Sustainability of business a form of green-washing business.
As the society embarks into the 21st century, a developing recognition on the magnitude of sustainability is emphasized. With the increased pressure imposed by “green consumers”, a phenomenon of green business practices is being nurtured, drawing companies to “greenwash” business to emerge as an environmentally and socially responsible corporation.
To enhance the corporate image, many resort to the use of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) communication, one of the main ethical marketing practices present. Nonetheless, due to the established CSR claims, consumers are often being misled, hence failing to identify the truly responsible firms.
As much as companies use CSR to report sustainability in the forefront of the business, the background could merely be an attempt to green-wash their business conduct. In the world of commerce, the presence of dubious and immoral actions is inevitable for sustainability of profits, market share and public image to take place. I will examine this fact by applying Shell and British Petroleum (BP) as a case study, determining if companies are indicating a genuine change in business conduct or simply green-washing consumers of the company’s awareness of sustainability issues.
Sustainability
The concept of sustainability has been defined as involving both resource management and equity elements for current and future generations (Dymond 1997).The vital concern of sustainability is that joint human influences can compromise the survival of future generations and the ecosystems, which they depend on (H.M et al. 2010). Alternatively, the term of “green washing” was coined by Jay Westerveld, a New York environmentalist in a 1986 essay, referring to the use of marketing by companies to deceive consumers of their products and procedures as eco-friendliness (Romero, 2008).
With an increase demand for green-related products among the consumers, companies have sought in the use of attention deflection. It is a strategy used to bring
To enhance the corporate image, many resort to the use of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) communication, one of the main ethical marketing practices present. Nonetheless, due to the established CSR claims, consumers are often being misled, hence failing to identify the truly responsible firms.
As much as companies use CSR to report sustainability in the forefront of the business, the background could merely be an attempt to green-wash their business conduct. In the world of commerce, the presence of dubious and immoral actions is inevitable for sustainability of profits, market share and public image to take place. I will examine this fact by applying Shell and British Petroleum (BP) as a case study, determining if companies are indicating a genuine change in business conduct or simply green-washing consumers of the company’s awareness of sustainability issues.
Sustainability
The concept of sustainability has been defined as involving both resource management and equity elements for current and future generations (Dymond 1997).The vital concern of sustainability is that joint human influences can compromise the survival of future generations and the ecosystems, which they depend on (H.M et al. 2010). Alternatively, the term of “green washing” was coined by Jay Westerveld, a New York environmentalist in a 1986 essay, referring to the use of marketing by companies to deceive consumers of their products and procedures as eco-friendliness (Romero, 2008).
With an increase demand for green-related products among the consumers, companies have sought in the use of attention deflection. It is a strategy used to bring