Is GOALWASHING the new greenwashing?
First published as a LinkedIn article. Is an infographic of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals a symptom of next-generation greenwash? As consultants, we help brands share meaningful stories that change perspectives and make people care about what matters.
People ask what I do as a consultant: Bouteco helps brands stand for something and stand out for it. What does that even mean? It means I help shape storytelling which edutains. One of the most powerful ways to help future generations? Share meaningful stories that change perspectives and make people care about what matters.
Edutainment is everything
ENTERTAIN AND INFORM — as a journalist and editor for 25 years, my professional mantra has always been INFORM, obviously, but also ENTERTAIN. When it comes to storytelling around sustainability we need to make our messages work even harder: they need to be based on knowledge and fact and communicated in a way that they can actually affect change — by EDUCATING those on the receiving end of what you're saying.
Scientific facts and hard stats
The world doesn't need any more style-over-substance influencers declaring themselves conscious — what we need more of is wisdom, actionable knowledge and hard facts. Instagram biographies and press releases declaring you care about the environment or that you're an advocate of conscious living is not enough…
Talk your walk
It's great that there's now a blizzard of well-meaning intentions, carbon-lowering pledges, and green-loving commitments from people, products and corporations. But we need more clear measurement of impact, better traceability and transparency and the setting of realistic targets which demonstrate how these 'Hey! I'm sustainable' claims are underpinned by a tangible solution to a social, economic, environmental challenge.
Show us, don't just tell us
As I've been emphasising in a lot of workshops lately: we need to be alert to next-gen greenwash: I'm seeing brands chucking the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals infographics on their website declaring the SDGs they align with — but without qualifying how their business is effectively supporting them, otherwise it's just an advanced version of greenwash.
Read my articles for Condé Nast Traveller.
Buy my book The Green Edit: Travel.
Find out more about Bouteco's storytelling consultancy.