Greenwashing - a danger for serious soil and food protection
Introduction and approaches to avoidance and prevention
Greenwashing is more than a nuisance. It is a systemic problem that undermines the urgently needed change towards real sustainability. For companies like TSHN, which rely on credible regenerative practices, greenwashing not only means a loss of image in the public perception, but above all confusion on the markets, among investors and political decision-makers.
What is greenwashing?
Greenwashing refers to the attempt by companies, institutions or even states to create an environmentally friendly image through unfair marketing measures or selective dissemination of information - without this image being backed up by corresponding actions or measurable effects.
Typical characteristics of greenwashing
- Vague terms such as "climate-friendly" or "close to nature", without comprehensible criteria
- Hiding relevant dataemissions in the supply chain, for example
- Individual "green" projectswhich are intended to distract from the overall output or behaviour
- Self-certificationsthat are not independently audited
Why is greenwashing dangerous?
Greenwashing unfolds its effect insidiously, but with lasting destructive effect. It leads to...
- Consumers are misled and find it difficult to distinguish between real and apparent sustainability initiatives.
- Capital is misdirectedas investors invest in supposedly "green" projects that have no real climate or environmental impact.
- Regulation is slowed downbecause the impression is created that the market functions "voluntarily" - although this is not the case.
- Trust in sustainability is dwindlingIn the long term, this will also affect projects and companies that operate in a serious and verifiably regenerative manner.
Greenwashing thwarts regeneration
For TSHN, which is committed to Restoring healthy soils, real climate impact and social resilience greenwashing is a direct counter-model. While TSHN focuses on transparency, verifiable ecosystem services and participatory agriculture, many established players are engaged in a kind of sham transformation in which existing production methods are coloured green with cosmetic corrections.
Examples include
- Compensation without real reduction (e.g. through unsafe reforestation projects)
- "Regenerative labels" without criteria catalogue
- ESG ratings that ecological destruction Covered by governance points
- Alternative uses and interpretations of the term "sustainability" without explaining this explicitly.
- Printed too small on consumer information, instructions for use, advertising material, etc.
The legal framework: EU and nation states against greenwashing
In recent years, the European Union has begun to take regulatory action against greenwashing. With initiatives such as the EU Taxonomy Regulationthe Green Claims Directive proposal and the further development of the European Green Deal a legal framework is created that prescribes clear sustainability criteria and Transparency obligations for environmental claims creates.
Pressure is also growing at member state level to prevent greenwashing - for example through consumer protection measures, stricter ESG requirements for financial products or the promotion of open data standards for climate and environmental impacts.
This development offers opportunities for companies that actually act in an environmentally responsible manner:
Those who are honest and measurably sustainable today will prevail legally and reputationally tomorrow.
What else is needed?
A credible and effective climate policy is needed:
- Binding transparency standardse.g. open data interfaces for emissions and soil data
- Clear criteria for sustainability on a scientific basis
- Promotion of real impact initiativesthat deliver measurable results
- Participation of farmers and consumers in the development of regenerative economies
TSHN is therefore working on open systems that Counterfeit protection, impact transparency and participation from tokenised land practices to regionally anchored product chains.
Our appeal
Greenwashing is a threat. It is a structural obstacle to ecological transformation - and therefore also to intergenerational justice. If you want real transformation, you have to make a conscious decision:
- for effectiveness and against effect simulation
- In favour of transparency and against cheating PR
- for regeneration instead of dishonest rhetoric.
