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| Be Whiter Than White When Going Green |
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Publicly going green is the ‘must have’ policy for many businesses, but if a firm’s claims don’t stand up to scrutiny then they can expect a media backlash and public loss of face, according to a Kent media relations expert.
Companies are currently tripping over themselves to trumpet their ecological credentials, how they have reduced their carbon footprint or better still gone carbon neutral.
However, if it is all just marketing speak – a case of ‘greenwash’ – then companies can expect attention from not only the green guardians, such as Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, but also the press, warns Andrew Metcalf, director of Tunbridge Wells-based agency Maxim.
“The public are increasingly aware of the environmental implications of our daily lives and will demand action. However, simply making a song and dance of saying you’ve gone green won’t wash if it doesn’t stand up to close inspection,” he said.
“Maxim anticipates that the green credentials of businesses will increasingly be in the sights of the media, driven by their own news agenda, as well as public concern.”
The growth of the green bandwagon and related advertising has also sparked growing public criticism which can damage a company’s brand values. According to the Advertising Standards Authority it received 268 complaints about 200 green ads in the first six months of 2007, compared to only 62 complaints – about 40 green ads in the last quarter of 2006.
Andrew Metcalf continued: “The supermarkets are an excellent case in point. They may have tried to take the moral high ground over the plastic bag issue. However questions will increasingly be asked of their environmental impact, their energy consumption, the mileage of their trucks and supply chains. The public are aware of ‘food miles’ and increasingly looking to purchase more locally thanks to the work of the likes of Produced in Kent, one of Maxim’s clients.
“Prawns caught in Scotland, before being sent to Thailand for preparing and freezing and then returned to Grimsby for Young’s to pack and despatch to local supermarkets, attracted national ridicule and seriously undermined the company’s green credentials.”
The recent focus of attention has been on the 12.4 billion plastic shopping bags used each year, making it the UK’s public enemy number 1. The media has stoked the debate, with the likes of the Daily Mail claiming they were instrumental in Chancellor Alastair Darling’s Budget announcement that retailers have a year to come up with a workable solution to the environmental problem.
Andrew Metcalf added: “Isn’t there a delicious double standard from the press, given that now many of them polywrap their newspapers, supplements and ubiquitous inserts selling healthcare and insurance?”
So what can those businesses who go green expect from a media relations perspective? Andrew Metcalf continued: “If they are not going to damage their corporate reputation, they have to stand up to scrutiny of the public and press.
“They also have to focus on every aspect of their business, not just their ‘shop window’ but also their suppliers who may be supplying goods that aren’t ethical, such as child labour, pollution or a poor environmental track record. The management’s activities also have to be consistent with the company’s public policies, so forget the private use of the corporate jet to whisk you away to the south of France for the weekend!
“And politicians, local authorities and government bodies are not exempt from examination with many stories increasingly the result of Freedom of Information requests. David Cameron’s bike riding while his briefcase and change of clothes were chauffeured behind springs to mind as a high profile double standard and media faux pas.
“Before going big on a green agenda first consider how much energy you may be wasting by simply keeping the lights and computers on at night, you’re in the public eye and in the public line of fire.”
So what are the top tips to avoid a public drubbing at the hands of the press:
1. Be truthful and transparent
2. Don’t do it just because your competitors are doing it – do it because it’s the right thing to do
3. Make sure your PR team is fully aware of any initiative as early as possible so they can help avoid any pitfalls and consider how the announcement will be received by the public |
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