Since 1990, what is called "environmental advertising" has appeared in mass media such as newspapers, magazines, and TV commercials.

Since 1990, what is called "environmental advertising" has appeared in mass media such as newspapers, magazines, and TV commercials.
In the beginning, many environmental advertisements were aimed at enhancing the image of companies, represented by abstract words such as "Earth-friendly" and "We are a global family.
This was due to the fact that environmental conservation became a keyword for creating a new corporate image and began to be considered as one of the methods of corporate identity (CI).
In other words, CE (environmentally oriented management strategy) became one of the pillars of important corporate strategies in the 1990s.
However, a series of image-driven environmental advertisements stagnated because they lacked impact as advertisements due to the lack of clarity about the company's philosophy, stance, specific initiatives, and proposals regarding environmental issues.
After this, environmental advertising in Japan followed a downward trend, in inverse proportion to the trend of environmental advertising in Europe and the U.S., where information disclosure and accountability are strictly demanded by consumers as part of corporate social responsibility.
Environmental advertising on the rise again.
Recently, environmental advertising has begun to increase again.
After the mid-1990s, we began to see fewer image-driven advertisements and instead new types of advertisements that firmly demonstrate a company's commitment to the environment.
The three major elements of "environmental advertising" that we at the Eco-Business Network have advocated are: 1) presenting environmental principles and initiatives to the public in an easy-to-understand manner, 2) actively disclosing environmental information including environmental reports, and 3) having an environmental educational aspect to consumers.
These are new methods of corporate advertising, which could be called CE (environmentally oriented management strategy), and we believe they are absolutely essential for "environmental advertising" to be accepted in the international community.
Volvo playing a pioneering role.
Volvo Cars Japan, the Japanese branch of Volvo, Sweden's largest automaker, has played a pioneering role in environmental advertising in Japan.
Its ads, with their impactful copy and persuasive power, have always generated a huge response.
The first of the company's ads, published in 1990, reads, "Our products create pollution, noise, and waste." and the body copy was all that was needed to explain the company's commitment to environmental measures in the production process.
At the time, Japan's business and industrial worlds were beginning to open their eyes to the "environment" in preparation for the 1992 Earth Summit, so the impact of this ad was significant.
The bold copy was backed up by the company's firm 1989 "Environmental Statement," which stated its commitment to environmental considerations in all corporate activities.
Later, in 1995, the company again drew attention with an advertisement that claimed to disclose environmental destruction data.
It was produced in response to the company's announcement that its headquarters had decided to disclose data on the environmental impact of its vehicles from the production process to disposal from 1995 onward, and that it would prepare environmental specifications for each vehicle model.
The three characteristics that the company seeks in its environmental advertisements are: 1) to convey the company's philosophy and stance toward the environment, rather than the appealing effect of the product image; 2) to disclose information on the environmental impact of the product; and 3) to raise the awareness of all parties involved, from those who make the product to those who use it.
Another feature of the company's environmental advertisements is that they are published only in newspapers.
This is because the company believes that environmental advertising requires accurate communication of the message. This is why the company avoids relying on visual messages to create ambiguity, and instead utilizes the persuasive power of print media.
The reason we do not use magazines, even for print media, is to avoid bias in readership. We are committed to publicity through mass media.
Trends among Japanese companies.
Environmental advertising by Japanese companies is gradually changing.
One example is a corporate advertisement placed by Kirin Brewery in a newspaper on March 26, 1997.
The ad clarified the company's environmental philosophy with the keywords "3 Rs and 2 As.
In addition, by presenting an environmental report that summarizes "achievement targets," "major themes," and "implementation status," Kirin not only discloses information, but also contributes to environmental education activities for consumers.
Kirin's Social & Environmental Affairs Department commented on the effectiveness of the ads, saying, "By proactively disclosing our environmental initiatives, we have not only improved our corporate image, but have also raised environmental awareness within the company.
They are also positive about disclosing environmental information, saying, "We have no anxiety or resistance to showing the results of our efforts (degree of effort) to the outside world.
Movements of local governments.
Another characteristic of environmental advertising over the past year or two is that local governments are now placing full-page ads in national newspapers with environmental themes.
Importance of the role of companies.
Companies are playing an increasingly important role in maintaining and preserving the environment and building a resource-recycling society.
The role of "environmental advertising" is becoming even more important, as it aims to spread the company's philosophy and initiatives for the global environment both inside and outside the company, as well as to change consumer awareness from mass consumption and mass disposal to a resource-recycling society.
In the production of such environmental advertising, it cannot be overlooked that up-and-coming medium-sized advertising agencies with an environmental focus are slowly gaining market share due to a lack of human resources in the large agencies that have led the mass consumption society.