Innocent Maps Out Plan to End Ad Industry Greenwashing

In February, Innocent Drinks had a "misleading" promotion banned by regulators for exaggerating its positive environmental impact. Now, as it launches a campaign entirely focused on sustainability, its CMO wants to collaborate with the wider advertising industry to ensure brands aren't scared to speak out about green initiatives. Recently promoted from marketing director, the Coca-Cola-owned brand's CMO Kirsty Hunter said advertisers needed "more consistent guidance" they could get behind when it came to marketing sustainability claims. "My biggest fear is that brands and businesses will feel as though they can't do anything because they're too nervous," she added. "This is one of the biggest challenges [society] has ever faced and brands have a massive role to play in solving it." The smoothie and orange juice manufacturer wants to lead this discussion. It's just unveiled "Big Rewild"—a significant European push for which it's partnering with local organizations across the region to create and protect natural spaces and fruit orchards, preserve global forests and encourage consumers to "do their own bit" at home. The campaign, designed to "give back to nature," soak up carbon from the environment and encourage urban-dwellers to reconnect with greenery, will run across a series of physical experiences as well as online and in clever print campaigns (think pollution-absorbing billboards). Debuting in in London landmark Trafalgar Square on April 27 with a vast array of plants, flowers and a lion centerpiece made from responsibly sourced wood, the push aims to promote Innocent's new carbon neutral orange juice. It's also backed by two commitments: to protect 2 million hectares of land globally and become a carbon neutral business by 2025. An industry agreement on greenwashing For former Britvic exec Hunter, the issue of greenwashing—where marketers appear to be environmentally-conscious without taking any concrete action—is a constantly evolving area brand leaders are working quickly to navigate. According to the European Commission, 42% of brands are guilty of wildly exaggerating their green credentials. Indeed, the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) has recently announced its own guidance around the the issue. So has the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and U.S. bedfellow the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). However, Hunter argued there is a lack of clarity or consistency in recognized sustainability practices. This, she said, is paralyzing brands from being transparent about their long term goals and progress so far. She revealed Innocent was in the "early stages" of initiating conversations with the U.K.'s governed Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to create a system that ensures accountability while allowing brands to talk about their efforts. Innocent has come under fire from environmental activists over its use of plastics "As marketers, changing behavior is our expertise. We need to do that in a way that's fun and engaging and doesn't feel heavy and overly worthy. Otherwise consumers will switch off," Hunter said. "We really want to encourage that conversation [and] we want to work towards a framework that makes sense." A plastic problem One of Innocent's main opponents has been activist group Plastics Rebellion which took aim at the brand's 2021 ads showing animated characters "fixing up" the planet by buying Innocent Drinks. Plastics Rebellion highlighted Innocent's ownership under Coca-Cola, which has frequently been accused of creating pollution. The group also claimed Innocent created 32,000 plastic bottles an hour, underscoring its link to marine pollution. The ASA eventually banned Innocent's "Little Drinks, Big Dreams" ad at the start of 2022 saying it failed to highlight how Innocent's single-use plastic products had a "net positive" environmental impact over their full life cycles. Hunter said the brand's bottles are currently made from 50% recycled plastic, with a pledge to be 100% renewable or recycled material by 2025. Though Innocent hasn't engaged Plastics Rebellion in its sustainability efforts, its CMO said it is working with external partners like climate group South Pole on the topic. It's also trying to deepen the knowledge within its own marketing department—as well as having a sustainability team, it has a European head of force for good in the form of Karina O'Gorman who was tapped last year from Intercontinental hotels. "We've also set the department up now so everyone has a basic capability around sustainability," Hunter elaborated. "We never profess to be perfect, but we are always striving to do better." Hunter said Innocent, which has a yearly retail sales target of just over $1 billion and an ambition to deliver double digit profitability by 2023, has always sought to balance its commercial goals with purpose. The KPIs on "Big Rewild" are all built around "getting consumers engaged and making a difference," Hunter explained, adding that the brand would be measuring how sales of its carbon neutral orange juice stacked up, too. Innocent isn't the only advertiser accused of greenwashing. The past 12 months have also seen fashion brands like Nike and H&M have their sustainability claims put under the microscope. Coca-Cola Wants You to Recycle Soda Bottles. That Won't Keep Plastics Out of Your Body