Researchers say businesses that try to ‘go green’ could find themselves doing more harm than good, if people think the corporations are profiting from the initiatives.

It is becoming common practice for companies to try initiatives that make them seem more ‘green’, but a new Canadian study suggests that if people think corporations profit from them, they risk drawing a negative reaction.

People seem to prefer when a company is upfront about the money they make while aiming for environmental goals.

There are many business practices that are both environmentally-friendly and have the potential to make money — so-called ‘win-win strategies’ — such as encouraging the reuse of hotel towels, constructing energy efficient buildings, or sponsoring environmentally friendly organisations.

For the latest study, adults participated in four online social experiments to test public reactions to such activities.

The Yale University team found that the initiatives that presented environmental benefits alongside financial gains for the company were rated less favourably by participants than initiatives that only presented a profit motive.

The initiatives were particularly unpopular when participants were encouraged to focus on community responsibility prior to being exposed to the promotions.

In fact, consumers were most likely to accept the strategies if they were primed to be in a market-oriented frame of mind, by, for example, being asked to write about a time in which they participated in an efficient market.

The authors suggest that companies should therefore focus on communicating the financial benefits, not the environmental gains, of their sustainability initiatives if they want to avoid a negative backlash from consumers.

The full study is accessible here.