(a) Conveying a false impression that a company’s products are eco-friendly and environmentally sound

(b) Non-inclusion of ecological/ environmental costs in the Annual Financial Statements of a country

(c) Ignoring the disastrous ecological consequences while infrastructure undertaking development 

(d) Making mandatory provisions for environmental costs in a government project/programme

16. Ans: a

Explanation:

Greenwashing refers to misleading the general public into believing that companies, sovereigns or civic administrators are doing more for the environment than they actually are. This may involve making a product or policy seem more environmentally friendly or less damaging than it is in reality. The term was coined by environmentalist Jay Westerveld in 1986.

Greenwashing manifests itself in several ways – some more obvious than others. Tactics include:

1. Claiming to be on track to reduce emissions when no credible plan is in place.
2. Being vague or non-specific about a company’s operations.
3. Misleading labels such as “green” or “eco-friendly,” which do not have standard definitions.
4. Implying that a minor improvement has a major impact.
5. Emphasizing a single environmental attribute while ignoring other impacts.
6. Claiming to avoid illegal or non-standard practices that are irrelevant to a product.
7. Communicating the sustainability attributes of a product in isolation of activities, e.g. a garment made from recycled materials that is produced in a high-emitting factory.

According to draft guidelines by Department of Consumer Affairs, penalty will be issued for misleading advertisement for ‘Greenwashing’ (including usage of other terms like ‘cruelty free’, ‘eco-conscious’ etc) by company, which will be governed as per Consumer Protection Act, 2019. Similar guidelines were issued by Advertisements Standard Council of India.

Hence, option a is correct.

Read: Previous Year UPSC Environment Questions (PYQs) With Explanation 2022