As a result the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced it is beginning an inquiry into the way companies market their green credentials, and has just release a green marketing and trade practices guide. Companies should be aware of the guidelines, but also take extra care that their campaigns meet the ‘smell test’ – a higher standard than that which may be posed by the trade practices act. Failure to do so may attract unwanted media attention and cause reputational and brand damage.
Much of the environmental communication demands increasingly being placed on corporations – as in other types of corporate communications – are about providing transparency and demonstrating effective action and commitment, whether or not particular initiatives have been completed or even begun. Anything less will be viewed as suspect by an ever increasingly media savvy public.
The guide is available to download from the ACCC website at www.accc.gov.au/greenmarketing
