2023: The Year of Truth

Last week, research into Verra, the world’s leading carbon offsetting provider to brands like Gucci, Disney and Shell, revealed that more than 90% of their Carbon credits are actually ‘phantom credits’. In short, they are largely meaningless. This is just one of many damning blows to the world of green corporate claims in the last year, following an investigation into the ineffective metrics used for ESG measurements as well as the CMA’s review of the claims of major fashion retailers in the UK. In a sea of sustainability claims, accreditations and certifications, evidence of real change and progress is falling very short. 

This phenomenon of making powerful sustainability messages without any meaningful action behind them, or worse deliberately supporting environmentally damaging practises could not be better illustrated than in the case of the Edelman group, who have built a global reputation for their annual Trust reports. Founder Richard Edelman, in particular, is known for speaking out strongly of business’s role in creating a more sustainable future. What stands out in this context, is the list of clients Edelman has curated over the last 30 years. They include a slew of oil and gas producers as well as pro-oil lobbying groups, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of fees. Against this backdrop, the firm’s mission to build trust for corporations sits extremely uncomfortably. Who would trust someone who is so duplicitous? 

While these waves of exposes paint a bleak picture of the state of progress towards net zero, the fact that they are filling our newsfeeds also indicates that the spotlight is only going to shine brighter on organisations who feel they won’t be held accountable for the disconnection between their sustainability claims and the realty of the practises and lack of action. 

The exasperation of the people leading the fight against climate damaging practises, as well as the people across the globe who are increasingly seeing and experiencing the suffering caused by climate change, is palpable. We are seeing more and more extreme reactions to inaction and bad agents. We are also seeing a paradigm shift in communication – one that demands the truth.  

With the focus of both activism and policy, the pressure to accurately evidence environmental claims and intent is unavoidable, and being called out.  

At a grassroots level, we are seeing organisations like Brandalism and Subvertisers appearing across the globe running highly coordinated, high profile mass awareness campaigns, calling out carbon heavy sectors of air travel and car manufacturers. 

At a policy level, governments and regulatory bodies across the world are tightening the standards of sustainable messaging.  The EU is looking to significantly clamp down on unsubstantiated green claims by demanding evidence proved against a science-based methodology for products and services. In the UK, the CMA are also working to ease antitrust laws, enabling businesses to collaborate more closely on climate change solutions. 

At GOOD, we create value from the demonstration of purpose, not just the claim. Looking ahead at 2023, it seems that the world is building systems that demand just that – the truth.