• CMO Magazine, Thursday, December 8, 2005 12 PM

Marketers trying to position themselves as being environmentally friendly are quickly learning what Kermit the Frog knew all along: It isn’t easy being green.  In a lengthy, well-reported article, CMO Magazine cites examples of several companies’ environmental efforts gone awry, such as Ford Motor’s placing a “living roof” on one of its factories and then advertising the effort in a magazine. The move backfired when environmentalist groups accused the company of trying to advertise its way to a greener image. Other examples abound, and the message is that declining consumer confidence has made consumers cynical.  So if companies want to go green, they must be sure their efforts are sincere and substantive.  "A lot of companies are afraid because they don't have a tremendous track record," says Paul West, communications director at The Rainforest Action Network. "But they know the public wants them to be [pursuing environmental programs]. It's a Catch-22: how to put out news about your environmental efforts in a way [the public] can trust."

Read the whole story at CMO Magazine »