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Background

Launched in 2006 to critical acclaim, the Green Awards were set up to recognise and reward creative work that communicates the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility, sustainable development and ethical best practice in any sector and across any marketing discipline.

In the three years since its inception, the ceremony has become established as a major event on the eco-calendar, enjoying great prestige and substantial media coverage.

The Green Awards encourage creativity and brave thinking in a category that deserves great work.
Jason Gormley – Creative Director, Wolff Olins

Raising Awareness

Designed to raise awareness of Green issues, and boost the role of marketing in influencing and informing consumer behaviour, the Awards provide a high-profile platform for companies to showcase their positive commitments to the planet. With support from a range of influential supporting partners including the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and an eminent panel of expert judges, the awards showcase how sustainability can be represented through creativity.
 
According to Eric Falt, former communications director at UNEP “when the Green Awards were initiated, they represented a good idea whose time had come. In their first year they were marketed successfully and intelligently, very much in the spirit of what the awards themselves are trying to reward.” In calling for a wider variety of entrants, it is hoped that the event will spread the message to an even larger audience. Eric Falt concludes: “when everyone from the UK Government’s chief scientist to the editor of the Sun is warning about climate change and suggesting ways of mitigating it, we all know the topic has become mainstream.”
The GREEN AWARDS like the environmental issues they highlight have an impact that extends far beyond the narrow spectrum of the marketing industry. As marketing is a key driver of economic growth, it is ideally placed to become a
key driver of responsible growth.

Marketing and sustainability.

Chalk and cheese? We don’t think so…

Marketing forms part of the fabric of our lives and whether we like it or not, its reach is unparalleled in society. We’re inundated with images and messages, often to the point of sensory overload. Does this mean we’re merely passive consumers accepting a corporate message? Or do we as individuals negotiate the way we consume, and decide for ourselves whose voices we listen to?
Green marketing needs to talk directly to people. Not just echo the worn stereotype of the mindless consumer. Individuals can make a difference to a human problem – climate change. It should not be a ‘fringe’ issue of interest only to environmentalists.


As an innovative and progressive practice, marketing has the potential to inspire hope. In fact, we believe it has the power to change the face of business for good. That’s why marketing must become sustainable: both in spirit and practice.

Environmental protection is maintained, such that economic development and the other needs of society, such as for recreation, are achieved in ways, which do not cause any lasting damage to the environment.
Bruntland Comission Report: ‘Our Common Future’ (1987)

We’re here to celebrate and reward. But the story doesn’t end here. The Green Awards are a process: ‘green’ is a movement. A state of mind. And it’s the colour of new ideas. You can keep the journey going…