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The first meeting of the Marketing Society May Day Alliance aims to establish guidelines that could pre-empt rulings currently being drawn up by the government.
The Marketing Society May Day Alliance is a partnership between the Marketing Society and the Prince's May Day Network, a group of businesses committed to taking action to tackle climate change.
If successful, the new body could play a campaigning role similar to that of Project 10, a drinks industry initiative that aims to encourage responsible marketing.
On the agenda at the meeting, which is being held at The Engine Group, is whether a focus on carbon emissions is the most effective way to communicate green credentials.
Former B&Q marketing director Jo Kenrick, who is leading the project, said: 'Carbon footprinting is an interesting way, but not the only way, to look at the issue. For some activities, carbon is irrelevant.'
She suggested that water and energy use could also be helpful indicators of a brand's environmental record and questioned whether 'normal, ordinary people' understood what carbon emissions meant.
'I'm asking marketers to come together and see if we can find two to three simple terms that we are prepared to use,' said Kenrick.
A shift away from the use of the term 'carbon' in marketing campaigns would go against what many brands are already doing. Walkers and Tesco, for example, both display the Carbon Trust's Carbon Reduction Label on their products.
The Alliance will hold regular meetings and workshops to bring together influential marketing and business people to discuss the environmental issues that affect everyday lives and the action that can be taken by those in the marketing community to combat climate change.
Comments
Interesting. Having just written the book Ethical Marketing & the New Consumer \(published by Wiley's) sounds like an interesting idea. She's right that the issue is bigger than just carbon footprint and throwing words like 'sustainability' about. Both words most consumers have no idea what they really are or mean. One guy we spoke to in a survey we conducted thought that carbon footprint was the stuff they put in the urn after they cremated you.
Water footprint is the new thing that's becoming important and is well understood by consumers. However, there are many other issues beyond environmentalism that fall within ethics that are just as important. The eco-ethical consumer is concerned with many aspects. Read the book to find out the rest \(on Amazon).
Just when everyone is starting to get their heads around carbon footprints, and we think about moving off in a new direction. But it's a wise move. It may complicate matters to start talking about social, economic and personal change - as well as environmental - but Jo and the Green Alliance are right to widen things out. If business and brands are to help change the planet for the better, and engage the support of consumers, staff, suppliers etc, it's vital they work on their entire footprint - how sustainable and responsible they are in all areas. Carbon is just one side of the story.
By creating a CR programme that is committed to bringing about real change, and by turning that programme into a powerful communications project, people won't be able to accuse you of greenwash. And the more people understand the issues, through the language we use and how we talk about these issues, the better. How many miles a product has travelled, local jobs, how many pennies went to fairtrade producers, what difference we are making ... I think consumers want to know and support all the things surrounding how their brands touch the planet. Scott Jones, Footprint Television.
FP - 23/06/2009
I'd love to hear the person who stands up at the conference and says 'I think we need to promote the idea that we can save the planet by consuming less of our stuff ... and they'd be thinner and healthier too'. Nah, that's way too simple. Fire up the thesaurus guys, let's play bullshit bingo ....
While everyone is focused on how to communicate environmental responsibility, is anyone actually looking at the impact advertising itself has on the environment? We are \(http://www.trinityp3.com/green_marketing.php), along with our partner Gaia Partnership \(http://www.gaiapartnership.com) have developed a methodology to calculate the environmental impact of advertising and marketing by media channel and production. No advertiser can claim a zero carbon footprint, offset or otherwise, unless they account for the carbon pollution caused by broadcasting that claim. The fact is that being environmentally responsible is about reducing waste which also means reducing costs, not simply offsetting the pollution you are already creating.
FP - 23/06/2009
Well said ... but does that go far enough? Shouldn't you be looking at the impact of the advertising as well as the delivery? Good advertising, we are told, sells more products and therefore creates more pollution. Would it be right to think that the environmentally friendly thing to do would be to produce really bad advertising that doesn't work? That's one for the jury in Cannes to get their heads around. I can think of one or two agencies that must already be using this as part of their credentials.
Of course other factors apart from CO2-e are important when it comes to any sustainable environmental business. The \(only) good thing about carbon is that it has a economic value. It can be measured, benchmarked & reduced. It can also be traded in a market-place.
It is a term that is understood and when measured can be used as competitive factor when comparing similar goods and services.
Coming up with a new green language will only add complexity and confuse the consumer. Or it that the whole point of the exercise?
Interesting development although there's already quite a few groups and think tanks in this space debating the same questions and looking to formulate policy and steer the debate around sustainability and communications. It would make more sense if one organisation emerged to create a single vision which others could feed into and engage all those already involved including government, NGO's and agencies. It might be worth mentioning that we created http://www.greenawards.co.uk four years ago as the leading industry awards for sustainability in marketing and communications to reward any organisation or individual communicating their sustainability in a creative, engaging and original way. And of course entrants must also be able to demonstrate the positive impact of their campaigns.The awards set out to illustrate the crucial role that needs to be played by communications in informing people about green issues, products and lifestyle choices. It's evident now there's an increasing appetite from business and industry for examples of excellence and best practice in communicating sustainability and green issues which the GREEN AWARDS™ showcases. The GREEN AWARDS™ recognises excellence in 16 categories from Best Green International Campaign open to global entrants to Best Green Campaigner for individuals and small groups championing sustainability.
Comments
Chris Arnold - 23/06/2009
Interesting. Having just written the book Ethical Marketing & the New Consumer \(published by Wiley's) sounds like an interesting idea. She's right that the issue is bigger than just carbon footprint and throwing words like 'sustainability' about. Both words most consumers have no idea what they really are or mean. One guy we spoke to in a survey we conducted thought that carbon footprint was the stuff they put in the urn after they cremated you. Water footprint is the new thing that's becoming important and is well understood by consumers. However, there are many other issues beyond environmentalism that fall within ethics that are just as important. The eco-ethical consumer is concerned with many aspects. Read the book to find out the rest \(on Amazon).
Scott Jones - 23/06/2009
Just when everyone is starting to get their heads around carbon footprints, and we think about moving off in a new direction. But it's a wise move. It may complicate matters to start talking about social, economic and personal change - as well as environmental - but Jo and the Green Alliance are right to widen things out. If business and brands are to help change the planet for the better, and engage the support of consumers, staff, suppliers etc, it's vital they work on their entire footprint - how sustainable and responsible they are in all areas. Carbon is just one side of the story. By creating a CR programme that is committed to bringing about real change, and by turning that programme into a powerful communications project, people won't be able to accuse you of greenwash. And the more people understand the issues, through the language we use and how we talk about these issues, the better. How many miles a product has travelled, local jobs, how many pennies went to fairtrade producers, what difference we are making ... I think consumers want to know and support all the things surrounding how their brands touch the planet. Scott Jones, Footprint Television.
FP - 23/06/2009
I'd love to hear the person who stands up at the conference and says 'I think we need to promote the idea that we can save the planet by consuming less of our stuff ... and they'd be thinner and healthier too'. Nah, that's way too simple. Fire up the thesaurus guys, let's play bullshit bingo ....
Darren Woolley - 23/06/2009
While everyone is focused on how to communicate environmental responsibility, is anyone actually looking at the impact advertising itself has on the environment? We are \(http://www.trinityp3.com/green_marketing.php), along with our partner Gaia Partnership \(http://www.gaiapartnership.com) have developed a methodology to calculate the environmental impact of advertising and marketing by media channel and production. No advertiser can claim a zero carbon footprint, offset or otherwise, unless they account for the carbon pollution caused by broadcasting that claim. The fact is that being environmentally responsible is about reducing waste which also means reducing costs, not simply offsetting the pollution you are already creating.
FP - 23/06/2009
Well said ... but does that go far enough? Shouldn't you be looking at the impact of the advertising as well as the delivery? Good advertising, we are told, sells more products and therefore creates more pollution. Would it be right to think that the environmentally friendly thing to do would be to produce really bad advertising that doesn't work? That's one for the jury in Cannes to get their heads around. I can think of one or two agencies that must already be using this as part of their credentials.
Christopher Sewell - 23/06/2009
Of course other factors apart from CO2-e are important when it comes to any sustainable environmental business. The \(only) good thing about carbon is that it has a economic value. It can be measured, benchmarked & reduced. It can also be traded in a market-place. It is a term that is understood and when measured can be used as competitive factor when comparing similar goods and services. Coming up with a new green language will only add complexity and confuse the consumer. Or it that the whole point of the exercise?
IAIN PATTON - 24/06/2009
Interesting development although there's already quite a few groups and think tanks in this space debating the same questions and looking to formulate policy and steer the debate around sustainability and communications. It would make more sense if one organisation emerged to create a single vision which others could feed into and engage all those already involved including government, NGO's and agencies. It might be worth mentioning that we created http://www.greenawards.co.uk four years ago as the leading industry awards for sustainability in marketing and communications to reward any organisation or individual communicating their sustainability in a creative, engaging and original way. And of course entrants must also be able to demonstrate the positive impact of their campaigns.The awards set out to illustrate the crucial role that needs to be played by communications in informing people about green issues, products and lifestyle choices. It's evident now there's an increasing appetite from business and industry for examples of excellence and best practice in communicating sustainability and green issues which the GREEN AWARDS™ showcases. The GREEN AWARDS™ recognises excellence in 16 categories from Best Green International Campaign open to global entrants to Best Green Campaigner for individuals and small groups championing sustainability.