YOU may be familiar with the term “guilty by association”, but how much do you know about “greenwashing by association”? The latter is a new concept, but a growing threat that companies cannot afford to ignore.

The fundamentals of both are similar. Someone “guilty by association” is thought to be guilty of a crime not because of any direct evidence against him, but because of his association with a known offender.

For a company, greenwashing by association happens when the company is seen or known to be associated with a party that is guilty of greenwashing.