Car manufacturers want to talk about it (check out Fiat's latest),the Government wants you to scrap your car for it (although according to CCI this month only 1% of us have), and consumers want manufacturers to do more for it (61% of us want to see greater environmental commitment from car companies). It can't be denied that, for the car industry, the environment is the number one concern.

Could the UK Government be one of the key catalysts in helping the industry become more environmental? The Government has just launched the world's largest ever coordinated trial of environmentally friendly vehicles. The scheme aims to invest £25 million to accelerate the introduction of electric cars to the UK. Could we all be driving round in electric cars in 10 years' time? On present reckoning, only 8% of us think so.

In the meantime if the car industry (or in fact any other industry) is going to get the environmental message right it needs to resist making claims that don't quite add up. In a recent article in the FT it was reported that Advertising Standards Authority has received double the number of complaints about green claims than it did last year (now up to over 300). Consumers don't want the wool pulled over their eyes.

Maybe this is why industry leaders from the UK's top advertisers and their agencies convened on 24 June to start the process of developing a common language for the marketing of green credentials to consumers. The first meeting of the Marketing Society May Day Alliance aimed to establish guidelines that could pre-empt rulings currently being drawn up by the government. Watch this space (although if you need a little help in the meantime let us know!).

However, with all this focus on the environment (especially in the car industry), we must not lose sight of how business decisions affect individuals, especially in the current economic climate. Given the human scale involved in some of the changes that need to happen (General Motors' US manufacturing workforce is to shrink from 113,000 three years ago to just 38,000 by 2011) companies need to keep a close eye on their social impact. How companies deal with these issues is likely to be critical to future corporate reputations. Do it in a Honda way and perhaps you might positively contribute to your corporate reputation (Honda are the most respected car manufacturer in this month's CCI). Read more in our article below. 
 
Time to go and support Andy Murray now, but if you are not a tennis fan you can still read more on our new blog. Whether it is about Meat Free Mondays, the brutal nature of the childhood game of Monopoly, or 19 ways to save the planet you can find it all talked about at www.valuewithvalues.blogspot.com. Join in and let us know your thoughts.    

Next month we have Banks on the Concerned Consumer Index and given everything that has happened in the last 12 months it is going to be an interesting one. If you would like to see more data from this month's survey, or want to find out how to add your own questions to the next one, please email David on david@goodbusiness.co.uk.


Best wishes,