Fishburn Hedges

06.04.2009

Fishburn Hedges consultant, Dan Smith, on how green-wash just won't cut it in today's challenging communications environment.

Corporate responsibility issues are not slipping down the agenda as the recession bites, as some commentators predicted they might. The challenges and opportunities this presents the communications industry are growing by the day…

It is certainly no secret that organisations are giving ever-increasing thought to how they communicate their green credentials and corporate responsibility initiatives. The maturity of the overall debate, and the number of commentators, is now such that companies must walk the environmental talk if they are not to be dismissed as pedlars of ‘green-wash’.

Consumers are becoming increasingly knowledgeable across a range of green issues: carbon footprints; corporate water use; recycling of packaging and waste; and sustainable sourcing of raw materials, to name but a few. Even as family budgets are squeezed in the current economic climate, Joe Public is demanding both transparency and accountability from corporates. Consumers are now also garnering greater protection through regulation: DEFRA recently announced a new steering group to update the department’s ‘Green Claims’ code. The Code is a tool to assist businesses who advertise green products or services and ensure their claims are accurate, truthful and relevant.

This operational context should be viewed as an opportunity and not a threat; government (both at home and abroad) sees green technology as a key pillar in a global economic recovery. Organisations who can successfully match their business models to a vision of a low carbon economy will inevitably reap the rewards in the long run. Any corporation which can communicate that it understands how its business can adapt to this agenda, and back this up with proof of action, can position themselves favourably in the eyes of its stakeholders and the – ultimately – powerful customer.

Tighter scrutiny and clear business imperative demand a requisite response from the PR industry if communicators are going to achieve meaningful message penetration in the media and across their stakeholder communities. We have been doing some great work in this area in recent months, achieving some notable results along the way. For example, we helped TetraPak launch its Tetra Recart – a lighter and fully recyclable alternative to the tin can – achieving coverage on BBC One’s "The One Show", as well as a raft of national print titles. We also have worked with Nestlé to promote the improvements they have made to their Easter Egg packaging, successfully placing the story in numerous national publications including the Times, the Telegraph, the Daily Mail and Daily Mirror and also briefing a broad range of high profile stakeholders.

Green issues are undoubtedly here to stay, but the PR tactics required to positively communicate an organisation’s CR stance and credentials now need more creative and rigorous thought. Green-wash simply will no longer, well, wash.