UK's largest advertisers call for greener agencies

In May 2007, the COI called for agencies to improve their environmental credentials or risk being axed from their roster. In October, Procter and Gamble announced a sales target for environmentally improved products.

Many advertisers are reviewing the way they source materials, promote their products and dispose of waste, partly to win consumer approval, and partly to appease regulators and reduce future energy costs and taxation.

Some agencies may be responding faster than others, but there is a lot of action as companies recognise it will save them money in the longer term.

To assess how agencies are responding, Marketing has teamed with the Ethical Reputation Index (ERI) to publish the UK's first Green Agency Index which will ask 140 of the UK's top agencies to report how they are reducing their environmental impact. Invitations to participate were sent out to agency CEOs on Tuesday 8th January and results are due back by 21st January.

The results of the ERI Green Agency survey will be published in Marketing magazine in the coming weeks, and will be on hand to help clients and advertisers to choose their agencies based on a similar footing.

What do you think - is the communications industry is responding as fast as clients and consumers want?

Consumers call companies on false green claims

Last year there was a big rise in the number of people reporting false green claims to the Advertising Standards Authority reports Marketing magazine. Certainly consumers are becoming more aware of environmental issues, but their awareness of greenwashing is increasing too. Marketers and their agencies need to be more aware of their customers' increasing sophistication.

Procter and government announce new targets

Two significant announcements today - one from a brand owner and the other from government. Taken separately they are both important stories, but taken together they mark a huge change in the relationship between individuals, brands and government. Procter and Gamble released news of the company's plans to reduce the environmental impact of their products, while the UK Government announced "pay as you throw" plans. Procter's move to 'green' 10% of its products will help consumers to reduce their impact and reduce the amount they recycle, so they'll have lower recycling bills. If local councils do adopt this type of pay as you throw scheme, then consumers are very likely to choose the products that help them to keep their waste bills down. A good move by Procter and one that will protect their business in years to come.

GAP accused of child labour

GAP, the clothing retailer and member of Red initiative, was today accused of using child labour in the production of its clothing in India. Despite being rated as one of the most ethical retailers in the Time Out shopping league, ERI respondents have consistently rated GAP as one of the least ethical retailers on the index. Nearly 90% of people who rated GAP poorly did so because they believe "the company exploits its workers e.g. low pay, long hours or poor working environment" and the latest news will dent GAP's reputation even further.

Is organic any good?

News yesterday from BBC says that some goods may be stripped of their organic status if they've been flown into UK. If implemented this will help clear up some of the confusion that exists in consumers' minds. Back in 2006, to coincide with Fairtrade fortnight, ERI conducted research which shows half of UK shoppers weren't clear about the differences between fairtrade, organic and ethical goods. About 5 in 10 people say they are confused as to what the terms mean.

That said, many shoppers think organic means 'healthier and better for people and the environment'. Not so, according to AAGill in The Times, but the Soil Association might disagree.

But consumers are still choosing organic, and in increasing numbers, although they see the irony when organic food is flown thousands of miles to their supermarket.

Our research clearly shows that the people who buy organic also want less packaging and locally sourced products. If advertising promises this, but the store fails to deliver, shoppers pick up on it straight away. One ERI respondent says, "It is bad when a company does a big ad campaign about local sourcing, then a visit to the shop shows they are not. Am fed up with veg from Chile, Morocco etc, not what they advertise at all."

Netherlands launches tax on packaging

From January 2008, the Netherlands will employ a carbon-based packaging tax that could herald the start of wider EU movement forcing companies to take CO2 emissions into account when making packaging decisions, according to Sustainable is Good and Environmental Leader reports.

CO2 emissions from the production of each kilogram of packaging will form the basis of the calculations.

Changes in packaging production for the Dutch market could give international companies a chance to save money and improve their standing in other European markets, by promoting their products' reduced carbon footprint.

Such measures will appeal to consumers, as the ERI shows 48% of consumers are now looking for less packaging when they shop. This is particularly true if regulators introduce personal carbon allowances, as consumers' carbon footprint may well benefit from a reduction in the CO2 emissions going into product packaging.

Makes me ask though: Will a carbon-based packaging tax encourage companies to make their packaging more easy to recycle, using either existing or new materials?

Are consumers ready for Pay as you throw?

The LGA (Local Government Association) recently proposed a ‘pay as you throw’ scheme after a survey found that almost two-thirds supported being charged under the system in return for council tax rebates.

Of course it's not the first time we've heard about plans that focus on personal responsibility. David Miliband announced plans to review pesonal carbon allowances in July 2006.

ERI and Lightspeed research shows people are aware of their carbon consumption even if they don’t refer to it in those terms. Their current focus is on recycling, rather than reusing or reducing. Around 90% people claim to recycle regularly, but fewer people are willing to limit air travel (30%) or use their car less (40%).

The good news, however, is well over 80% believe they personally can make a difference to climate change, but they do want some reward from brands or government for their actions.

The Live Earth full report covers this in more detail on the ERI website. To read more visit our reports section at www.ethicalreputationindex.com.

Time Out rates London's most ethical stores

In association with the Ethical Trading Initiative, this week's Time Out has rated London's most ethical retailers says GreenBiz. Marks and Spencer, Gap and H&M are rated highest.

For me the differences between what shoppers think (ERI) and the results of audits such as this one are very revealing.

According to the ERI, Marks and Spencer's consumer ratings are rising faster than any other retailer measured. Gap, however, are not getting the recognition the Time Out survey suggests they deserve.

Gordon Brown is urged to act on supermarkets using factories that pay workers 4p per hour for up to 80 hours a week says the Scotsman.

Are banks pouncing on green to differentiate their products and make more profit asks The Telegraph? With commendable honesty, Barclaycard, which recently launched Breathe, says "yes" but goes on to say they are also responding to customer demand.

The article also references the Live Earth concerts held on seven continents 07.07.07. Find out whether the concerts did change public perception - of climate change and the companies sponsoring the event - download our free Live Earth summary report, conducted in partnership with Lightspeed Research, at www.ethicalreputationindex.com

Kellogg's has announced new voluntary guidelines for marketing to children.

Tesco have introduced what they call 'naked deliveries', an attempt to reduce the 4 billion bags their grocery delivery service uses every year. I'm trying to imagine what 4 billion bags looks like and how much oil and energy is used to produce them. It's quite hard. But it is a fitting response to consumers concerns which at the moment are focussed on packaging and recycling. Tesco's website today 13.06.07 has information right in the middle of their home page about the scheme.

Dixons CEO calls for an end to standby

The Energy Saving Trust estimates that an average home in UK has 12 appliances on standby at any one time. Dixons CEO John Clare is meeting suppliers today to call for the end to the standby button on electrical goods. Dixons are the latest company to attempt to reduce energy use of its products. Recently Philips announced a 'green tick' logo to denote more energy efficient goods.

Although the Dixons item made the national news, I didn't find any mention of it - or the company's sustainability policies - on Dixons homepage. Companies announcing these types of schemes should support the news with information on their websites if they want to get their message across to both customers and business contacts.

As the Carbon Trust's work shows, there is pressure on the airline industry to react to consumer and legislative pressures. The reaction of the airline industry varies widely, but regional carrier flybe has launched a scheme to alert customers to carbon offsetting. Using a traffic light system the airline aims to help customers decide whether to offset the carbon or not.

Morrisons flags recyclable levels, Sainsbury's focus on sourcing

Hot on the heels of the Carbon Trust campaign comes announcements from two supermarkets. The first from Morrisons is a scheme launched to help customers identify which goods can be recycled.

Our Ethical Reputation Index research shows a lot of people are confused about their role reducing waste and energy - so this scheme should be welcome news to consumers. Two-thirds of people surveyed on the ERI says that they no longer see recycled products as cheaper or inferior alternatives.

And Sainsbury's have announced a scheme to highlight provenance and British sourcing of food.

Meanwhile, Asda are about to launch a new campaign to highlight local sourcing of their milk, reports Brand Republic.

Food quality and sourcing is a big issue for shoppers. Our ERI research shows a quarter of UK's supermarket shoppers are interested in local sourcing . However they're even more concerned about packaging - nearly half are trying to avoid too much packaging when they go shopping.

Carbon Trust new campaign to help business

The Carbon Trust has launched a campaign to persuade business to do find more ways of reducing carbon output. News of the story is featured here.

Looking for a picture of the Carbon Trust I came across this instead - a diagram showing the market value at risk if sectors do not act to reduce carbon emissions. A difficult thing to calculate I'd imagine, but the relative positions seem pretty logical with aviation and energy most exposed.

General Electric announced today that 'green' sales have doubled in the past two years to $12 billion. At the same time, overall sales at GE grew by just 20%. General Electric are broadcasting a press conference live today.

General Electric and BP have both teamed up with ivillage to launch a new Web channel "to show women how easy it is to go green."

Recently NewsCorp, IBM and Citigroup, have announced plans to invest billions of dollars in alternative energy, energy efficiency and carbon emission trading.

Yahoo! has launched a 'go green' initiative in the US. How will it affect consumers views of the company?

Tesco's shareholders have forced ethical issues onto the public agenda. Several newspapers have picked up on this including the Scotsman business pages. The comments below the article are interesting. Not only do they show that readers are thinking about these issues, but digital and social media is allowing them to participate in a debate. It means companies are becoming more open to public inspection and that impacts on their ethical profile.

Technology catches up

Environmental concerns have mainly focussed on the food and fashion industries, then transport. Now technology companies are coming under scrutiny. After we saw Greenpeace slam Apple, Steve Jobs announced new measures to green Apple. Now Philips have launched a new green tick to help guide consumers to more environmentally friendly products.