Paper, Plastic or Toxic?

Pop Quiz?

1) Define “environmentally friendly”

2) Explain “green” in under 10 words

3) Which is the most credible label?

A. Fair Trade Certified
B. Rainforest Alliance Certified
C. Food Alliance

Struggling? Consumers are too. In fact, nearly half of respondents in the 2008 Cone Green Gap Survey erroneously believe the terms “green” or “environmentally friendly” suggest a product has a positive (read: beneficial) impact on the environment. Another third needed more information to determine whether Fair Trade Certified was a credible message.

If the products your organization manufactures or sells actually improve the environment (no, offsetting does not count), please feel free to stop reading here.

For the rest of us who operate in the real world where production depletes natural resources, transportation creates carbon emissions and packaging winds up in landfills, it’s time to rethink how we communicate the environmental impact of the products and services we sell. Too often the messages are vague, misleading or simply unfounded. The result is a disconnect between the environmental marketing messages companies are sending and the meaning consumers hear.

To prevent companies from leading consumers astray, advertising regulators around the world are cracking down on companies who use potentially deceptive messages to claim environmental halos. In the UK and Australia, for example, ads from leading companies have been banned outright in the last year based on vague claims or mis leading images. It turns out words such as “sustainable” and glossy images of flowers billowing from smokestacks simply do not give consumers the information they need to decipher the real environmental impact of those products or companies. In the U.S., change is afoot as well. For the first time in a decade, the Federal Trade Commission is reviewing its “Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims,” and revised guidelines are expected by the end of 2009. Consumers are also fueling the discussion through sites like www.greenwashingindex.com, which allows them to upload and critique questionable ads.

After more than a year of acceleration, environmental marketing is at a crossroads of risk and opportunity. Consumers are confused, frustrated and increasingly skeptical, but they’re not yet disenchanted. Nearly half said they feel informed, empowered or inspired to act when hearing corporate environmental messages, and 65 percent want to buy products from companies that communicate about the environment.

But in a world where corporate responsibility is increasingly scrutinized, there is no exception for sustainability claims. Consumers expect companies to be truthful, precise and informative when they communicate about their environmental impact. For brand executives used to letting creativity run wild in a world where marketing puffery has been an acceptable practice, environmental marketing is a game with new rules.

The Eco-Marketing Lexi

Cone's Best Practices for Environmental Communications

1. Be Authentic - Don’t attach an environmental message to a product or service unless there are credible corporate practices in place to support it.

2. Be Relevant - Avoid jumping on the green bandwagon just because it’s the trend of the day. Companies must evaluate and articulate the connection between their products/services and the environment. Seventy-four percent of Americans say providing a clear connection between the product/ service and the environmental issue (i.e., a hybrid car and lower emissions) influences their purchasing decisions.

3. Show the Impact - Make specific claims that provide quantitative impacts. Seventy percent of Americans say quantifying the actual environmental impact of a product or service is influential in their purchasing decisions.

4. Aquire Support - Third-party endorsements lend the most credibility to green marketing efforts. Engage NGOs and credible third parties early in the process to learn their expectations regarding your business strategies to enhance the credibility of your resulting communications.

5. Be Consistent - Don’t let frivolous marketing images send a signal that contradicts the carefully chosen words and facts you use.

6. Be a Resource - Provide additional information for consumers in a place where 6 they want it. Americans say they are most likely to seek information online via a company’s Web site (54%), a third-party Web site (51%), a search engine (48%) or via product packaging (45%). 

7. Use Social Media, Too - Communicating environmental messages through traditional avenues (i.e., advertising) will undoubtedly ignite a conversation online. Aim to start this dialogue, not just listen. Drive people online and provide a forum for them to act on the issue, react to your messaging, make suggestions or even criticize. 

8. Create a Teaching Moment - Ask a question, raise an issue, offer a solution. No matter the method, truly engaged companies will take their messaging beyond placing a label on a product or service to providing educational moments that address real issues of importance to consumers.

9. Don't Confuse "Doing Less Bad" with "Doing Good" - While reducing your impact is important and  worth communicating, portraying it as an environmental benefit is erroneous and may draw criticism.

10. Remember: Sustainability is a Journey, Not a Box to Check - There is always room to further improve the  environmental impact of a product or service. Communications that include some sense is a Journey,will be more credible and less subject to criticism.

*Footnotes