Honest, Not Perfect: Why Ltt Group Chose to Validate Its Communications.

For many organisations, sustainability communication has become a source of hesitation rather than confidence. Increased scrutiny, tighter regulation, and public scepticism mean that even well-intentioned claims can feel risky. As a result, businesses often face a false choice between overstating progress or staying silent altogether.

For Jonathan Wragg, Co-Founder and CEO of Ltt Group, this tension is familiar. It is something he has seen repeatedly throughout his career, both as a sustainability leader inside organisations and now as the founder of a consultancy supporting others on the same journey.

“It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it and the journey you’re on,” Jonathan explains. “Don’t tell me the big overarching goal. Tell me where you are on that journey and how you’re going to take the next steps.”

That belief sits at the heart of Ltt Group’s decision to become a signatory of the Anti-Greenwash Charter.

Building sustainability capability without exaggeration

Ltt Group was founded to address a practical challenge that Jonathan experienced first-hand in senior sustainability roles. Many organisations want to act responsibly, but lack the internal capacity or commercial justification for a full-time sustainability hire, particularly in the early stages.

“When you’re looking at budgets, you can’t always justify a year-round hire,” Jonathan says. “You have peaks and troughs. Accreditations come in, carbon audits come in, tenders come in. I didn’t have an option where I could just plug in support when I needed it.”

Ltt Group’s model provides flexible, on-demand sustainability expertise through virtual impact teams. This allows businesses to respond to regulatory and commercial requirements while building longer-term capability in a structured way.

However, Jonathan is clear that providing sustainability services brings with it a responsibility to communicate carefully and honestly.

“Businesses want to be better. They just don’t always know how, and they don’t always understand how to make it value for money,” he explains.

A long-standing concern with greenwashing and miscommunication

Jonathan has been outspoken about greenwashing long before it became a mainstream regulatory concern. For him, the issue has never been about intent alone, but about how information is presented and understood.

“For me, miscommunication was always the problem,” he says. “The rush to be green made people want to show how good their products or businesses were, but it didn’t always explain what that actually meant.”

He points to the importance of clear, practical information that allows people to make informed decisions.

“People need transparency on how something is made, how to use it, and what to do with it at the end of its life,” Jonathan explains. “Clear and honest claims are what actually help people understand what they’re buying or who they’re working with.”

This applies just as strongly to corporate commitments as it does to product claims.

“Don’t say you’re going to be net zero if you don’t understand the journey to get there,” he says. “Be honest about where you are and what you’re doing next.”

Why independent validation matters

For Jonathan, becoming a signatory of the Anti-Greenwash Charter was not about projecting perfection. It was about setting a clear framework for how Ltt Group communicates from the outset.

“We’re not perfect. We’re a startup,” he says. “Being a signatory doesn’t mean we are perfect. It means that we will try to be the best we can be when communicating everything we do.”

As a consultancy embedded in client supply chains, Jonathan sees responsible communication as a professional obligation.

“By working with us, clients bring us into their supply chain,” he explains. “So we need to be doing the best we can. Why wouldn’t we lead by example?”

That commitment is already shaping how the business operates. Ltt Group plans to publish an impact report in its first year and has embedded green claims principles into its onboarding process.

“We’ve got a new starter joining and they’ve already read and agreed to this,” Jonathan says. “It’s instantly become part of how we bring people into the business.”

Addressing the risk of greenhushing

Jonathan is equally clear about the downside of staying silent. He believes that failing to communicate progress, even when it is imperfect, can undermine trust and blur important distinctions between organisations.

“Greenhushing has negative impacts too,” he says. “If you don’t talk about what you’re doing, you get pulled into the same category as everyone else, even when there are real differences.”

He argues that many organisations underestimate how much nuance stakeholders are willing to engage with.

“I genuinely believe people are ready to hear, ‘We know we’re not perfect, but here’s what we’ve done in the last three to five years and here’s where we’re going next.’”

Credibility that extends beyond individuals

As a growing business, Jonathan sees independent standards as a way to move credibility beyond personal reputation and into the organisation itself.

“As a startup, the hardest thing is credibility,” he explains. “Policies like this don’t just reflect individuals. They build the credibility of the company, and that only grows over time.”

Looking ahead, he hopes that responsible communication standards like the Anti-Greenwash Charter will increasingly be recognised within procurement and tendering.

“When accreditations start being named in public procurement tenders, that’s when you know they’re trusted,” Jonathan says. “Not as a tick-box exercise, but as something you actually have to prove.”

A process, not a badge

For Ltt Group, becoming a Charter signatory is not an endpoint. It is part of an ongoing process of reflection, learning, and improvement.

“This isn’t about applying and getting a certificate,” Jonathan says. “It’s a process. You learn how to talk about what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and how to do it better.”

By choosing independent validation early, Ltt Group is setting a clear expectation for how it communicates, both now and as the business grows. Honest, not perfect, and accountable at every step.

Be Recognised for Your Commitment to Responsible Communications

Join The Anti-Greenwash Charter and position your organisation as a leader in responsible, transparent communications. Take the next step today and start your journey toward greater accountability and trust.

👉 Apply to become a signatory now