climate change.