{"id":147553,"date":"2024-07-22T14:47:08","date_gmt":"2024-07-22T13:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/?p=147553"},"modified":"2024-07-23T09:39:21","modified_gmt":"2024-07-23T08:39:21","slug":"are-you-following-the-green-claims-code-with-your-comms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/blog\/are-you-following-the-green-claims-code-with-your-comms\/","title":{"rendered":"Are you following the Green Claims Code with your comms?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A growing awareness of the impacts of climate change has meant greater accountability for PRs communicating company ESG credentials.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alongside the potential for bad press if you\u2019re doing it wrong are the dangers of falling foul of legislation – the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)\u2019s Green Claims Code<\/a>, this Autumn\u2019s DMCC, and incoming EU regulations being just three possible pitfalls.<\/p>\n

In our latest webinar \u2018Navigating the Green Claims Code: How to avoid the pitfalls of greenwashing<\/a>\u2019, The Grocer\u2019s editor-in-chief Adam Leyland explained the clampdowns, why your words matter, and how to communicate your credentials to the media.<\/p>\n

The clampdown on ESG claims<\/h3>\n

\u2018Greenwashing has been going on for a long time – it\u2019s rampant,’ said Adam.<\/p>\n

‘In the FMCG space, sustainability-related terms are used liberally – words like \u2018eco\u2019, \u2018green\u2019, and \u2018sustainable’ are scattered into comms. Sometimes this is innocent and well-meaning – linked to positive initiatives to minimise the impact on the environment. Sometimes it\u2019s cynical and glib – and PRs are among the worst offenders.\u2019<\/p>\n

Is PR all bad, then? No, explained Adam.<\/p>\n

\u2018The point is this is all relative. Using different packaging doesn\u2019t make a product \u2018green\u2019. To make that claim now, you have to undertake some onerous lifecycle analysis of all aspects of the supply chain – packaging, sourcing, catching, energy, water, and what happens to it at the end of the cycle. It\u2019s a difficult thing to make these claims when you have to be so exhaustive.\u2019<\/p>\n

While there have been rules set in place on sustainability to be aware of already – Trading Standards and International Standard ISO 14021<\/a>, for example, Adam warned that \u2018it\u2019s only getting more onerous\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Green Claims Code was established in 2021; Autumn\u2019s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC) could mean great whacking fines – the pressure is on,\u2019 said Adam.<\/p>\n

\u2018The market is saying enough is enough. It\u2019s unfair to claim you\u2019re green and gain an economic advantage if you\u2019re really not that green, or you\u2019re being highly selective about it.<\/p>\n

Why words matter<\/h3>\n

\u2018The reason I said that PRs are the worst offenders for greenwashing is because of the frequency of the stuff you\u2019re putting out,\u2019 explained Adam.<\/p>\n

\u2018All brand marketers are looking for ways to make claims. But when you’re producing that many words, that frequently, things can slip out. It\u2019s different with ads, which have to be ratified by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) – they\u2019re going through a level of scrutiny before they go out.<\/p>\n

\u2018With PR, you\u2019ll see certain words everywhere – people pick journos up when we use these words, too.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u201cEthical\u201d is contentious, even words like \u201cresponsibility\u201d come with difficulty. This also applies to images – leaves, skies, all these things that suggest a perfect world are under scrutiny.<\/p>\n

\u2018Phrases like \u201csaving the planet\u201d – remember, the planet is going to be fine. It is lifeforms that are in danger from climate change. The planet will still be there, even if it\u2019s a nuclear wasteland. We need to be careful with the words we use.\u2019<\/p>\n

Mistakes to avoid<\/h3>\n

On what not to do, Adam shared what the team see at The Grocer:<\/p>\n

\u2018Setting targets, and then backtracking is incredibly embarrassing. You\u2019ve traded on something you will do, rather than something you have done. That gives a halo that may not be warranted.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Another issue is dressing up simply following rules and regulations, and putting out press releases about it.<\/p>\n

\u2018Hyperbole isn\u2019t good and neither is hypocrisy. Or glibness. But there are degrees of seriousness, and as much as I\u2019ve been critical, there are worse things than trying to do something good, to reach for the stars and not be able to get there. There\u2019s lying, there are cover-ups, and avoiding the truth – that is the worst form of PR, burying the truth.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Sometimes brands get away with it, and sometimes they don\u2019t.\u2019<\/p>\n

The difficulties of the Green Claims Code<\/h3>\n

\u2018While the principles of the code sound really simple, the truth is that practicing these principles is actually really difficult,\u2019 said Adam.<\/p>\n

\u2018There are those who don\u2019t know where they\u2019re going wrong. You have to avoid technical jargon while being clear and meaningful. It\u2019s not that straightforward.\u2019<\/p>\n

What do journalists want from PRs on \u2018green\u2019 topics?<\/h3>\n

\u2018The first thing I\u2019d say is honesty\u2019 said Adam, highlighting an example of Abel & Cole<\/a> rectifying a claim around recyclable packaging in an ad that ran in The Grocer.<\/p>\n

\u2018This is where PR can disarm criticism – admitting that something you did was wrong\u2019.<\/p>\n

Abel & Cole went on to win a Grocer Gold Award for Sustainability Initiative of the Year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2018There’s huge amounts of data needed, and PRs need access to toolkits, and business insights. Start with the data and then make your claim, not the other way around.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Seemingly small things are interesting – we wrote about Quality Street changing their wrapping. We also wrote about British Snack Co working with Aquapak to produce recyclable packaging. You don\u2019t have to make major claims.<\/p>\n

\u2018There are marginal gains, little changes, that chime with the consumer.\u2019<\/p>\n

But be careful – as highlighted by Adam, even something as \u2018small\u2019 as teabags can come with greenwashing dangers. Moving from plastic? Claiming a teabag is sustainable also means double-checking the tea\u2019s own lifecycle.<\/p>\n

Reaching for the stars on ESG<\/h3>\n

\u2018I do have a concern for the future in terms of comms. And a concern for a lack of progress towards sustainable development goals. I worry that people will only change because of legislation,\u2019 said Adam.<\/p>\n

\u2018But I think there is a competitive advantage in reaching for the stars with comms. It requires you to do the work on transparency, on data, because without that you can\u2019t take action.<\/p>\n

\u2018If you stop communicating with shoppers, it makes it harder for them to know what’s more sustainable. Those who do the right thing, try to lessen their impact on the environment, and communicate what they\u2019re doing clearly, honestly, and carefully, will be those that flourish.\u2019<\/p>\n

For more on PR\u2019s part in ESG, download the Vuelio white paper \u2018The perception of PR in sustainability communications: How to avoid greenwashing and be an advocate for change<\/a>\u2019.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A growing awareness of the impacts of climate change has meant greater accountability for PRs communicating company ESG credentials. Alongside the potential for bad press if you\u2019re doing it wrong are the dangers of falling …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":423,"featured_media":147552,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7383,7272,3531,3725,3729],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147553"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/423"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147553"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147553\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147569,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147553\/revisions\/147569"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}