How to spot greenwashing in a sustainability report: a guide to spotting false environmental claims

The guide outlines how to detect greenwashing by analyzing emissions data, target setting, and the use of controversial technologies. It emphasizes the importance of absolute emissions over intensity targets and warns against the over-reliance on carbon offsets, natural gas, and unproven carbon removal technologies.

• Companies may engage in greenwashing by reporting only 'market-based' scope 2 emissions, which can use certificates to claim zero emissions without encouraging new renewable energy investment. A study in Nature suggests that if this trend continues, "42% of committed scope 2 emission reductions will not result in real-world mitigation".
• Scope 3 emissions, which include upstream and downstream indirect emissions, typically represent 90% of a company's total emissions. Greenwashing occurs when companies omit several of the 15 categories of scope 3 emissions without explanation or fail to describe how they will measure missing data in the future.
• The guide identifies 'greenhushing' as a form of greenwashing where companies omit information on their climate efforts due to fear of criticism from civil society.
• The use of emissions intensity targets—measuring emissions per product—is considered problematic because a company can reduce intensity while its absolute emissions increase due to growth in production volume.
• Carbon offsetting is criticized as a short-term tactic that can lead to greenwashing, especially when used to compensate for emissions where low-carbon alternatives exist. One investigation found that "90% of offsets sold by the world’s leading certifier do not lead to genuine emissions reductions".
• The guide warns against the promotion of natural gas as a 'transition fuel' or 'cleaner alternative', stating that because it is a fossil fuel producing CO2 and methane, such claims are a form of greenwashing that divert focus from renewable energy.
• Technologies such as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR), and hydrogen are flagged as potential greenwashing tools when promoted as 'quick fixes' or used in sectors where electrification is a more effective solution.

APA

Team, Z. (2024). How to spot greenwashing in a sustainability report: a guide to spotting false environmental claims. Zero Carbon Analytics. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/policy/how-to-spot-greenwashing-in-a-sustainability-report-a-guide-to-spotting-false-environmental-claims/

Chicago

Team, ZCA. How to spot greenwashing in a sustainability report: a guide to spotting false environmental claims. Zero Carbon Analytics, 2024. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/policy/how-to-spot-greenwashing-in-a-sustainability-report-a-guide-to-spotting-false-environmental-claims/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Team |first1=ZCA |title=How to spot greenwashing in a sustainability report: a guide to spotting false environmental claims |publisher=Zero Carbon Analytics |date=22 February 2024 |url=https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/policy/how-to-spot-greenwashing-in-a-sustainability-report-a-guide-to-spotting-false-environmental-claims/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{team2024how, author = {Team, ZCA}, title = {{How to spot greenwashing in a sustainability report: a guide to spotting false environmental claims}}, institution = {Zero Carbon Analytics}, year = {2024}, month = feb, url = {https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/policy/how-to-spot-greenwashing-in-a-sustainability-report-a-guide-to-spotting-false-environmental-claims/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }