Companies use pupils to further green drive

By Tim Bradshaw
Published: May 27 2009 02:45

Schoolchildren are being made the focus of a new green marketing drive as energy companies and other advertisers bid to boost their credentials and counter claims of “greenwashing”.
Companies remain keen to appear green, even as advertising budgets are slashed.

But consumers’ cynicism about environmental claims in advertising and regulators’ clampdown on unsubstantiated claims have encouraged companies to consider other options.
Working with schools to cut energy usage and raise environmental awareness is one way that companies can contribute to the community, while also ensuring their brand is associated with sustainability.
British Gas and EDF provide lesson plans and other teaching materials to help schools educate pupils about energy conservation and climate change. BT and Action Aid have also developed or sponsored educational campaigns in recent months.
And Together, a coalition of brands such as B&Q, the National Trust and Tesco – and which pledges to “fight climate change” – is looking to engage with schools as the next stage of a campaign that has won plaudits from Gordon Brown, prime minister. Polls show that in spite of the downturn, environmental responsibility remains a priority for consumers. An international survey of 20,000 consumers in January for advertising agency Havas Media found more than two-thirds looked to companies, and not governments, to lead the way on issues such as climate change. But 64 per cent viewed sustainability as just a marketing tool that lacked credibility. At the same time, the Advertising Standards Authority, the industry body that regulates advertisements, is clamping down on “greenwashing”, as part of a review of its advertising code. It has rebuked “green” claims from ExxonMobil, British Gas and Royal Dutch Shell, as well as carmakers Lexus and Saab.
Companies positioning themselves as environmentally responsible are having to ensure that their actions back up their marketing.
However, green campaigners complain that teaching materials provided by companies – such as British Gas under its Generation Green scheme – often ignore wider climate change issues, focusing on a narrower agenda of energy conservation.
But Generation Green is proving popular, with more than 8,000 schools registered and 18,000 lesson plans downloaded. “There’s certainly a lot of appetite in the school system for this kind of stuff,” said John Grant, author of The Green Marketing Manifesto. “Young people are very interested in this issue and are willing to be family opinion formers.”
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009