Government needs to offer better support

The Sunday Times
January 18, 2009

Kim Stoddart, managing director of Green Rocket, an environmental communications agency
TERMS like Green New Deal and green-collar workforce can be overused. People are almost desensitised to those words now because of what we call “greenwash” – the flood of PR that companies use to inflate their green credentials. People are increasingly savvy to those sort of claims now, and companies should exercise caution. Modesty is sometimes the best option. This is also true for the government. People will listen to Gordon Brown’s statement about new green jobs and ask if entirely new jobs are being created.
What the sector needs is strong leadership. The government has to understand that most green businesses are small, and they are struggling. I am not seeing much creativity from the government in supporting those businesses. Its approach to financing and grants has been stop-start, and this makes life difficult for many small enterprises.