I first learned of the CBS EcoAds when talking to a friend who works for CBS. I admit, I hadn’t seen or investigated any of the ads, but the concept sounded awesome. Revenue generated from the ads would be used to fund public environmental projects. It sounds like a win-win scenario at a time when the funding of parks and public energy-efficiency projects is much needed.

This initiative is the result of CBS’ partnership, and subsequent acquisition of EcoMedia, a ‘green’ ad buys company, last May.

So, how could it go so wrong?

RP Siegel over at TriplePundit.com spoke to Jennifer Kaplan of Ecopreneurist, one of the parties in the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint, who says:

the CBS EcoAd ‘digital green leaf’ is an eco-label that can be easily misinterpreted by consumers. We are concerned that CBS has failed to establish meaningful and verifiable criteria for the label and has a clear conflict of interest regarding who is eligible for the program.

The concern is completely valid and understandable. So, what does CBS need to do next to handle this issue? Do they need to abandon the program? No. My first thoughts, before this gets any further out of control:

1. Say a mea culpa, AND

2. Hire someone who can help them develop ‘certifiable’ criteria for which companies must qualify to wear the beautiful eco ad label, AND

3. Create a Ad program for those companies that don’t qualify to wear the label, but can still find it in their pockets to participate. They can always get a few points for their contributions in their Corporate Social Responsibility reports.

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