Warning about Green Certifications

The FTC recently took up the issue of Greenwashing, but deferred the question into the same category as other bad practices of business advertising.  While everyone understands that Greenwashing is a deceptive practice, it seems to be a part of marketing hype that is often very misleading.  Green certification infers to the public that a business is credibly Green operated except when Green scammers sell blind certifications over the Internet.

FTC does warn businesses and consumers to take a closer look at the Green boasts of any certification firm.  FTC has not yet provided the mechanism needed by consumers to identify the fakes from the genuinely Green companies.  If the boasts are patently and proven lies, the FTC may take action in such cases.

The rise of dozens of website Green certifications is particularly troubling.  Inventive programmers with little or no experience can design an attractive website that is intended to attract a gullible public that is often looking the easy way to Go Green.  This is why these website certification programs are called “Easy Green.”

Like many legal scams, the FTC and other watchdog agencies can only warn the public to be aware of the potential risks of working with these inventive websites.  The give-away for these scam programs is the obvious practice of “Pay-to-Play” approach.  This means the customer need only pay the fee to get the certification.  While there are other forms and online guides for added information, the fundamental issue is that the company need only pay the fee to get what is promised.  There is no true compliance process or verification that the company is actually living up to any standard.

Of course, that means that there must be a standard.  Across the dozens of websites, the standards vary widely.  One program places a premium on carbon footprint and carbon credits.  Another website offers a certification program for $99 but then sends an Eco Consultant to sell their Green products to the unsuspecting customer.  Yet another website is designed to gather the basic information of the company that is later sold to other companies for marketing purposes.

The Green Business League stands alone in the market as one program that will never Greenwash.  The standards of the Green Business League have a national standard built around a point system.  GBL requires all certifications to undergo an annual audit by a Certified Green Consultant, and has more than 300 Green consultants to provide the kind of guidance found nowhere else.

The Green Business League also sponsors The Sustainable Forum that seeks to train and install a Certified Green Officer in every business.  Perhaps this is why the Gerald R Ford Presidential Library chose to seek Green certification by GBL.  More and more companies seeking to develop their Green program turn to the Green Business League.