April 16, 2008 - Marks & Spencer, widely known for its ambitious Plan A environmental push, has been named the greenest company in the U.K for the second year running, according to an annual report on British consumer opinion. But a well-publicized green program does not a green brand make. BP and Tesco, which have also undertaken high-profile sustainability programs, are still considered to be most guilty of greenwashing, the survey finds.

Chatsworth Communications' FOOTSIE 100 green survey, now in its second year, asks U.K. journalists, sustainability experts, and political groups to rate consumer perceptions of green efforts among large corporations. So what, in their opinion, is Marks & Spencer doing right - and why are consumers singling out BP and Tesco for censure yet again?

"Marks & Spencer's...high-profile Plan A campaign which has been praised for setting out very clear and achievable targets rather than attempting to boost green credentials through publicity stunts that gain maximum coverage but have little substance," explains Nick Murray-Leslie, director of Chatsworth Communications. In the absence of specific goals, "the brands with the most well-publicized sustainability campaigns are also thought of as greenwashers, so the correlation between investment in publicity and a positive perception by the public does not necessarily always apply."

That's certainly the case for U.K. supermarket chain Tesco, which is funding research to carbon-label each of the 70,000-plus products it stocks. Despite publicly committing 25 million pounds toward research, Tesco has failed to generate much enthusiasm for the project among consumers. "Supermarkets continue to come under particular scrutiny because of their prominence in our day-to-day life," Murray-Leslie suggests.

BP, whose much-hyped "Beyond Petroleum" campaign made the company a favorite target for green skeptics, has once again been named the worst greenwasher in the FOOTSIE 100. "Although without doubt starting from a more difficult position because of the nature of the oil industry, BP has been criticized for failing to live up to the eco-hype it created, with one respondent believing they have completely lost interest in researching renewable energy sources," says Murray-Leslie.

"This serves as further proof that once a company positions itself in the limelight it must follow through on its promises and continue to communicate this to the public," he concludes.

This year's FOOTSIE 100 survey reveals a growing cynicism among British consumers, who question whether business will ever move beyond greenwashing without clear leadership and legislation from the government. While 40% of respondents believe that Marks & Spencer has run the best-publicized green campaign in the past six months, 10% still believe the company guilty of greenwash. Half of respondents say that the current level of media coverage is contributing to green fatigue among the general public.