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The amount of eoc-terms people and businesses have to remember these days can feel overwhelming, especially when they begin to sound like climate change terms that already exist – such as greenwishing, which is reminiscent of greenwashing.
Greenwishing refers to the concept of “wishing” for the world to transition to more sustainable practices in line with green living.
In our modernised world, while our technological advancements remain exciting – it is also important for us to make adjustments to our lifestyles and business practices in order to align with the needs of the planet.
👉 This article will explain what greenwishing is, the main difference between greenwishing and greenwashing, examples, and how your company can utilise greenwishing.
Greenwishing is a conjoint term which encompasses both the concepts of “going green”, referring to improved efforts towards sustainability, and “wishing” – ultimately creating a word which expresses one’s desire for something to be more sustainable or eco-friendly.
Think of greenwishing like someone trying to manifest more money into their life. While the law-of-attraction may exist, positive thinking should be done in combination with effective action in order to yield the results you want. The same goes for companies that implement unattainable sustainability or emission reduction goals for their company.
It’s good to be ambitious with your sustainability goals, but it’s equally as important to set attainable objectives that are approachable and achievable. Companies which commit to greenwishing often do not understand the importance of this part of setting emission reduction or general sustainability goals.
Some signs of a company which is greenwishing may include:
👉 Ultimately, greenwishing refers to the concept of hoping for personal habits, businesses, and products to become greener – with the company going to the extent of setting unrealistic targets in hope of their company becoming “greener” as a result.
It’s important to understand greenwishing in order to understand the thought process behind companies that fall subject to greenwishing.
Despite the potential drawbacks of greenwishing, there are benefits to the concept – such as:
It is important to note that the essence of greenwishing is the hope for better days ahead. Therefore, even if greenwishing often results in companies failing to set achievable environmental goals – the heart of greenwishing is usually in the right place and can still inspire change.
👉 Overall, while greenwishing can prohibit companies from achieving attainable emission reduction or sustainability goals – it can still help to cultivate a growing awareness and commitment to environmental reform.
The main difference between greenwishing and greenwashing is that greenwishing refers to a company expressing the desire to become more green – whereas greenwashing is a less genuine, more misleading practice that sways consumers to think a company is more environmentally responsible than they actually are.
Greenwishing and greenwashing are bound to be confused with one another given their similar sounding pronounciation, but in reality – the two terms couldn't’ be more different.
Greenwishing refers to the desire to make the world more sustainable, often inspiring both individuals and collective action to promote environmental conservation.
Greenwishing entails:
Greenwashing is ultimately more deceptive than greenwishing, with companies actively seeking ways to market their product as sustainable even if it isn’t for the sake of maintaining their business.
Greenwashing entails:
👉 Ultimately, greenwashing is a more manipulative than greenwishing – seeing as the latter is usually rooted in a genuine desire to become more sustainable, whereas greenwashing is predominantly concerned with sales.
There are several examples of greenwishing, such as at COP26 when car manufacturers signed an agreement to cease the construction of diesel and petrol engines by 2040 – with a plan to phase out the use of these engines starting in 2035. However, any effort to work towards greater sustainability – even if out of reach – can be deemed as an example of greenwishing.
💡 Did you know that California will ban the purchase of gasoline powered vehicles from 2035 onwards?
Other examples of greenwishing include:
👉 All this being said, the predominant issue with greenwishing is that while it may inspire individuals and the collective alike to go green – it often won’t amount to massive emissions reductions as the actions associated with greenwishing don’t get to the root of the cause.
The heart behind greenwishing is real, meaning – if your company has fallen subject to greenwishing, it usually means your business genuinely cares about the environment and wants to make an effort to go green.
Here are a few ways to make sure your company turns greenwishing into tangible and measurable actions:
Overall, greenwishing can end up being a mere half-hearted step towards reducing environmental impact – but it’s a good start in the right direction to inspire further action against climate change.
If reading this article about greenwishing has made you interested in reducing your carbon emissions to further fight against climate change – Greenly can help you!
It can be challenging to determine the best solutions to prevent greenwishing in your business, but don’t worry – Greenly is here to help. Click here to schedule a demo to see how Greenly can help you find ways to effectively implement and utilize green finance.
Greenly can help you make an environmental change for the better, starting with a carbon footprint assessment to know how much carbon emissions your company produces.
Click here to learn more about Greenly and how we can help you reduce your carbon footprint.
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