The Institute for Advertising Ethics just launched its Green Shield Certification Program to educate marketers about how to avoid engaging in greenwashing when developing advertising campaigns.  The certification program is free and generally takes under an hour to complete.  (I'm certified!) 

According to IAE, “Green Shield represents an ongoing opportunity to align our industry with the latest social science and the highest ethical standards related to sustainability and environmental communication strategies and practices.” 

In connection with the launch of the certification program, IAE also released the IAE Charter for Greenwash Prevention, which focuses on the steps the advertising industry needs to take “in order to avoid the deceptive communications practice known as greenwashing and improve the integrity of environmentally themed advertising.” 

In full disclosure, I am very pleased to serve as a member of the IAE Climate Consortium, which helped advise the IAE on these initiatives.