Sustainability claims that are really cost reduction exercises

The real cost of claiming sustainability

27% of Utility companies are making unsubstantiated claims with regard to switching to paperless billing to save the environment (www.twosides.info).

The reality of these claims are that these organisations are using emotive language to persuade customers to turn off paper based billing so that they can reduce their own cost base. If the claims were true then this activity could be accepted. However, when these claims are clearly unresearched and in many cases unsubstantiated then these organisations need to be taken to task.

We all need to make efforts to reduce our environmental impact and act in a sustainable manner. But in doing this we need information that guides our actions that is robust and accurate.

For large organisations to be manipulating information to suit their own profit and loss accounts is dangerous and actually counter to the very message they are purporting to make.

My advice to everyone is to question claims like these and ensure that the information they produce is accurate and in the interests of the wider society they are trying to serve.