Though I have no way to confirm, I’m pretty sure that the start of 2023 has brought with it the usual amount of resolutions and best intentions.  Throw in some of the climate change fueled wacky weather we’ve been having, and I’m also pretty sure that in-and-amongst the “exercise mores”, “eat betters” and “spend less time on social medias” (though, full disclosure…Elon made this last one easy for me), some of those resolutions and best intentions are about reducing our greenhouse gas emissions as we strive towards becoming “net-zero”.  And while there are a few things we can do as individuals to reduce our carbon footprint, there’s a whole lot more we can do by trying to influence the organizations, companies and, dare I say, public officials elected to the privilege of serving us, that we deal with.

Unfortunately, when it comes to influencing other’s greenhouse gases, intentions, just like best-laid-plans, New Year resolutions and other clichés, can go astray…and that’s where the concept of “greenwashing” comes in.  While there is some discussion as to what “greenwashing” actually means, it definitely does not mean the same as going green and clean, despite how it sounds, but is rather generally understood to mean the “act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service”, be it intentionally making false claims or even just being somewhat vague in claims of environmental friendliness with sayings and terms that don’t really amount to a hill of beans.  And equally as unfortunate is that greenwashing is finding its way into some organizations’ and companies’ claims of being net-zero which, in turn, is potentially throwing the entire concept of net-zero under the (low carbon electric) bus (to continue on with the clichés) and had the inadvertent effect of some companies and organizations deciding not to share their environmental achievements with the world.

So, what’s a sustainability supporting, future generation thinking, resolution maker to so? Sure, there are plans by public officials elected to the privilege of serving us to take on greenwashing, and sure some organizations and companies are going to have to make an effort be much more transparent when making environmental claims, but until then, my resolution as I work to reduce my personal and UHN’s greenhouse gas emissions is to continue to educate my self so that at the end of the day I’m ready to grab the bull by the horns and know which sustainability claims to take with a grain of salt.  And I’ve also resolved to stop it with the clichés already, but that’s a story for another post…