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FTC Holds First Workshop on Green Advertising |
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Tuesday, 15 January 2008 |
The FTC which regulates advertising claims just completed its first workshop on green advertising. The focus of the workshop was where the money that has been provided for carbon offset credits is going. It is estimated that last year $54 million was spent on carbon offset credits but ensuring green programs are being run properly is quite difficult. As Deborah Platt Majoras, chairwoman of the commission stated, with the rapid growth of green programs “there’s a heightened potential for deception”.
Last year, companies such as Volkswagen, Continental Airlines and Dell offered an offset plan and some started turning to companies such as TerraPass and Carbonfund.org for assistance with their programs as it was difficult to supply and manage the offsets. There has been some question whether all companies have been living up to their agreements. For instance, Business Week looked at several carbon offset transactions last year, and found that some deals amount to little more than feel-good hype. The workshop brought attention to this and as Steve Roberts, Managing Director of EnviroMedia Social Marketing stated, “The big takeaway from today is that while the terms are flying fast and furious, there’s not a lot of consensus about what people are really getting from their offsets”.
Read the full story at Environmental Leader
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