Checking sustainability claims and fighting greenwashing with Abbie Morris

Send us Fan MailAbbie Morris is co-founder and CEO of Compare Ethics, a platform which connects conscious shoppers with brands which are ethical and sustainable, rather than brands pretending to be.She launched Compare Ethics because of her own lack of trust at many brands' claims and her frustration about greenwashing and purpose-washing.Compare Ethics measures claims about sustainability, environmental impact and other frequently-championed areas of responsible business.It assesses each claim against 10 categories including products' supply chains, resource-use, workers' rights and even the circular economy, and calls out false claims.In this episode Abbie explains how Compare Ethics' assessment and verification process works; its approach to data; how it measures its own impact and its campaigning plans and ambitions.Timings:0 - 1:00 Introduction1:00 What is Compare Ethics and why Abbie launched it3:01 How does its verification product work and some of the categories it maps4:00 How the categories are weighted and what it means if a brand scores well6:52 Are consumers influencing brands to make these changes? What about the 'David Attenborough effect'?8:01 Sometimes Abbie is shocked when data or evidence isn't available – but this can become an opportunity to improve and build value10:05 One of Abbie’s biggest highs (so far) in Compare Ethics' journey was being selected for Google's female founders programme11:16 How Compare Ethics measures its own impact12:17 A question Heidi always asks when helping to develop a Theory of Change13:28 How Compare Ethics assesses brands’ supply chains and approach to modern-day slavery15:34 Campaigning work and plans18:30 Abbie's key advice for consumersWhat next?Compare EthicsHeidi's new book shares everything she knows about impact measurement and management – and how to implement it in your organisation. Order your copy of Impact First – The Social Entrepreneur's Guide to Measuring, Managing and Growing Your Impact at https://www.makeanimpactcic.co.uk/my-book-impact-firstSupport the showHi, I'm Heidi Fisher, the host of the Make an Impact Podcast.  I'm an impact measurement expert, passionate about helping you make a bigger impact in the world by maximising the impact your services have. I can help you to measure, manage and communicate the impact you have better to funders, investors, commissioners and other stakeholders, and to systemise your data collection and analysis so that it frees up time and doesn't become an additional burden.  I love helping you to measure social and economic impacts, including Social Return on Investment or value for money assessments, as part of understanding the change you make to peoples' lives. You can get in touch via LinkedIn or the website makeanimpactcic.co.uk if you'd like to find out more about working with me.