New research reveals that 49% of marketers are weary of working on sustainability marketing campaigns due to the fear of their company or clients accusing them of ‘greenwashing’.

The research from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), comes despite findings that consumers are keen for more vocal support for sustainability.

Greenwashing refers to companies or organisations that mislead their consumers or audiences that a product, service or the organisation itself is environmentally conscious and sustainable.  

Gemma Butler, marketing director and expert in sustainable marketing at CIM says: “We see regulation is coming to try and stem the volume of ‘greenwashing,’ and this is a good thing in my opinion.

“To make progress in tackling the sustainability challenge, we must see businesses be more open and transparent about their impact on the environment as consumers, employees and indeed investors are all asking for it.”

In September, the Competition and Markets Authority published its Green Claims Code, which aims to hold brands more accountable for sustainable claims.

“At CIM, we welcome new supporting legislation like Green Claims Code. We feel passionately that marketers should not shy away from communicating on their sustainability credentials out of fear of being labelled as ‘greenwashing’,” said Ms. Butler.

“If anything, it should encourage them to upskill immediately, so they have the tools and knowledge to feed into effective sustainability-led organisational strategies.”