Even as they continue to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, use less fossil-fuel-generated power and develop more sustainable products, many Advanced Manufacturing & Energy companies are grappling with how to communicate their business’s environmental story.

Our instincts as marketers and PR professionals tell us to shed the best possible light on sustainability efforts. Yet with so many companies making positive environmental claims, consumers have become skeptical and the media is quick to call out companies for “greenwashing.”

For some legal perspective on how to push the envelope without going too far, we caught up recently with Clifford P. Case III, co-head of the environmental practice at G&S client Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP. He offered the following tips:

• Establish an environmental baseline: So supportable statements can be made about the company’s “greenness,” progress over time can be measured, and valid comparisons made with competitors. Complicating this part of the task is the large number of standards in the marketplace, many of which are in a constant state of evolution.
• Select Your Story: Once a careful foundation of environmental facts has been established and screened against governmental and non-governmental standards, communicators can publicize the “green” facts that will help their company and its products succeed in the marketplace.
• Continue to Evolve: Bear in mind that the process is not static but ever-changing. New and more demanding environmental standards are constantly being developed. What was environmentally impressive yesterday may not be so tomorrow, and “greenness” is always being redefined. If a business wants to continue to be recognized as environmentally progressive, its management’s commitment to green principles must also be ongoing.

Of course, the process of actually adopting environmental practices and measuring results is much too complex to detail in this blog. But by sharing these three simple principles, hopefully we can help B2B communicators sleep a little better, knowing their green communications are accurate, defensible and immune to greenwashing challenges.