Marketers, on stage at AdNews' Perth L!VE, revealed that addressing greenwashing is one of their biggest targets this year.
External pressure is building from consumers themselves and from competition regulator the ACCC which has stepped up its greenwashing crackdown this year.
Rebecca Hargrave, head of brand, marketing and communications at Synergy, said actions speak louder than words.
“Particularly in the ESG space, it's not about saying what we are going to do or what we're committed to doing, it's about delivering on those promises - that's how we certainly avoid the complexities of greenwashing,” Hargrave said.
For example, Synergy has identified decarbonising the energy system as an important consideration for consumers this year.
“So we've got commitments around retiring coal by 2030 and replacing that with battery storage and wind,” Hargrave said.
“It's a huge bloody challenge on the technical side, but also taking consumers on that journey to understand and building the trust to enable that behaviour change is going to be really critical for us.”
Sam Tomeo, head of marketing at Harvest Road, also identified greenwashing as one of his most common conversations at the moment.
“You can find a lot of businesses just moving their ESG commitments back another year, instead we're really focusing on what we're actually delivering,” Tomeo said.
“So in the agri space, we're really fortunate we're doing some great things on the animal welfare, biodiversity, biosecurity space in particular and switching out to soft plastics as well.
“People are wanting to see the proof points from brands.”
But since the ACCC is keeping a close eye on any brand that slips up, how do marketers approach that fear?
“It just takes bravery and courage,” Hargrave said.
“Making sure that you've got those real solid proof points to back up any of the claims that you're making. The WA market can sniff out bullshit pretty quickly and they don't take it from brands.”
Thank you to our supporting partners for Perth L!VE: Boomtown, Nine, Longreach Media and MiQ. And friends of AdNews: Perth Advertising and Design Club (PADC), The Western Australia Marketing Association (WAMA) and The Independent Media Agencies of Australia (IMAA).
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