| Green credentials face growing scrutiny |
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| Tuesday, 15 April 2008 | |
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The public is increasingly cynical about environmentally-friendly claims by big firms, a survey shows.
Marks and Spencer has retained its reputation as the greenest of the FTSE 100 companies despite a growing cynicism towards the eco-friendly image portrayed by UK businesses, according to a UK-wide survey of opinion formers. Green wash The first Chatsworth FTSE 100 green survey of 2008 polled UK national and trade journalists, sustainability experts and political groups in an attempt to measure how successful large corporations are perceived to be in tackling green issues in a changing economic environment. The results reveal an increasing cynicism as to whether UK business will ever aim for anything more than ‘green wash’ without clear leadership and legislation from the Government on environmental issues. BP (38 per cent), Tesco (21 per cent) and British Airways (10 per cent) are still considered to be most guilty of ‘green wash’ by respondents. Marks and Spencer (51 per cent) remains the top ‘green winner,’ followed by new entrant BSkyB (9 per cent) and HSBC (7 per cent) which continues to lead in the banking sector. BT Group (6 per cent) are another new entrant. Green fatigue Tesco, Unilever and BP are no longer considered green winners by opinion formers. Forty per cent of respondents believed that Marks and Spencer had run the best-publicised green campaign in the last six months, although 10 per cent believe them guilty of green wash. BP, which had the most heard about green campaign six months ago, has dropped considerably from 40 per cent last year to 14 per cent. Half of respondents believe that the current level of media coverage is contributing to green fatigue amongst the general public. David Cameron (41 per cent) is seen to be the political leader most committed to environmental change policies, followed by Nick Clegg (30 per cent) and Gordon Brown (28 per cent). National governments (48 per cent) are expected to take the lead on environmental issues, followed by the individual (19 per cent). Clear and achievable targets Nick Murray-Leslie of Chatsworth, explains that Marks and Spencer continues to be seen as a leader on green issues and remains our top green winner. This reflects their high profile Plan A campaign which has been praised for setting out very clear and achievable targets rather than attempting to boost green credentials through publicity stunts that gain maximum coverage but have little substance. Murray-Leslie says that the general public is much more aware of both the issue and the role big business has to play. As a result they are increasingly scrutinising businesses’ sustainability programmes. He adds that it should be every company’s priority to make sure they communicate honestly and effectively. Correlation between publicity and perception Supermarkets continue to come under particular scrutiny because of their prominence in people’s day to day life. The findings show that the brands with the most well-publicised sustainability campaigns are also thought of as green washers, so the correlation between investment in publicity and a positive perception by the public does not necessarily always apply. Some new entrants on the green winners list, such as British Sky Broadcasting group, are beginning to harvest the fruits of their labour. Six months ago BSkyB was voted as one of the top five companies with the most heard about green efforts, and as a result of honest and effective communication on green issues on their media platform they are now highly regarded by opinion formers. Eco-hype BP continues to be named as the worst green washer in the FTSE 100. Although it started from a more difficult position because of the nature of the oil industry, BP was chosen last time as having the most heard about green campaign. This time round it has been criticised for failing to live up to the eco-hype it created, with one respondent believing they have completely lost interest in researching renewable energy sources. Murray-Leslie says that this serves as further proof that once a company positions itself in the limelight it must follow through on its promises and continue to communicate this to the public. Changes to legislation A massive majority of respondents believe that national governments are responsible for taking the lead on environmental issues. “The prevailing opinion is that some businesses will continue to do the bare minimum unless the government steps in with clear changes to legislation,” Murray-Leslie adds. Gordon Brown is not perceived to be fulfilling his green commitments, and so it is left to UK business, and indeed the individual, to lead the way. “This survey makes it very clear that the public really does believe in fighting climate change, and so the brands that will emerge as the most respected during this time of economic change are those that commit themselves to real green action and honest communication,” Murray-Leslie concludes. Related articles
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