CIPR consults on Green Guide
‘If the 1980s is remembered for “greed is good”, then this decade may come to be associated with “green is good”.’
– Richard Bailey on the CIPR’s Green Communication Guidelines
In an effort to combat greenwash, or spinning your environmental track record, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) is consulting on Green Communication Guidelines. It’s a welcome initiative.
It would be nice to think the simple call to be open and honest in all you do would be enough. But it often isn’t. In the same way that Google’s naïve ‘don’t do evil’ policy was always doomed.
The CIPR paper appears well researched and does a good job of summarising the main causes of greenwash, along with the legal position on dodgy claims.
But the meat of the guidelines – rules of engagement, practical tips – could be better presented rather than relegated to sub-clauses of a sub-clause. For some it’s not meaty enough, too commonsense, perhaps. However, commonsense is rarely common and guidelines need to be clear and concise, yet general.
Presentation issues aside, I think the CIPR’s achieved its goal without dropping any of the clangers that undermined its social media guidelines.
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For those media professionals who got to grip with communicating environmental issues and the complexity of sustainability, long before the CIPR produced their green guidelines, the Northwest Business Environment Awards 2008 is looking to recognise their achievements.
Before March 3rd, the Mersey Basin Campaign, host of the Northwest Business Environment Awards is looking for submission to their media category, which is open to broadcast, print and web media as well as PR, marketing and design.
http://www.merseybasin.org.uk/page.asp?id=3004
Claire Rajah / February 6th, 2008, 4:13 pm / #
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