Two Sides: Greenwashing is a threat to the printing industry

Non-profit organisation Two Sides is calling on organisations to remove or change misleading statements that it labels as ‘greenwashing’.

Founded in 2008, Two Sides is a non-profit initiative promoting the sustainable attributes of print, paper, and packaging.

Greenwashing is the practice of a company misleading the public about its environmental impact, either through mislabelling, hiding harmful practices, or emphasising a single environmental attribute while ignoring others.

According to the organisation, economic pressures have caused companies which have previously relied on paper for customer communication to shift from traditional paper-based services to digital platforms, in order to cut costs. Alongside this transition, many companies have made environmental marketing claims such as "Go Green – Go Paperless" or "Choose e-billing and help save a tree."

But according to Two Sides, these claims are misleading, and are clear examples of greenwashing.

As of October, the organisation has challenged over 2,800 organisations found to be communicating these greenwashing messages to their customers. This has resulted in more than 1,260 organisations changing or removing statements.

In Europe, 811 companies including South West Water, New Look, BMW Financial Services, and Deutsche Bank have removed or changed statements following communication from Two Sides.

Two Sides has also claimed that consumer preferences are being ignored in the push towards digital communications.

Data from a 2023 Two Sides 'Trend Tracker' report states that 55% of European consumers believe that companies’ environmental arguments for switching to digital are misleading and are primarily about reducing company costs. Additionally, the research shows that 76% of consumers want the option to choose and do not want to be forced to use digital communications.

Two Sides Europe managing director, Jonathan Tame, says: “These greenwash claims not only breach established environmental marketing regulations but also harm an industry with a well-established and continually improving environmental track record.

“Far from ‘saving trees,’ a healthy market for forest products such as paper encourages the long-term growth of forests through sustainable forest management. Many of the organisations we challenge are surprised to learn that European forests have actually been expanding by the equivalent of 1,500 football pitches every day.”

Two Sides has also warned that the influence of messages about the positive environmental impact of reducing paper production can have a lasting negative impact on consumer perceptions of paper. Research conducted by Two Sides and Censuswide in 2021 found that in the European mailing and postal sector, greenwashing threatens the loss of €337 million of value annually to the industry.

Tame continues: “It remains vital that these misleading messages are challenged to ensure that the industry’s great environmental record is acknowledged and to protect the livelihoods of thousands of people who work in the forest, paper, packaging, and print sectors from the impact of opportunistic and deceptive greenwash marketing.”

Companies and individuals alike have been encouraged to send any instances of company greenwashing to the email address: greenwash@twosides.info