Businesses highlight their green commitment through stock photography

Businesses love to be seen as socially aware and environmentally friendly, and there’s no better way of telling the world than publishing photos of their eco conquests. Whether adopting a new recycling policy, buying green energy or investing in a new environmentally-friendly factory, the public are always kept in the loop.

The question is, how much of their social conscience is down to genuine benevolence and how much of it is simply good marketing? It wasn’t so long ago that businesses didn’t care about their social image, business was for making money. These days there are very few businesses without a social statement and glossy photos showing their goodwill.

Something that has become apparent is that while some businesses show-off genuine photos of their achievements, others use stock photos. Using stock photography is a relatively cheap and easy way of using high quality photos, without the hassle of setting up a shoot. So is using stock photography misleading? If the people and situations are untrue then maybe it is.

Then again, in the spirit of recycling, maybe stock photography is the most environmentally friendly way of showing social awareness. Instead of travelling to location and setting up their own individual shoots, stock photography allows many businesses to make use of one shoot, saving those carbon emissions. For example, this selection of green business photos offers imagery for a wide range of business situations.

Widespread use use of stock photography does make it increasingly difficult to tell whether a business is genuinely environmentally aware. However, with the general public responding positively towards the higher quality images, businesses see stock photography as an appealing option. So whether businesses are exaggerating their social awareness, or whether they are genuinely conscious of their environment, high quality stock photography is likely to have a positive impact. Let’s just hope that the situation doesn’t mislead too many people and businesses that are genuinely environmentally aware are not damaged by those who choose to mislead.