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ZSB Home » Academic Centers » Zicklin Center for Corporate Integrity » Events » Greenwashing: The Realities of Promoting Green Business Practices in the Corporate World

Greenwashing: The Realities of Promoting Green Business Practices in the Corporate World

This event addressed how corporations have responded to the public call for businesses to act in ways that are environmentally friendly. The main area of discussion was the practice of “greenwashing,” whereby companies claim that their business practices are less harmful to the environment than the competition’s or, at least, less harmful than they have been in the past. Since greenwashing is largely a marketing ploy, its critics -- among them journalists, activists, scientists and politicians -- have responded with their own public relations campaigns, pointing out the flaws and inconsistencies in the corporations’ self-portrayals. Further, government agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency and various state and local regulators have attempted to impose standards which would evaluate claims of corporate environmentalism.

When	Apr 03, 2009 from 08:30 AM to 02:00 PM
Where	Newman Conference Center, Room 7-50
Contact Name	Matthew LePere
Contact Phone	646-312-3231
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Greenwashing addressed issues including the following:

What is the nature of greenwashing?
What does it mean for a corporation to be green?
How does the marketplace respond to claims that a corporation is green?
Are corporations obligated to be green at all?
Is being green good for shareholder value?
What role should the government play in regulating greenwashing?
Do we need an environmental version of Sarbanes-Oxley?
What role should non-governmental organizations play?

Agenda:

8:30 – 9 am Registration and Continental Breakfast

9 – 9:45 am Little Green Lies of “Environmentally Friendly” Business

BEN ELGIN - Business Week, Investigative Reporter

9:45 – 11:15 am The Battle between Corporate PR Departments & NGOs

Moderated by BEN Elgin, Business Week
KENNY BRUNO, Corporate Ethics International
KERT DAVIES, Greenpeace USA
TONY HYNES, Bite Communications
ANA PAULA TAVARES, Rainforest Alliance
MATT ROSE, MWW Group

11:15 – 12:30 pm Regulating Greenwashing: Is a Greater Role for Government Necessary?

Moderated by David Rosenber, Baruch College
MARYA COTTEN, Baruch College
LEONARD GORDON, Federal Trade Commission
LARRY SCHNAPF, Schulte, Roth & Zabel LLP

12:30 – 1:15 pm Lunch

1:15 – 2 pm Implications for Corporate Strategy and Public Policy

TOM LYON - University of Michigan, Director, Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise; Dow Professor of Sustainable Science, Technology and Commerce