Green messaging needs to be engaging as well as compliant

At a recent webinar, the Advertising Association’s Matt Bourn joined my colleagues, Media Bounty’s own Jake Dubbins and Florencia Lujani of ACT Climate Labs. The key question: how can brands create compliant and engaging green claims?

A snapshot of green advertising

Let’s be honest, advertising hasn’t always been on the right side of history when it comes to climate. Decades of greenwashing haven't helped the planet or public trust.

But the tide is turning. Juniors refuse to work on briefs that do not meet their ethical standards. Agencies will call each other out. And regulatory bodies across the world are stepping up to enforce a better standard of advertising.

The panel covered emerging regulations. Under the newly passed EU Green Claims directive, brands will face fines of 4% of global turnover. The EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive requires brands to consider ‘double materiality.’ And the UN has an upcoming code of conduct on information integrity.

The panel looked at other global examples too, and Dubbins made it clear that there will be more legislation on the horizon.

‘The economic opportunity of the century’

If you’re a brand leader and these changes make you want to curl up and hide, you're not alone. But while the risks are high, the rewards can be too.

The evidence is increasingly clear that good business is good for business from B Corps outperforming ‘ordinary’ businesses in 2023, to the net zero economy growing by 9% in 2023, compared to 0.1% growth in the wider economy.

Lujani introduced brands to a key audience for green growth: The Persuadables. This audience believes climate change is happening but is yet to prioritize it in their daily lives. And they represent 69% of the UK. Unlocking the underlying support for sustainability presents huge opportunities for brands.

If we want to engage these key audiences and comply with new regulations, we need to change the way we talk about sustainability.

We need innovation, now

Brands have become increasingly reliant on tired green tropes. Any ad featuring verdant greenery or fluffy polar bears might as well be wallpaper. Bourn highlighted that: “climate doom is moving no one.“ Neither are lofty or complex claims.

It’s time to give our comms a facelift. Lujani shared several strategies to engage The Persuadables, from cracking cultural codes to normalizing new behaviors and using humor.

Bourne, who has recently written a book called Sustainable Advertising, encouraged brands to embrace ‘radical transparency and real authenticity,’ explaining that this is not only the key to compliance, it’s the best way we’ll rebuild the public’s trust.

There’s no doubt these regulations will change the course of advertising. It’s time for brand leaders to take this stuff seriously – and not just the marketing and sustainability teams. Hefty fines make this a board-level concern. Whether that means bringing in an expert third party, hiring a specialist employee, or making this a resource priority in your existing team.

Act now to connect more meaningfully with customers, and to build a greener future.