Green Marketing Standards from the ICC

In January, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) published a Framework for Responsible Environmental Marketing Communications (pdf). The 25-page document provides some interesting commentary on the rise of green marketing and some useful guidelines on how to do it without getting into trouble.

The ICC issued the framework due to a "renewed interest in green marketing" that has led to a "proliferation...of...general and vague claims." It states:

One notable recent development in advertising is the proliferation of "green" claims and growing interest in concepts of "environmental sustainability" and "sustainable development," with commensurate growth in general claims that products or services are "eco-friendly," "green," "sustainable," "carbon neutral" and the like.

The inherent complexity around the issue of sustainability and the trade-offs that often occur led the ICC to say that "using green claims is a more complex undertaking than many advertisers realize." I entirely agree. As I have blogged about before, the traditional advertising tactics don't work when it comes to sustainability. Focusing on one positive green aspect to your product, service or company in your advertising while ignoring the negatives, will get you in trouble.

The primary advice of the document is sound and would help marketers avoid one of the Seven Sins of Greenwashing:

As a general matter, the Code already requires that all marketing communication be legal, decent, honest, and truthful. As applied to green claims, this overarching concept means that environmental claims should be based on sound, appropriate scientific information relevant to actual use, operation or disposal of the advertised product, not unsupported assumptions. Additionally, all marketing communication should be prepared with a due sense of social and professional responsibility, and should conform to the principles of fair competition, as generally accepted in business. The Code also provides that marketing communication should not condone or encourage actions contrary to accepted standards of environmentally responsible behaviour.

Unfortunately, the document applies only to advertising and not "corporate public affairs messages in press releases and other media statements" but the guidelines provided could help inform those statements as well. Their press release is also worth the read. I've added a link to the document to my list of Green Marketing Standards on the side bar.

What do you think? Are these standards helpful? Did they leave anything out? Sound off in the comments below.