Many hundreds of thousands of vehicles are involved--and, just as critically, the reputation of this venerable automaker is at risk. VW has already dropped the royal warrant from its UK communications.
Being linked to greenwashing will damage any company in the short term. In the case of VW, which has long-term ambitions to remain the top-selling automaker on Earth, dealing with the scandal surrounding its diesel cars' actual pollution performance is complicated by customer claims, shareholder outrage and governmental actions. VW must now rehabilitate its brand and reassure stakeholders of its sincerity and commitment to fixing what's gone wrong.
In this age of social media and online news coverage, when negative headlines can flash around the world within moments, is greenwashing going to disappear? In the words of Nick Timon, chief innovation officer of marketing firm Adjust Your Set:
I don’t mean to sound glib – of course environmental consciousness is important, laudable and pressing – but the way many companies are suddenly developing a social conscience on this front smacks of insincerity and laziness, as if the industry has learnt nothing from the greenwashing debacle and instead is jumping gung-ho into the shiny new sport of ‘purpose-washing’.
