Guest Lecture on ‘Greenwashing’
Marwa Kaabour, Group Marketing & Corporate Communication Manager for Al Masaood Automobiles, delivered a lecture on ‘greenwashing’ .
Marwa Kaabour, Group Marketing & Corporate Communication Manager for Al Masaood Automobiles, delivered a lecture on ‘greenwashing’ – the practice of making an unsubstantiated or misleading claim about the environmental benefits of a product, service, technology or company practice to make a company appear to be more environmentally friendly than it really is. She provided the example of Monsanto, a company that projects the image of a sustainable, environmentally friendly company while their products and practices are not green in any form. She emphasized the importance of consumer awareness about greenwashing.
Today, sustainability reports play an important part in a company's stock exchange prices. This is proof that consumers are becoming more environmentally conscious. Marwa stressed the important role consumers play in enforcing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). All companies respond to consumer demands and the climate of the market. Demanding ethically produced goods, and boycotting firms that do not provide them, can make a big difference, even though it may be difficult. The thought-provoking lecture highlighted the need to apply ethical practices in the marketing industry and the use of different tools and strategies for the wellbeing of society.