The document discusses tensions between business interests in maximizing profits and providing truthful information to consumers about products. It notes the dangers of "greenwashing", or making false environmental claims, for businesses. Responses from two students agree that having a policy against greenwashing would help build trust but that some level of misleading may be unavoidable given technologies. Environmental regulations can both help and hinder businesses by increasing costs but also protecting employees, consumers, and the environment.

1. Discussion 1 Claims to Environmental Friendliness
After reading The Seven Sins (Links to an external
site.), discuss the tension between business’s interests in
maximizing profits and the public’s interest in receiving
complete, truthful, and non-misleading information about
products that they purchase. From a business perspective, what
are the dangers of greenwashing? If you were a marketing
executive, would you have a policy against greenwashing? Why
or why not?
Guided Response: Respond to at least two of your fellow
students’ posts in a substantive manner.
Agree or disagree with your classmate’s position concerning
having a policy against greenwashing. Defend your position by
using information from the week’s readings or the readings
related to governmental regulation.
REPLY TO Shannon Anderson POST
From a business perspective, what are the dangers of
greenwashing? If you were a marketing executive, would you
have a policy against greenwashing? Why or why not?
In today’s day and age, people are very concerned with taking
care of the environment and living a more environmentally
conscious lifestyle. Most states require their residents to break
up their recycling into paper, plastic and aluminum and
residents in my neighborhood pride themselves on being
environmentally conscious. For marketing executives, this
opens a whole world of opportunities as they can focus on
leveraging consumer’s concern for the environment into their
marketing campaigns when trying to sell a product or service.
According to the article The Seven Sins (n.d.), greenwashing is
when an organization presents false information about their
claims of being a green or economically-friendly. Using this
tactic can mislead consumers and sway them into purchasing
products that are marketed as economically-friendly.
Organizations who use greenwashing try to separate themselves

2. from their competition by marketing and appealing to
consumers who are environmentally conscious. When these
organizations use greenwashing to sell products or services that
are supposedly not bad for the environment, they are deceiving
their customers by making them believe that the products they
are buying are good for the environment. This type of
misleading can limit competition in the marketplace, cause
losses to companies who are really selling eco-friendly products
or services and can create doubt and mistrust for consumers
when purchasing eco-friendly products.
As a marketing executive, I would ensure that there was a
policy put in place to prevent greenwashing so that the
company, employees, products, consumers, and the environment
were protected. The only way to build a loyal and trusting
brand is to be transparent and honest about the products the
company sells.
References
The Sins of Greenwashing. (n.d.). The seven sins. Retrieved
from http://sinsofgreenwashing.com/findings/the-seven-
sins/index.html
REPLY TO Vincent Marks POST
With regards to business’s interests in maximizing profits and
the public’s interesting receiving complete, truthful, and non-
misleading information about products they purchase, there
exists the potential for a considerable amount of tension. Many
businesses are founded on principles of environmentally
conscious and friendly operating philosophies and others are
founded on principles of honesty and transparency. While these
are great ideals that more businesses should follow, frequently,
these companies experience higher operating costs as a result.
Generally, managers have the duty of minimizing risks as well
as costs for the company, while driving revenue generation.
Frequently, this requires strategies formulated to position
products and services in the marketplace that make the
respective product or service look better than the competitors.

3. As a result, many companies have engaged in “greenwashing”
which is a practice of generally misleading customers to believe
product or service is “greener” or more environmentally
friendly than it actually is.
Many consumers are environmentally conscious with their
purchase decisions, and as a result may look specifically for
suppliers or retailers with similar values. If a company is found
to be engaged in a practice of greenwashing, they may be
accused of false advertising, bait-and-switching, or, depending
on the circumstances, possibly even fraud. Misrepresenting the
truth to consumers can have the effect of tarnishing the
reputation of the company, and diminishing sales and revenue,
as well as potentially exposing the company to liability.
Int the event that I were a marketing executive, I would not
implement a policy specifically against greenwashing, but
instead a policy of transparency and making every possible
effort not to mislead customers or the general public. While
green initiatives are important, and would insist on many,
technology is not yet at a point where it may be plausible to call
many types of businesses truly green. Even internet based
technology companies cannot be truly green, and could be guilty
of greenwashing. While they may not consume any paper, and
even if they utilize renewable energy for power, the computers
and servers they utilize contain considerable amounts of
minerals and rare earth metals that had to be mined from the
ground and refined. So instead of being conscious not to
greenwash, I would be conscious to not create excessive waste,
and to be transparent to customers and business partners.
Required Resources
Article
The Sins of Greenwashing. (n.d.). The seven sins (Links to an
external site.). Retrieved from
http://sinsofgreenwashing.com/findings/the-seven-
sins/index.html
Websites

4. Environmental Regulations | SBA.gov (Links to an external
site.). (n.d.). The U.S. Small Business Administration |
SBA.gov. Retrieved from
http://www.sba.gov/content/environmental-regulations
Laws & Regulations (Links to an external site.). (n.d.). U.S.
EPA. Retrieved October 19, 2012, from www.epa.gov/lawsregs
Discussion 2 Environmental Statutes
Visit the Small Business Administration's "Environmental
Regulations (Links to an external site.)" page and visit the
United States Environmental Protection Agency’s “Laws &
Regulations (Links to an external site.)” page.
Identify one environmental law that is relevant to your past,
current, or future employer. Apply that law to a business
situation created by that employer. How does (or did) that
employer maintain compliance with that statute? Do you
believe that environmental regulations help or hinder business?
Why, or why not?
Guided Response: Respond to at least two of your fellow
students’ posts in a substantive manner.
Agree or disagree with your classmate’s position concerning
whether environmental regulations help or hinder business. Use
current events or your assigned readings to support your
position.
REPLY TO Meas Khlaing POST
An example of an environmental law that is relevant to my past,
current, or future employer would be asbestos, regulated by the
EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). Enforcing
environmental regulations help business tend to the employees
welfare working in an organization. It provides the employee a
safe work space to work at. (SBA.gov) Asbestos is a naturally
occurring minerals that are resistant to heat and corrosion that
cannot be seen with the naked eye. This is a health hazard and
breathing asbestos fibers can cause a buildup of scar-like tissue

5. in the lungs. This result can lead to loss of lung function that
often progresses to disability and death. (Unknown, 2019). In
essence, organization will need to keep the employee safe by
conducting tests to detect asbestos in the building. Therefore,
rules and regulation are needed to take place. Especially, if this
type of unknown harm can seriously effect an individual health.
Not only does asbestos affect business it can be in school
building, construction site, etc. In order for an organization to
operate its business, it will need to be compliance with OSHA
(Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and with state
and federal law. It is up to the business on their responsibility
to keep record of what inspection and action was taken place to
clear asbestos in the work places. Overall, having
environmental regulations help make business thrive and save
money on legal action if an incident were to occur. It is better
to fix a problem before it turn out to bigger problem that can
affect the organization.
Environmental Regulations | SBA.gov (n.d.). The U.S. Small
Business Administration | SBA.gov. Retrieved from
https://www.epa.gov/regulatory-information-topic/regulatory-
information-topic-cross-cutting-issues#asbestos
Unknown. (2019). OSHA.gov Asbestos. Retrieved from
https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/asbestos/
REPLY TO Rachel Brueggen POST
In my industry, the goal is to reduce or transfer the risk of
environmental issues. Each of the laws and regulations are
important for the going-concern of our industry. A couple of
regulations that are extremely important in Property and
Casualty insurance include lead and mold (sba.gov). These two
items are often listed separate in an insurance policy. It is
important to read through a homeowners policy to see what
coverages are for mold and lead. There are many instances were

6. these items are excluded from a policy and require an
endorsement for coverage. The key is understanding the
insurance policy and the peril that caused the mold.
Mold and lead become a big issue when dealing with insurance
claims. Insured often think they have coverage or should have
coverage and often find that the peril that caused the damage is
not covered. Many companies will provide some coverage as a
“good will” however that does affect the overall cost of
insurance. The goal of regulation is to protect the public and in
the case of mold and lead, the regulation does help protect the
public form harm. Requiring certain things to be done to
remediate mold and lead can result in a higher cost down the
line for policy coverage but it is done to ensure the protection
of people. It is up to an insurance company to figure out how to
provide the service and coverage at a reasonable price point.
Environmental Regulations. The U.S. Small Business
Administration. Retrieved from
https://www.epa.gov/regulatory-information-topic
Required Resources
Article
The Sins of Greenwashing. (n.d.). The seven sins (Links to an
external site.). Retrieved from
http://sinsofgreenwashing.com/findings/the-seven-
sins/index.html
Websites
Environmental Regulations | SBA.gov (Links to an external
site.). (n.d.). The U.S. Small Business Administration |
SBA.gov. Retrieved from
http://www.sba.gov/content/environmental-regulations
Laws & Regulations (Links to an external site.). (n.d.). U.S.
EPA. Retrieved October 19, 2012, from www.epa.gov/lawsregs