Takeaways from NEWIEE Panel on FTC Green Guides

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Last week the New England Women in Energy and the Environment (NEWIEE) hosted an informational panel on the revised FTC green guides and what this means for green marketing for products and renewable energy. Here are some key points made at the event:

• Marketing RECs or Renewable Energy Credits is complicated because the general public doesn't know how they work, so education is key.
• Some consumers suffer from "green fatigue" - too much environmental imagery and claims in retail.
• Consumers are often left to do their own homework to find out if a company's advertisements are true regarding their environmental claims.
• Making incorrect claims about a consumer product is illegal, but very loosely regulated in the realm of "green" products.
• Different states have different standards for what is considered renewable energy which makes marketing even more complicated for nationwide brands.
• France is one of the only countries with a nationwide standard for carbon footprinting of products. Because other places don't have a common standard, customers are left confused.