Case study
using green to be seen
is employing a regulatory requirement and turning it into a marketing opportunity an exercise in
greenwashing? David burrows investigates.
N
o company likes red tape. "often, we see too many businesses saw an ad for currys (I think) where they were
But how about green tape? viewing new environmental legislation as just saying their brand new idea was to take away
Environmental legislation another burden to carry, when they should the old appliance for free. cheeky monkeys
has come thick and fast from be looking at it more strategically," explains to say they're doing [the] customer a favour if
the Eurocrats in the past few years. Batteries, prova pR's St John White. they are obliged to do so anyway."
waste electrical goods, carbon emission "We've done campaigns recently for cheeky, maybe: but also very clever.
trading schemes, landfill taxes. You name consumer brands that have actually used "Using a regulatory requirement and
it, there's likely to be a law, regulation or, at incoming environmental legislation as the turning it into a marketing opportunity
the very least, initiative 'encouraging' today's basis for a campaign that has helped them to wouldn't necessarily be greenwashing," opines
businesses to buck up when it comes to their differentiate themselves in the market and re- Stuart Singleton-White, a partner at ethical
impact on the environment. establish a brand that had not been seen in the communications consultancy, The message
and this is unlikely to change anytime UK for some years." Hub.
soon - even in the face of the recession. prova has worked with clients to "Regulation is society's way of expressing
Ben Verwaayen, chair of the cBI develop campaigns based on the packaging a desire. you can conform to legislation, but in
climate change board and chief executive of Regulations, the Restriction of hazardous practice it's very difficult for the consumer to
communications specialist, alcatel-Lucent, substances (RoHS) and more recently, the be part of that. What currys has done is get the
recently said that businesses should not view Batteries Directive. consumer involved and turned the legislation
being green as a burden during the economic White cites currys and apple as "two good [in this case the WEEE Directive] into a
downturn, but as an opportunity. examples" of companies that have moved proactive communications and marketing
and that includes the regulatory regime. decisively and swiftly to use environmental message."
Though the government's schemes are legislation to improve the customer experience obviously, the use of legislation as a basis
varied and complex, they should be seen as of their brand and create some competitive for marketing campaigns is linked inextricably
much, much more than a box-ticking exercise advantage. to the level of adherence the business
in corporate social responsibility (cSR). currys, for instance, used its obligations concerned has with the new laws. Hence, the
In fact, they can be used to gain a under the Waste Electrical and Electrical only real danger in conducting this type of
competitive advantage: while the regulatory Equipment (WEEE) Directive to advertise campaign is if the business is not as green as
regime might be the stick, the carrot is the fact that it would take away people's old it claims to be. after all, no business wants to
customers who want to buy greener products appliances for free. stand accused of greenwashing.
- even in the current climate. as one blogger put it at the time: "I just In the past couple of years the advertising
22 SuStainable SolutionS april 2009
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