How Much Is Too Much?: Exploring Life Cycle Assessment Information in Environmental Marketing Communication

Abstract

The communication of corporate environmental messages has a history of mixed results, at best. We emphasize in this article the complexities asso ciated with environmental information and its subsequent communication, and explore the concepts of process credibility, temporal relevance, and noise as potential impediments to environmental communication perfor mance. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) information is presented as holding some promise by which improved communication effectiveness of environ mental/sustainable claims may materialize. Following the scandals of Enron, Tyco, Adelphia, HealthSouth and others, an increasing emphasis has been placed on corporate accountability, meaningful disclosure, and transparency in reporting. While these issues are often discussed in a financial context, they also pertain to the environ mental and social performance of companies. Both public and private organizations have begun to recognize environmental communication as an important management tool that can assist in establishing and maintaining good relations with stakeholder groups.