The Greenwashing Index: A Six-Month Review and Plans for the Future
July 1, 2008
Posted by Dr. Kim Sheehan, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Advertising
University of Oregon
We spent some time talking about green issues with like-minded folks yesterday, and I started thinking about some of the good … and not so good … messages that we've seen posted on the Greenwashing Index. In terms of green advertising, we could segment the ads currently airing into three groups:
- What our company does (to help protect/save the environment).
- What our company can do (what technologies are available for our company to improve our product or service that will help protect/save the environment).
- What you can do (to help protect/save the environment).
Let’s look at each of these types of messages.
What our company does messages are probably the vast majority of what we find on the Greenwashing Index (and we're in the process of counting them up, just to make sure). Some of these messages are explicit, which are great: we buy carbon offsets, we've changed our production process to eliminate waste, we use 100% recycled materials in our packaging, etc. Other messages are not so explicit: we’re eco-friendly, we're gentle to the earth. We're going to start a list of these problematic phrases and hopefully such a list will get people aware of problematic "eco speak" so they can find out on their own whether the company is really putting its green money where its "green mouth" is.
What our company can do messages suggest where the company may be going in the future. These messages are cropping up more often and are meant to inspire hope for a bright green future. A new BMW ad, for example, says that BMW can produce the new Hydrogen 7 car, which runs only on a hydrogen-powered combustion engine, "when the world is ready." This lack of a specific timetable is a new type of greenwashing, in our opinion, since without any details or a firm delivery date, we can't really tell how committed the company is to the content of the message.
A little digging at this BMW message found that while yes, they can produce the car, the infrastructure to support the production and the storage of the liquid hydrogen fuel needed to run the car are far from a reality. Thus, it's a form of greenwashing. (There's a great review on the Wired magazine web site: http://www.wired.com/cars/energy/news/2006/11/72100?currentPage=2).
What you can do messages are somewhat irksome to me, as well. These types of ads don't tell you what the company does, but instead give tips to consumers on how we can help the earth. While I appreciate knowing these tips, I also want to know that they are coming from an advertiser who "practices what he/she preaches."
I hope that we can start to see a fourth type of message that can be characterized as:
What we will do.
These messages recognize that the company has made a good start. They recognize that many more options are available, and commits to specific changes in the next year that can be observed, measured and recognized by consumers. These messages will be powerful in many ways. They will be a specific commitment by a company made public in a strong way: through consumer advertising. The company will not be able to hide from this commitment because they are inviting consumers to monitor their progress. They can use this "will do" message as an opportunity to educate us as to why the "will do" action is good for the environment. In addition, there is a specific, short-term timetable provided so the achievement can be celebrated and new goals can be set.
We’ll be talking more about this in the months to come.
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