Communicating the environmental credentials of your products and services

Consumers are facing a growing number of green claims – on TV adverts, on product labels, when shopping online and in-store. There is clearly a danger of consumer confusion setting in, amidst the perennial cries of greenwash.

But what issues should businesses be highlighting? Should they be focusing on the water use or climate impact of a product or advising on how the consumer should use that product once purchased? How can they ensure that their messaging is consistent across the business and that they are not over-exaggerating their environmental claims? And how can they best use green claims to communicate effectively to consumers?

Forum for the Future joined forces with Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) - the global business membership organisation that specialises in corporate responsibility - to produce a report that helps companies tackle these questions.

Eco-promising: communicating the environmental credentials of your products and services is an invaluable how-to guide. The report reviews the history of eco-promising and highlights the challenges facing companies in communicating their efforts – including the rising possibility of a consumer backlash due to confusion. It also provides examples for companies wanting to make environmental claims about their products and services.

The Green Index is one such example. Timberland, who developed the Index, provides an environmental score on many of its shoes (based on a life-cycle assessment), allowing consumers to make comparisons between products. Another example is Ariel’s ‘turn to 30’ campaign, which encourages consumers to wash their clothes at lower temperatures, and which remains one of the best examples of effective messaging in educating the consumer to take action.

The ecopromising report is an exceptional guide on how to embed trust and build integrity into brands using open and honest communication.
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This report is part of a wider programme of Forum retail work looking at consumer engagement, which includes the subsequent publication Check-out Carbon.

Related news

Forum for the Future is currently sitting on Defra’s Green Claims Panel, which is updating Defra’s Green Code, designed to provide guidance to organisations and advertising companies on what responsible green messaging looks like.

For more information, please contact Dan Crossley.