The national distrust

Environmental messaging bedevilled by 'greenwash'

“Only 10% of US and UK consumers trust green messages from businesses,” said Accountability and Consumers International. That was a year ago – and it’s getting worse. Leading advocates of the sustainability agenda, anxious to combat the twin cancers of manipulative messaging and consumer knee-jerk cynicism, are now looking to ‘out’ the culprits – and provide some kind of ground rules for genuine communication.

Two recent contributions to this cause are Forum for the Future's Ecopromising report [for more information, see 'Real green promises'], and a new ‘greenwash guide’ from those savvy sustainable comms specialists at Futerra – who helpfully boiled theirs down to a “two minute version”. So, for those of you under even more time pressure, here’s that summary summarised:

The one minute version
What is greenwash? An environmental claim about people, organisations or products which is unsubstantiated (a fib) or irrelevant (a distraction).
Where is it? In advertising, in PR and on packaging.
Can’t the regulators stop it? Up to a point. The Advertising Standards Authority is showing more spunk about picking off the worst offenders, and the Green Claims guide is being revised, while the US Federal Trade Commission has brought forward its plans to review its advertising messaging guidelines. But it’s an uphill struggle for them and their counterparts around the world.
Why does it matter anyway? Because green consumers send strong signals by their purchasing choices, and create a ‘virtuous circle’ that helps companies grow the market for environmentally responsible products. But their confidence is being undermined. Greenwash throws a spanner in the works.
Are there no standards? None of the UK’s biggest advertising agencies claim to have guidelines or training for staff on recognising when ‘green’ claims are genuine – nor do the main publications have proper standards to vet what goes into their advertising space.
What is to be done? Learn to spot greenwash, and be vigilant; the next few years will show whether companies, agencies and consumers together can spin the virtuous circle, or “whether runaway greenwash will bring the new green revolution crashing down”.

24 June 2008

Roger East