How The Next Phase of the Anti-Greenwash Movement Came to Be

In February, the Institute for Advertising Ethics (IAE) launched Green Shield, an online educational course that focuses on the concepts underpinning modern greenwashing. It’s the industry’s first comprehensive, social-science-guided effort to combat climate disinformation and greenwashing—two problems that scientists, researchers, journalists and lawmakers have been urging to proactively address for over a decade. Peer-reviewed studies, including the latest report from the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), have concluded: “Corporate advertising and brand-building campaigns” that contain ambiguous environmental rhetoric, exaggerated climate care statements, and false or misleading scientific information serve as “major barriers” to climate action with “negative implications for climate policy.” What has been our industry’s response to the abundance of empirical evidence and public outcry? At least among the most utilized PR and ad firms, the response has been rather dismissive. “No comment” is practically a policy. But even if they refuse to comment, there are dangerous risks to consumers, and the public that can no longer be ignored. Given these risks, it seems that the quality-control teams for agencies producing climate-themed ads for high-carbon clients have a duty to align their fact-checking policies with the latest social science and forms of greenwash. For those looking to be a part of the movement behind sustainable change and curb greenwashing, here is the backstory behind Green Shield and the lessons learned along the way. The backstory that made the uphill race possible Two years ago, I received an email from Andrew Susman, who leads IAE, along with Benjamin Downing, who serves on the IAE Advisory Council. “We wanted to reach out and say thank you. We appreciate what you do,” they said. “It’s brave.” As some of you may know, I have been a bit of a black sheep inside this industry. I resigned from a powerful employer and blew the whistle on bad actors. I testified against the worst climate disinformation practices on several occasions—once in 2022 before the House Committee on Natural Resources and again in 2023 before the Senate Committee for the Budget. As a result, I’ve received my share of ostracism, smear tactics, threats, and even hacking and spear-phishing attempts. Over the subsequent year, Susman, Downing and I, along with a consortium of ethically motivated public relations and advertising industry professionals, worked together to translate academic findings into accessible guidance for agency professionals. I joined the IAE Advisory Council and we brought in social scientists and climate litigation experts who understood the anatomy of modern greenwashing as well as the potential risks facing agencies and brands. Nearly one year on the IAE Advisory Council and hundreds of hours working on the group’s first anti-greenwash curriculum and Charter for Greenwash Prevention taught me some valuable lessons. High on this list is the value of bridge-building. I served as a connection point between multiple key players: the social scientists, researchers and litigators working to hold polluting industries accountable for misleading the public, and lastly, the advertising and public relations industry professionals who can put the research findings into practice and lead the charge to stop greenwashing. Over the course of several years, we built open lines of communication and a comprehensive program that stands to markedly curb this dangerous problem while putting agencies that don’t comply in a tight spot. Naturally, there were tense moments, negotiations and many rounds of edits. But we ended up with a series of documents that everyone on the IAE Advisory Council felt comfortable with and were well worth the process. Rather than launching yet another industry effort focused on loose standards and awards ceremonies, the IAE sparked a necessary race to the top. Within weeks of its launch, Green Shield had been adopted by three of the big six holding groups, leading advertisers such as Procter & Gamble, nearly all the large industry trade groups and a dozen universities across the country, making it the gold standard for greenwash prevention in the advertising industry. Lessons learned My advice to those in this industry wanting to lead sustainable change: Don’t go at it alone. There are more of us in the public relations and advertising industry who desire genuine change than those who are ruthlessly clinging to the status quo. Find your network of colleagues from across disciplines, plot a course and put in the hard work that it takes. Nothing less will suffice.

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How the Next Phase of the Anti-Greenwash Movement Came to Life

Green Shield has been rapidly adopted by major advertisers as the gold standard for greenwash prevention

Christine Arena

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Christine Arena