From greenwash to procurement the Working Group engages with all aspects of sustainability to add understanding, effectiveness and good regulation for advertisers.
The group is represented on LinkedIn as a closed member group for the exchange of ideas and news. It’s easy to join, but we try and keep it to people in ISBA member companies and our sister trade bodies.
We welcome new group members; there is no limit to numbers, just a wish to share your interest in sustainability in advertising.
Green claims
The ASA, the European Commission and public opinion have expressed concerns about the need for green, environmental and sustainability claims to be real. Like all commercial communications in the UK our advertising claims need to be substantiated at the point when the claim is made.
Greenwash has been a term of abuse thrown at advertisers by some campaigners and journalists. Sometimes these accusations are unjustified, other times in the early days of green claims there has been some truth in the complaints.
ISBA has been at the forefront in defining the UK codes on green claims, as well as calling for much clearer definitions of green claim terms so that advertisers and regulators are talking the same language.
DEFRA Green Claims Guidance
ISBA and the Sustainability Working Group have helped DEFRA in revising the government’s – an example of successful partnerships with government and the NGO community. Members are encouraged to read the Guidance when thinking of communicating green claims as the ASA take the Guidance into account over and above the CAP and BCAP codes.
Green terms
The group maintains a living Green Terms Glossary for member use and member contribution. The ‘Rough guide to terms, organisations and guidance’ lives on this website.
Sustainable procurement
Sustainability is not just about making claims reflecting the green characteristic of an offering. It is also about how sustainable thinking can be built into the procurement of marketing communications. Members share their own approaches. Whilst the ISBA Direct Marketing Action Group and this Working Group have been involved with the development of PAS2020, the environmental standard for direct mail by the DMA and BSI.
If you are an ISBA member please log in and visit the Groups member only page and our Members Green issues page