If you've been reading the newspapers lately, you may have seen a Toyota ad espousing its environmental credentials. The one I stumbled upon was in the The Sydney Morning Herald. A magnificent thing. Double page spread, no less (remember them?), featuring a full-bleed moonscape of tree stumps matched with copy asking me to believe that Toyota is doing everything in its power to avoid such devastation in the future. At which point I thought, "hang on, aren't you the people who made LandCruiser, car of choice for inner city mums everywhere?"

"Well, yes." I imagined Toyota saying back to me through their ever so attractive DPS. "But we're also the company who broke the oil giants' monopoly on car fuels and started the move towards mainstream green products by introducing hybrids - the first real advance in car engines in almost 100 years - to market through the Prius."

Hmm", I said back. "What you're saying is that to communicate a green message believably is not a case of concerning yourself with what your company has done in the past, it's about making sure you have a rock solid plan for doing things better in the future." "Yes. And no." Toyota replied. "You're right about needing a plan. But, more importantly, you better have put it place real initiatives, big initiatives, that prove your commitment to that plan before you start talking green. After all, nothing substantiates words louder than actions."

And Toyota was right. If you look at all the ads being run by various companies promoting their would-be commitment to the environment, and then look at the suspicion these ads are starting to create among consumers you come to realise the Toyota ad stands alone for two reasons. Firstly, it's a DPS. Bigger, louder, bolder and more confident than all the rest of them. Secondly, it can be these things because, by creating a new technology for the future and investing in it from day one, Toyota has earned the right to run such an ad.

And that's the point, really. Just as no one expects Toyota to stop making, no doubt very profitable, LandCruisers just yet, no one expects you to put yourself out of business to become greener. What they do expect you to do is be looking at the impact your business is having on the world and making inroads, innovations in fact, into fixing it.

At which point, they'll be more than happy for you to book a DPS and tell them all about it. Hey, they might even love you for it.