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Is it climate action or is it just greenwashing?

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It appears that sustainability and climate action is finally hitting the mainstream. More and more companies are making climate announcements and publishing their net zero commitments. 

To capitalise on the growing demand for environmentally sound products and services, there is a risk that companies spend more time and money on marketing their product or brand as “green” rather than implementing actual business practices that minimise environmental impact. This is called greenwashing. 

In the short term, greenwashing is tempting. Cutting emissions is hard work! You’ll need buy-in from the board, funding, maybe even an overhaul of your business model.  

Why not pay some clever marketing people to come up with a new campaign that makes it look like you’re tacking that pesky climate problem so you can buy some time and save some money? 

In reality, the coalescence of extreme climate events, emerging of regulatory pressure and changing consumer and investor sentiment means that there won’t be much time before the climate risk becomes a reality.  

So, how do you assess the robustness of your climate action strategy? 

You may want to start by understanding your business’s context and drivers in relation to climate change. This may include stress testing your business strategy using the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework and start transparently reporting the risks and opportunities your business faces.  

The framework allows you to put climate change in the context of your business and will result in: 

Once the risks are understood, it is important to develop and deliver a carbon and energy management framework that underpins the implementation of your carbon strategy. 

Collectively at Northmore Gordon, we have over 100 years of experience specialising in energy and carbon strategy management and this has informed the development of our Carbon & Energy Health Check. Comparing against best-practice will uncover gaps in your strategy that could be hindering your energy and carbon performance.  

Just remember, long term carbon targets without interim goals or a plan to realise, may turn out to be a little more than greenwashing. 

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What is greenwashing, according to Northmore Gordon's article?

Greenwashing is when companies spend more time and money marketing their product or brand as "green" rather than implementing actual business practices that minimise environmental impact, in order to capitalise on the growing demand for environmentally sound products and services.

Why might a company be tempted to greenwash instead of taking real climate action?

According to the article, cutting emissions is hard work—it requires buy-in from the board, funding, and possibly an overhaul of the business model. Greenwashing offers a shortcut: paying marketing people to create a campaign that makes it look like the company is tackling climate change, allowing it to buy time and save money in the short term.

What pressures are pushing companies away from greenwashing and toward real climate action?

The article cites the coalescence of extreme climate events, emerging regulatory pressure, and changing consumer and investor sentiment as factors meaning climate risk will soon become a reality, leaving little time for companies to rely on greenwashing.

What framework does Northmore Gordon recommend for assessing the robustness of a climate action strategy?

Northmore Gordon recommends stress testing business strategy using the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework and transparently reporting the risks and opportunities the business faces.

What benefits does the TCFD framework provide, according to the article?

The TCFD framework helps businesses put climate change in context by enabling an effective and comprehensive climate-related risk assessment, better-informed decisions on where and when to allocate capital, and strategic planning to address risks and exposures over the short, medium and long term.

What should a company do after understanding its climate-related risks, per the article?

Once risks are understood, the article says it is important to develop and deliver a carbon and energy management framework that underpins the implementation of the company's carbon strategy.

What tool does Northmore Gordon offer to help companies assess their carbon and energy performance against best practice?

Northmore Gordon offers a Carbon & Energy Health Check, informed by the collective 100+ years of experience the company has in energy and carbon strategy management, which helps uncover gaps in a company's strategy that could be hindering its energy and carbon performance.

What warning does the article give about long-term carbon targets?

The article warns that long-term carbon targets without interim goals or a plan to realise them may turn out to be little more than greenwashing.

Who wrote the Northmore Gordon article on greenwashing and climate action, and when was it published?

The article was authored by Northmore Gordon and published on August 25, 2021.

According to the knowledge base, what kind of evidence should genuine climate action claims be based on rather than forecasts?

Genuine climate action claims should be based on measurable, verified outcomes with clear boundaries (what is being measured—an organisation, product, project, or energy purchase) and a counterfactual basis explaining what energy use would have been without the intervention, rather than on forecasts or intentions.

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