Behind the Green Veil:
Greenwashing in the Automotive Industry
WORDS BY ANTONINA JOSON
It’ s apparent worldwide that an increasing number of organisations are putting in the environmental work. While environmental compliance has steadily become a standard among all industries, not all organisations are forthcoming or honest about their practices.
Greenwashing is a pertinent issue that across all industries. Not only does greenwashing mislead the public about a company’ s environmental contributions, but it significantly obstructs efforts to solve the global climate crisis— a crisis with a deadline.
The automotive industry is no stranger to the issue. Manufacturers, buyers, and fleet owners alike could be unknowing victims of greenwashing. For those in the market for fleet vehicles, greenwashing could lead to higher costs and inaccurate emissions tracking for your fleet. Your fleet would be at risk for doing damage to the environment instead of helping it.
What is greenwashing?
Greenwashing is when a corporation makes an environmental promise but does not commit to them. There is an attempt to deceive the public about its environmental efforts by creating“ false solutions to the climate crisis that distract from and delay concrete and credible action.”
Examples of greenwashing include intentionally ambiguous claims, plans, or results regarding the company’ s environmental efforts, an exaggerated focus on one environmental issue whilst ignoring their own impact on others, overusing nonstandardised marketing terms like“ green” or“ eco-friendly, etc.
Why is greenwashing an issue?
The act of greenwashing does not give environmental issues their due importance. In fact, it is akin to putting a green veil over companies’ detrimental practices without regard for environmental consequences. Simply put, the act of purposely misleading stakeholders takes away from real, concrete action and solutions towards solving global environmental issues.
Our planet’ s climate crisis is time-bound. According to the World Health Organisation, climate change can cause 250,000 additional deaths per year by 2030-2050. The issue has been linked to cases of malaria, diarrhoea, undernutrition, and heat stress, to name a few examples. Developing countries bear the brunt of
8 ISSUE 53 JUNE 2025 / WWW. AFMA. ORG. AU