Corporate Greenwashing

Capitalism has created amazing economic opportunities and growth. It has brought society forward in so many ways. But is capitalism really doing anything for the environment? If it was an effective means to solving the climate crisis then why hasn't the linear growth in emissions started to level off or decline?

There are inherently competing interests between capitalism and the sustainability of the environment. The efforts of capitalism and industry have not successfully driven significant reductions in greenhouse gasses. One of the biggest problems with the dominance of capitalism, is companies end up putting profit motives over the long term viability of ecosystems and human health.

In a letter to BlackRock investors Larry Fink said, "It's no wonder younger generations, millennials and gen Z, are so economically anxious. They believe my generation --- the baby boomers --- have focused on their own financial well-being to the detriment of who comes next. And in the case of retirement, they're right." No wonder youth these days have become disillusioned by capitalism. Can you blame them?

We live during a period of time defined by capitalism and the never ending push towards consumption. Corporate greenwashing and the illusion that alternative consumption options will have less of an impact on the planet without a complete end to end life cycle impact analysis. Instead of endless consumption being the core value of capitalism what if instead sustainment was actually valued?

Everything is always expected to rise. Companies have to continuously beat earnings estimates and show YoY growth or their stocks will tend to open lower and decline over the proceeding days if a bad earnings report is released.

Society largely depends upon perpetual growth over time. One of the only ways we are able to retire is by having a 401k which depends upon the growth of the stock market over time. Typically stocks will only rise if earnings are rising. Analysts tracking quarterly financial results generally will expect the financial number to rise over time otherwise they punish the ratings for the company

Public corporate companies have to prepare quarterly earnings reports. Growth targets are a key part of the way these reports are analyzed and interpreted. Corporate growth targets, especially aggressive ones set by shareholders or investors, can incentivize companies to prioritize expansion and revenue growth at the expense of environmental considerations. This pressure for growth may lead to increased resource extraction, energy consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to climate change.

Quarterly earnings reports often prioritize short-term financial performance over long-term sustainability goals. Companies may prioritize cost-cutting measures or activities that generate immediate profits, even if they have negative environmental impacts in the long run. This short-term focus may discourage investments in sustainable practices or technologies that could mitigate climate change

In pursuit of short-term profits, companies may under-invest in sustainable practices, technologies, and initiatives that could help mitigate climate change. This includes investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency, carbon reduction strategies, and climate adaptation measures. Without adequate investment in sustainability, companies may exacerbate their environmental impact and contribute to climate change.

In an attempt to boost their public image and appeal to environmentally conscious consumers, some companies may engage in greenwashing by exaggerating or misrepresenting their sustainability efforts in quarterly earnings reports. This can create a false perception of corporate responsibility while diverting attention from the company's actual environmental impact and contribution to climate change.

What Can be Done

To address these challenges, companies can adopt more sustainable business practices, integrate environmental considerations into their decision-making processes, and provide transparent and accurate reporting on their environmental performance and climate-related risks. Investors and shareholders can also play a critical role by demanding greater accountability, incorporating environmental factors into investment decisions, and supporting companies that prioritize sustainability and climate action. Additionally, policymakers can implement regulations, incentives, and disclosure requirements to encourage companies to align their business strategies with climate goals and transition to a low-carbon economy.

Companies are able to largely get away with ignoring negative externalities while keeping a steadfast focus on profit due lobbying and entrenched interests in maintaining the status quo. This is why minimalism is the only true way for the environmental issues to be solved. The capitalistic markets of the world respond to the forces of supply and demand by adjusting prices and production quantities until conditional equilibriums have been established.

Every company should be required to post detailed information about their incorporation structure, private and public sources of funding, impact analysis of all operations, as well as geographical or geopolitical risks. Companies should also be compelled to provide detailed information on material sourcing and the resources utilized throughout the manufacturing process.

Company information should comprehensively cover all of the company's production and distribution chains. Breaking down this type of information by specific product types is critical for to empower consumers to make knowledgeable consumption choices. Information is critical in leveling the playing field for all types of economic players globally.

Ideally every product available for purchase should make available certain standard data so consumers know how their choices are influencing the world around them. Some of the data elements consumers should be aware of would be:

1. The company as a whole should be evaluated more broadly for its overall transparency by consumer advocate groups. Companies should try to be cognizant of these scores and take steps to achieve higher results.
2. Water sources to manufacture something directly and indirectly.
3. Estimated greenhouse gas emissions from production. CO2, CH4, SF6, N2O etc. For example, how does the blend of materials use influence emissions compared to other commonly chosen textiles within the industry.
4. List and quantity of all synthetic or natural materials used to produce an item.
5. Repair and warranty options through the company and third parties. Third parties should have the same types of repair capabilities as the original producer.
6. How the item will be handled after it has reached its useful life expectancy. Information like, whether or not it is biodegradable. How the waste from the item breaks down and interacts with the environment over time after disposable

The overly competitive structure of our modern capitalistic society has made us vulnerable to seeing people as opponents rather than allies. It's unenlightened to see others as a means to an end instead of looking at the common humanity that bind us together. The creation of the competitive winner take all market model, and seeing people outside of our immediate family as agents to be used to achieve an objective, are some of the chief drivers of the increased divisiveness we experience throughout society.

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Electric Cars

Remember, corporations and government will always push us towards alternative consumption choices, not reduction in consumption itself. This is why I think its important to discuss an example of a green alternative consumption choice touted for its potential environmental benefits. Electric cars.

I really appreciate the idea of using electric vehicles to help mitigate the impact transportation has on climate change. Electric cars are indeed amazing automobiles. However, it's important to recognize any new automobile purchased has an impact on the environment no matter the fuel type. We continue to hear that EVs and hybrids will help us meet our climate objectives in the drive towards sustainability. But we underestimate the potential negative externalities of such a change.

EVs have huge advantages over internal combustion engines like:

• EVs can be charged from all types of power sources through many types of technological infrastructure. It could be power generated and sent down the line to your street. It could be off-grid through the solar panels installed on a business or your home. There is amazing flexibility in how power is generated for and EV.
• It's encouraging that electric cars don't rely on the distribution of petroleum in order to function. Gasoline cars on the other hand use huge tanker trucks to move gasoline fuel from the refinery to the station. Gas transport trucks can sometimes cause accidents. They are also problematic because they contribute towards gridlock and congestion.

But there are major drawbacks of EVs, such as:

• Recycling the lithium batteries used by EVs is very difficult.
• Moreover mining for lithium requires vast amounts of energy and resources. For every ton of lithium mined during hard rock mining there are 15 tonnes of CO₂ emitted into the atmosphere.
• EVs are vulnerable to increased tire wear. The extra tire deterioration ends up additional sending toxic particles into the sea, air, and ocean. Tires shed tiny particles at every rotation. Tire wear happens occurs most dramatically during rapid acceleration, braking, and sharp turns, but even during the most conservative driving, particulate pollution is an unavoidable consequence of car use. And it's a problem that's poised to get worse as drivers transition to EVs. Tire particulate contains a toxic slurry of microplastics.
• People who drive electric vehicles drive further. Owners of EVs usually end up driving more miles per day. More on that in the next section.

The transition to alternative fuel vehicles is just one example of a new product class companies tout for its green merits. Therefore, while EVs bring some positive changes to the climate crisis they have their own set of negative trade-offs that cannot simply be overlooked. It's important to remember that technological transitions have some negative consequences we must not neglect.

All types of green substitute options that make us feel better about consumption involve some form of trade off. People that have solar panels on their house might end up consuming more electricity, all types of green energy supply or green energy options end up increasing consumption. The better option is to reduce consumption entirely of certain options and reduce consumption or minimize for other options. There are so many products being pushed onto consumers as green sustainability improvements. The issue with most of the alternative consumption options is they all have largely ignored trade-offs.