Brands Hit With Guidelines to Put an End to Greenwashing

Marketers have a problem: People don't believe the claims they make on sustainability. Now, new landmark global guidance aims to solve this issue, giving brands a framework to ensure assertions they make around the environment are credible. The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) has worked with global regulators and brand leaders to publish six recommendations designed to build consumer trust. The principles have also been designed to help brands avoid accusations of greenwashing, which is when a company purports to be environmentally conscious for marketing purposes but isn't really making any notable sustainability efforts. Key points include ensuring environmental claims don't "mislead" consumers and that "marketers must hold robust evidence for all claims made." Other advice is centered around checking that marketing communications don't omit material information or make general statements about only part of a product's lifecycle. Why Innocent Was Found Guilty of Greenwashing and Why It Matters The new framework comes one year after the WFA launched its Planet Pledge initiative, which brings together brands championing a shift to a zero-carbon economy and using their own advertising to drive greener behavior. There are now 27 signatories to the pledge, including Arla, Diageo and Mastercard, representing close to $50 billion in cumulative global marketing spend. Research based on responses from 15 of these companies shows brands are making their own progress in this area. According to 64% of respondents, they now have ethical standards in place to ensure green claims are credible, and more than 90% are educating their marketing teams on sustainability messaging. 'Fear' of greenwashing With more people buying into environmentally-conscious brands, some, such as Patagonia, have found success in tying campaigns to their sustainability credentials. However, as consumers become more savvy, those with insincere messaging are being called out. Earlier this year, Coca-Cola-owned brand Innocent Drinks had its animated "Little Drinks, Big Ideas" ad banned by U.K. regulators. This followed greenwashing complaints from climate activist group Extinction Rebellion. The ad was spiked because Innocent's use of plastic bottles didn't stack up against representing itself as a brand doing good for the world. This fresh guidance would aim to ensure such ads are reconsidered internally before getting to the point of being banned. “Current consumer skepticism in environmental claims and marketers’ fear of greenwashing are together the biggest obstacles to our industry being part of the solution to the climate crisis,” said WFA chief executive Stephan Loerke. “Big reductions in CO2 emissions have occurred on the back of technology and innovation; the next big advance needs to be driven by behavioral change. This is where marketers can help: This guidance is an essential first step to creating an environment where marketers and consumers can feel more confident about companies’ sustainability credentials.” A recent study from Belgian ad agency Bubka found marketers have a long way to go in convincing consumers of their sustainability credentials. It found that just 6.4% of people believe companies are telling the truth when they talk about their contributions to the combatting the climate crisis.

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Brands Hit With Guidelines to End Greenwashing Amid Consumer Skepticism on Sustainability

Landmark global guidance encourages advertisers to ensure assertions are robust

Rebecca Stewart

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Rebecca Stewart