CASE -- Milwaukee GAA (6-16-10)gaa.org/.../10/GAAEnvWkshop2010Proceedings_Case.pdfscot case...
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www.terrachoice.com Avoiding Greenwashing June 16, 2010 scot case [email protected] 800 478-0399 x245 Selling Green Legitimately
Transcript of CASE -- Milwaukee GAA (6-16-10)gaa.org/.../10/GAAEnvWkshop2010Proceedings_Case.pdfscot case...
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Avoiding Greenwashing
June 16, 2010scot [email protected] 478-0399 x245
Selling Green Legitimately
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About TerraChoice
Terrachoice
Consulting Verification Third-party Certification
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Green is Suddenly Everywhere
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…Even Soap Opera Digest
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…And Mad Magazine
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Growth of Green Advertising
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•Number of ads increasing.
•Number of “green” products per store increasing.
Growth of Green
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…And Very Importantly
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Drivers of Green Movement
Growing Consumer Awareness– Surveys
Intense Media Focus– Everyone is now part of the ‘media’
Scientific Studies– ‘Body Burden’ studies– Global warming– Other
Retailers Increasing Focus
Environmental Non-ProfitsHealthy Hospital NetworkHealthy Schools NetworkHealthcare Without Harm
Environmental Working GroupConsumer ReportsResponsible Purchasing Network
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Who Buys Green?
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Who Buys Green?
2. Individual positions are always shifting, driven by life events and corporate circumstances.
6. The rest are reachable, but not with ‘green’ values.
1. At any one time, some 20% of peopleare ‘green’.
4. The greenest arealso the most skeptical.
3. Buyers can be ‘green’ for vastly different reasons.
5. Hardcore green (3-6%) are extremely
skeptical
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Defining Green
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Avoiding the Seven Sins of Greenwashing
June 16, 2010
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Environmental Claims are Growing
•Eco-safe
•Environmentally friendly
•Earth friendly
•Earth smart
•Environmentally safe
•Environmentally preferable
•Essentially non-toxic
•Practically non-toxic
•Made with non-toxic ingredients
•Degradable
•Biodegradable
•Compostable
•Environmentally safe
•CFC-free
•Ozone friendly
•RecyclableOriginal Source: Kirsten Ritche, Gensler
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FTC Green Marketing Guidelines
Available at:
www.ftc.gov
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Canadian Competition Bureau
•Very consistent with FTC Guides, but goes further.
•Co-published with Canadian Standards Association.
•Look for increasing collaboration between the U.S. and Canada.
•Similar guides in UK, Australia, and others.
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Lifecycle Perspective
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Enforcement Actions Increasing
•FTC – Insulation, Biodegradable, and Bamboo cases
•Canada – Energy Star cases
•NAD – increasing case load
•Litigation – numerous consumer fraud suits being filed
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Beware of Greenwashing
Green·wash (grēn'wŏsh', -wôsh') – verb: the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service
WARNING:
Learn to ask critical questions or you might be selling products with creative marketing rather than products
with legitimate environmental benefits.
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Seven “Sins” of Greenwashing
• Sin of Fibbing – Misleading customers about the actual environmental performance of their products.
• Sin of No Proof – Also known as the sin of “just trust us,” some manufacturers are unable to provide proof of their environmental claims.
• Sin of Irrelevance – Factually correct, but irrelevant, environmental assessments (e.g., “CFC-free”)
• Sin of the Hidden Trade-Off – Focusing on one or two environmental facts, but ignoring other significantly more important environmental concerns.
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• Worshipping false labels – a product that through words or images gives the impression of third-party endorsement where no such endorsement actually exists.
The Seven Sins of Greenwashing report, released 4/15/09, is available at <www.sinsofgreenwashing.org>
• Sin of Vagueness – Broad, poorly defined environmental claims (e.g., “100 percent natural”)
• Sin of Lesser of Two Evils – A product can be the most environmentally preferable product in its class, but still be an inappropriate choice (e.g., “organic cigarettes”)
Seven “Sins” of Greenwashing
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Labels as “Safe Harbors”?
<www.ecologo.org> <www.energystar.gov> <www.greenseal.org>
The environmental standards most frequently cited by green purchasers include:
•Founded 1988
•100 standards
•6,500 certified products
•Founded 1992
•50 standards
•“Thousands and thousands” of registered products
•Founded 1989
•30 standards
•3,000 certified products
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EcoLogo Overview
• Founded in 1988 by Environment Canada
• Managed by TerraChoice since 1995
• Developed more than 100 EcoLogo standards
• Certified more than 7,500 products
• Respected as North America’s largest, most established, and one of the most recognized environmental standard setting and certification programs.
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Lots of Labels AroundA partial list of labels currently being used:
•Blue Angel•CFPA•CPG•DfE•Eco Mark•EcoLogo•Ecomark•Eco-OK•Energy Star•Environmental Choice
•EPEAT•EU Flower•Fair Trade•FSC•GBI•Good Green Buy•Green Label•Green Seal•GREENGUARD•Greenstar
•LEED•MSC•Nordic Swan•Process Chlorine Free•SCS•SFI•TCO•Totally Chlorine Free•USDA-Organic•WaterSense
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Comparing Eco-Labels
WARNING:Not All Environmental Claims Are Created Equal
•Validity of the standard
•Standard setting process
•Verification process
Learn to ask about:
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Paper Standards
<www.ecologo.org>
<www.epa.gov/cpg>
<www.greenseal.org><www.chlorinefreeproducts.org>
<www.fscus.org>
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Lifecycle Perspective
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Comparing Paper Standards
Prescriptive:
• Recycled Content
• Process Chlorine Free
• Packaging
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Comparing Paper StandardsMeasuring Results:Resource Consumption(Recycled Content, other fibers)
Energy Consumption
Chemical Oxygen Demand
Sublethal Toxicity
Net Solid Waste
Load Point System# # #
# # #
# # #
# # #
# # #_______________________TOTAL: # # #
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Do’s and Don’ts
June 16, 2010scot [email protected] 478-0399 x245
Staying Out of Trouble
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Biggest Green Marketing Mistake
Do Not:
Just look for some green aspect to highlight; you’ll get in big trouble.
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– Sin of the Hidden Trade-Off –Focusing on one or two environmental facts, but ignoring other important environmental concerns.Recycled paper
Recycled paper
Every product has multiple environmental impacts and truly greener products try to address them all.
Green Marketing Challenge
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CFCs have been banned for decades, yet many products (hair sprays, bug sprays, bathroom deodorizers, etc.) still claim CFC-free as if it is a unique competitive advantage
• Sin of Irrelevance – Factually correct, but irrelevant, environmental assessments
Green Marketing Challenge
No CFCs, as required by federal law.
This simple addition helps.
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Green Marketing Challenge
Sin of No Proof:
•Organic
•Biodegradable
Sin of Irrelevance:
•Recyclable symbol but what if facilities don’t exist?
Sin of Vagueness:•“Non-toxic” – by what definition?
•“Biodegradable” – by what definition?
•“Natural” – by what definition?
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Sin of the Hidden Trade-Off:
•Recycled content is good, but what about the manufacturing process?•What about source of virgin fiber?
Sin of Vagueness:
•Recyclable or contains recycled content?
•What % recycled content?
__ % recycled content
__ % postconsumer content
Be sure to provide proof
Green Marketing Challenge
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Avoid Green Marketing Mistakes
•Every product has some green aspect; that doesn’t make it green.
•A collection of green aspects does not necessarily make a green product.
•No product is truly green – only shades of greener.
•Make sure the target customer understands what makes the product greener without drawing the wrath of others.
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Remember One Thing
Effective green marketing takes more than just making “legally
allowable” claims.
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Best Advice
If you’re making a public claim, provide public proof.
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Forms of Proof
•Signed declarations
•Copies of test results identifying laboratories and date of testing
•Third-party verification of test results
•Third-party certification to a reputable environmental standard
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Additional Key Takeaways
• “Environmental agnostics”
• “Complexity is paralyzing”
• “Pocketbook environmentalism”
• “Make it personal”
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Green Marketing Tips
• Have a good green story to tell.
• Make sure to clearly define the environmental attributes.
• Ensure the green claims are accurate, meaningful, and verifiable.
• Provide proof of any green claim.
• Be humble.
