• DMNews.com, Thursday, March 27, 2008 11:30 AM

New York-based agency Union has launched an "eco-friendly" unit named Union Green so it can work on customized campaigns in green advertising. And first on its list is to bridge any gaps between a brand's message and its actual practices.

"The reality is that even green message advertising created by brands who want to say they are making a difference is far from being green itself," says founder and president Bob Wyatt. The shop starts with a flagship account from the National Wildlife Federation, and is rolling out a campaign for it to urge people to spend more time outdoors. Union Green and NWF will also push to expand programs like "The Great American Backyard Campout" and "Green Hour." The agency has developed a system called Eco-Mark--guidelines it will follow to help create more eco-friendly advertising.

"At the very least," Wyatt notes, "we hope that we can give the industry a set of ideas, which are realistic and can be implemented. In this way we might help to change how the industry operates." But he adds that "as we are trying to make all traditional and non-traditional forms of advertising more environmentally responsible, we envision exploring every existing media. It really, as always, depends on the brand's needs."

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