Spotlight on Marketing: How to minimise the risk of greenwash and maximise the impact of green messaging

James Murray is Editor-in-Chief of BusinessGreen, having launched the site in October 2007. He is responsible for BusinessGreen's leading news, opinion and analysis, and also contributes to the brand's expanding events' programme. James is one of the UK's leading commentators on the low carbon economy. He writes occasionally for The Guardian newspaper and has also reported for BBC Radio on a number of green technology stories. James reports daily on a wide range of green business issues, with a particular focus on low carbon policy, economics and technology. In March 2011, James was voted number eight in the Press Gazette's list of the top 50 environmental journalists in the UK. Prior to launching BusinessGreen, James spent five years as a technology journalist working on a variety of IT titles.

Ellie has 25 years’ experience working across sectors including energy, sustainability and technology, and recently held the role of Sustainability Communications Leader for an international construction company. 

With a specialism in making complex topics understandable through thoughtful and compelling storytelling, and with an eye for turning data into insight, Ellie advises high profile brands on marketing and communications strategies that bring their sustainability and corporate reporting to life.

Miles has oversight responsibility for the ASA’s core regulatory functions including reactive and proactive casework and investigations and the delivery of proactive regulatory projects.  Miles oversees the ASA’s Climate Change and Environment project which is a programme of work tackling a range of priority sectors and advising the industry on how to speak about green claims with confidence.

Miles joined the ASA in 2010. His background is in legal practice and legal regulation. Qualifying as a solicitor in 1998, he worked in commercial legal practice, specialising in general litigation and dispute resolution matters before taking on a variety of legal regulatory roles at the Law Society of England and Wales between 2003 and 2010.

Stephen became CEO of the Advertising Association in October 2016. The AA promotes the role and rights of responsible advertising and its value to people, society, business and the economy. The leading advertising trade bodies, commercial media owners and tech platforms are all members of the AA. The AA focuses on ad industry priorities, such as public trust in advertising, inclusion through the All In programme and sustainability, as the home of Ad Net Zero, which started in the UK and now extends internationally. The AA lobbies on behalf of the industry with Government and promotes the economic value of the industry through the ‘Advertising Pays’ reports. It is the home of Media Smart, the industry’s media literacy programme and the UK Advertising Export Group, promoting the UK’s world-leading exports performance.

Before the AA, Stephen held leadership roles in four agency groups (Leo Burnett, WCRS/Engine and DDB/adam&eveDDB and Next 15). He is a Governor of Ravensbourne University in London, the UK’s newest creative and technology university. He chairs The Debating Group, a cross-industry programme that hosts debates on industry issues in Parliament. He is a past President of NABS and serves on the board of the History of Advertising Trust. He was IPA President (2003-05) where he led both their first ethnic diversity initiative and launched its professional qualifications, which over 20,000 people have now passed in the UK and around the world.