Corporate ‘Greenwashing’ Must End if World Hopes To Meet Climate Goals, U.N. Warns

Corporate ‘Greenwashing’ Must End if World Hopes To Meet Climate Goals, U.N. Warns

Over the last few years, corporate executives and investors have enthusiastically jumped into the fight to address climate change with hundreds of the world’s largest companies committing themselves to eliminating their carbon footprints by the middle of the century—a goal known as net zero. That enthusiasm is now on display at COP27, this year’s U.N. climate summit, where executives from some of the world’s largest and most influential companies have gathered in the resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt to tout their progress and engage with delegates from around the world.



What these corporate commitments mean depends on who you ask. To some, it represents the most significant advance toward putting the world on track to slow global warming; to others, it’s a whole bunch of greenwashing that amounts to little more than a press release. Into this debate comes a highly-anticipated new report released Tuesday at COP27 that outlines best practices for companies that say they are committed to net zero. The report, released by a commission convened by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, offers a sharp rebuke to companies that claim to be tackling climate change without doing the actual work. It also offers 10 pointed