Sustainable Brands
Video Interview with Michael Dwork, CEO, VerTerra
July 24th, 2008 by Patrick DominguezCompostable Dinnerware - Made from Fallen Leaves
In this interview, VerTerra CEO Michael Dwork shares how he came up with the idea for VerTerra’s compostable dinnerware while traveling in Asia, and behind-the-scenes details of how they produce sustainable products.
VerTerra produces compostable dinnerware (such as plates and bowls) made from just fallen leaves and water pressure. No chemicals are used (such as coatings, glues, plastics) and no trees are cut down. And no recycling is needed, since the products are made of leaves - they are biodegradable and the material used naturally returns to the earth within 2 months.
In addition to reducing waste and energy use, they offer fair-wage jobs to the many people they employ in developing countries in Asia where the leaves are sourced.
Last but not least - VerTerra’s products are very attractive and stylish! These amazing products are a great way to help “green” your next event.
Video Interview with Rick Batia, Managing Director, Bauer’s Intelligent Transportation
June 25th, 2008 by Patrick DominguezFrom Bachelorette Parties to Green Transportation Leader
Rick Batia shares how Bauer’s Intelligent Transportation grew from a 6-vehicle limousine company to the largest private eco-friendly fleet in the country. Bauer’s Intelligent Transportation provides employee commuter shuttle programs for many top technology companies (such as Google and Yahoo) in the San Francisco Bay Area.
This interview was held at the Sustainable Brands 2008 conference.
IDEO’s 7 Rules of Brainstorming
June 16th, 2008 by Patrick Dominguez
Next time you’re ready to brainstorm, try out these “rules” of brainstorming from IDEO, which Steve Bishop from IDEO shared at the Sustainable Brands 2008 conference. According to Steve, these brainstorming guidelines appear everywhere at IDEO, from conference rooms to business cards.
THE SEVEN RULES OF BRAINSTORMING (FROM IDEO)
1) Defer judgment
Don’t dismiss any ideas.
Any idea is a good idea, no matter how crazy.
Nothing can kill the spirit of a brainstorm quicker than judging ideas before they have a chance to gain legs.
2) Encourage wild ideas
Embrace the most out-of-the-box notions because they can be the key to solutions.
The whole point of brainstorming is coming up with new and creative ideas.
3) Build on the ideas of others
No “buts”, only “ands.”
Sometimes people say crazy and bizarre things, like “make it on Mars”, but there is some element of truth in it. When you build on the ideas of others, you might bring those crazy ideas back down to earth and make them real innovations.
4) Stay focused on the topic
Always keep the discussion on target.
Otherwise you can diverge beyond the scope of what you’re trying to design for.
5) One conversation at a time
No interrupting, no dismissing, no disrespect, no rudeness.
Let people have their say.
6) Be visual
Use yellow, red and blue markers to write on big 30-inch by 25-inch Post-its that are put on a wall.
Nothing gets an idea across faster than drawing it. Doesn’t matter how terrible of a sketcher you are.
7) Go for quantity
Aim for as many new ideas as possible. In a good session, up to 100 ideas are generated in 60 minutes.
Crank the ideas out quickly.
TAKE ACTION: What is the next situation in your business when you’ll be able to apply these brainstorming practices?
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Want to learn about related brainstorming strategies from IDEO? Check out this blog post with 7 ways to help brainstorming and Six surefire ways to KILL a brainstorm.
6 Green Marketing Strategies for Successful Sustainable Brands
June 7th, 2008 by Patrick DominguezNotes from Jacquelyn Ottman’s keynote presentation at Sustainable Brands 2008 conference on marketing your green business initiatives in a credible and effective way.
Jacquelyn noted in her talk that the first 3 green marketing strategies given below are great examples of what’s working now. The final 3 strategies will be necessary for building a sustainable brand in the future - but some of these may be challenging, some may even hurt.
“Skip the babies, kill the daisies, pulverize the planets.”
Consumers are so tired of seeing the same trite images in green marketing. It’s one reason why consumers have green fatigue.
They also know that the products can’t be as green as they are depicted to be when surrounded by these images.
Focus on consumer concerns
According to Gallup polls (such as The People’s Priorities: Economy, Iraq, Gas Prices, May 30, 2008), people consider the environment a lower priority than the issues of economy and the availability/affordability of health care.
[Related link: Deflating a Myth - Consumers aren't as devoted to the planet as you wish they were (AdWeek)]
EXAMPLE: Successfully avoiding daisies and babies: Toyota Prius
The Prius may have been inspired by green considerations, but Toyota has focused on benefits such as fuel economy and a quiet ride - more meaningful and relevant to consumers than saving the planet.
Key takeaway
You can make your marketing messaging more relevant to consumers by linking environmental product characteristics (or your company’s corporate social responsibility efforts) to priorities such as monetary savings or health benefits. For example, highlight product benefits such as organic certification (good for health) or Energy Star rating (saves energy and money).
2. BE TRANSPARENT
Success example: Timberland unveiled this year a label with detailed environmental metrics - energy use, community impact, resources used.
Coming soon - labels that link consumption to carbon footprint. The issues with bottled water show what happens when consumers link carbon footprint with consumption.
Imagine the pandemonium that will break out when someone figures how to compare the carbon footprint of other products to yours!
3. START FROM THE INSIDE OUT
Greening a business from the inside out will help ensure the credibility of a campaign.
Success examples: the advertising industry has created in 2008 the first Green Effie award to recognize eco-marketing efforts that are effective and making a difference. The strong campaigns from the 3 semifinalists (HSBC, Wal-Mart, GE) are all campaigns we can learn from.
EXAMPLE 1: HSBC - “no small change” campaign
4 Challenges of Building Sustainable Brands
June 6th, 2008 by Patrick Dominguez
1. Awareness of green issues and product environmental impact is growing in the US - creating risk for certain products
Why is this a challenge? This growing awareness has implications for brands that begin to be perceived in a negative light due to sustainability issues.
One indicator of this increasing awareness: there has been a 50% increase in buzz around sustainability on blogs (according to a Nielsen study) since last year.
EXAMPLE: Bottled water and plastic bags are coming under attack for their environmental impact.
EXAMPLE: Disposable diapers the next product to come under fire may be - because of G-diapers.
EXAMPLE: the American car market has been affected by high gas prices, and continues to shift to more fuel efficient cars.
- The number of drivers on the road has declined to the 1940 levels when gas was scarce during the war
- Prius sales are up 54% since last year
- GM has recognized that it must “Live Green or Die”, according to the Business Week cover story (May 2008) (while cutting 19,000 jobs last week)
EXAMPLE: Clorox launched GreenWorks, a product which sits on the shelf next to products from Seventh Generation and Method, to address consumers’ concerns about toxics.
- Related links: a Green Works analysis, Sierra Club explains its unusual partnership with Green Works, and a contrarian blogger’s view
Major ad agencies and PR agencies are ramping up to support green products - and some have started green divisions such as Saatchi and Saatchi S.
- However, not all of their clients being well served - fuzzy terms are being used in marketing that consumers don’t understand well, such as “sustainability” and “renewable”
2. Greenwashing is a big issue
Green marketing claims are being made that can’t be substantiated.
- Carbon offsets - a $54 mil industry that’s unregulated and drawing fire for lack of accountability
- More marketing campaigns than not are considered to be greenwashing. In The Six Sins of Greenwashing study, TerraChoice found that of 1,018 common consumer products, 99% were guilty of some form of greenwashing.
- Green marketing being compared to the Wild West
- FTC has moved up its review of the Green Guides by a full year
Related link:
3. Green Fatigue - a new term has entered green marketing lexicon
Consumers are so inundated, they can’t figure out what’s authentically “green” and what’s a gimmick. Related links:
- Have you got green fatigue? (The Independent - UK newspaper)
- One Energy Pulse study claims that “What consumers are often fatigued about in 2007 is the price differential - or at least the perceived price differential”
4. How many of you are confused about how to market your products in a legitimate way?
How many of you are worried about being labeled greenwashing? Or being sued for false claims?
How can we keep the green marketing revolution going? And the hope for conducting business in a better way?
If we don’t fix the issues associated with greenwashing and green fatigue (with activists bashing our companies for not doing homework and not being walking the talk) then the green marketing revolution will screech to a halt.
Jacquelyn Ottman offered key strategies you can use to market your green initiatives in a credible and effective way.