I don't mean the dark art of spinology, but rather, the role that marketing plays in communicating corporate values to the body politic, our fellow citizens.

The latest issue of the Marketing Society's journal ranks companies by how customers view their ethics. Those in the relegation zone had in common one feature: they were perceived as having a cavalier approach to the environment, with Ryanair the top example of the two-fingered approach to public concern.

I make a living out of seeking insights into shopper behaviour and have not before experienced a force which has emerged so powerfully over such a short period as consumer concern over global warming.

Once the preserve of the 'concerned ethicals', a Maslowian segment making up less than 4 per cent of the population, this concern has become mainstream in less than three years.

The issue of sustainability is woven into BCSC publications and property company annual reports so it's clearly an issue that shopping centre marketers should be addressing. Part of this process should include an environmental strategy as a cornerstone of the annual Marketing Plan.

And what about people like us? Well, since 1996 my company has used electronic data collection. I calculate that each year we would have consumed 2.5 million sheets of A4 paper, equivalent to 340 trees - so in a decade we've saved 3,400 trees. It's a start and as they say where I come from "many a mickle makes a muckle"

Stephen Logue, chairman, Business Blueprints

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