Even though the dictionary says there are only two E’s in green, when speaking about green marketing, there are actually three.

The first “E” stands for ecology.  Ecology and planetary concerns.  It’s the initial engine that got the whole movement started in the first place.

The second “E” and equally important is economy.  There isn’t anyone standing with a gas nozzle in their hands that isn’t thinking hybrids and alternative energy sources.  Just the other day, there was a package of $2.99 corn I saw in Trader Joe’s that made me think that the price of corn is spiking as quickly as oil.  Then there’s the unknown effects this year’s weather will have on the fall crop yields that we’ll all be paying for soon.

Take note green marketers, the economic benefits of green products is the great story that needs to be told as bank accounts shrink faster that glaciers.

The last “E” in green is efficacy.  Green doesn’t only have to do good, it has to work good.  Think of the clever naming of the new line from Clorox called ”Green Works”.  That makes sense because many early adapters to green products gave up a lot of performance for their conscience.  But that’s no longer true.

If you want to successfully sell green products in a market governed by today’s realities, you have to get your priorities in order and balance your message accordingly.  Grand-dads in trout streams, Kermit the frog, lofty lyrics and make-believe messages aren’t going to do it.

Tell me how you’re going to respect my needs, my values and my intelligence first.  Then we can talk.   

Irv

No matter what your personal opinion is about climate change, there is no doubt that it is having a profound impact on the marketplace. A huge amount of attention is focused on what companies are doing and whether they are part of the problem or part of the solution.

Today more than 90% of peer-reviewed scientific studies say climate change is real and humans are contributing to it in one form or another.  Images that flash across the Weather Channel compete with the Chiller Channel for sheer horror as tornadoes devastate, rivers rise and flood, heat sears the nation, and cyclones leave thousands homeless or dead.  

All this attention, plus record-breaking energy prices, are motivating consumers across the globe to demand action.  

Billions of dollars are being invested in companies developing alternative energy and other sustainable technologies. Customers, shareholders and employees are pressing companies to reduce their carbon footprints and adopt other sustainability initiatives.  

The risk of inaction overwhelms the benefits of taking action to protect your hard-earned reputation and standing. We live at a time when opinion-driven news and commentary spreads like a virus. What does it say about your company if you don’t say or do something positive and proactive?  Can you afford to sit in silence on the sidelines?  The answer I think is a resounding no.

It is incumbent on every organization to state its actions and intentions. Not with platitudes and hot air, but with substance.  You have to say what you are doing and what you intend to do and state it clearly, precisely and without grandiosity.

Energy company commercials with central casting Granddads teaching their cherubic Grandsons how to fly fish are not going to do it.  We need to hear how much they are investing in alternative sources of energy that will get us off our addiction to foreign oil.  They need to show us that they are not just sucking money out of our pockets, but rather investing profits in a more sustainable future.  We have reached the point where it’s not just polar bears that are endangered, it’s us.

Once again it comes back to our basic premise that meaningful change is beginning to take place because the issue has become personal, not just planetary. With the East Coast boiling, the Mid-West flooding, and the West Coast burning, climate change is no longer something we can just talk about; it’s something we all have to do something about. Buying green, thinking green, talking green and insisting on green may not be the entire answer, but it is a start.

Developing, implementing, and effectively communicating a coherent sustainability strategy will cost real money, but failure to act will cost a lot more. Are there steps you can take now to protect and enhance your reputation?  What actions can you take to enhance your competitive position? Can you grow your business by developing green products that educated consumers will want to buy?  Those are just a few of the questions every business leader has to answer — not someday, but now.

Sustainability is one of those words that you hear repeated over and over again, but strangely enough most companies cannot decide what it really means.  According to The Economist, only 29% of executives surveyed have a coherent sustainability strategy.   Of those that do have a strategy, few communicate it effectively.

A recent commercial for a wind energy company took a predictable and ineffective approach by featuring lofty images, stirring music and a garbled message.  The commercial failed to take into account one of the Ten Commandments of Green Marketing, which is to appeal to the head as well as the heart.  Green consumers are more inquisitive, less trusting, and better informed than the average consumer.  

What really struck me about the commercial was its emphasis on local action, which was delivered by an announcer with an Australian accent.  It shows once again how big companies make big mistakes trying to appeal to green consumers.

Effective green marketing respects the consumer’s intelligence and delivers the message with authenticity and credibility.       

The current controversy about Ethanol brings into sharp focus the need for clarity in green marketing.  If you take everything being said and written about Ethanol at face value, it’s easy to blame Ethanol producers for rising food costs, when in truth they are responsible at most for a 2-3% increase in world food prices.  It’s really drought, increasing demand and, most of all, the sharp spike in gas and diesel prices that have driven food prices so high.  

So, why all the finger pointing at Ethanol?  Two reasons.  First, the need to shift blame away from spiraling fuel prices and the weakness of the U.S. dollar, and second, the Ethanol industry’s inability to effectively communicate its own position.

This is yet another reminder of the need to bring green communications down to earth.  We have to illustrate that green products are more than just lofty concepts and ideals. We have to show consumers that our green products have real, practical, and economic value.  If Ethanol has the potential to free us from dependence on foreign oil, outrageous prices, and further degradation of our environment, isn’t it worth trying?  Shouldn’t we be taking a hard look at all alternatives to fossil fuels to meet our energy needs without running us into the ground?  

As green marketers, we need to clearly explain to consumers that purchasing our products will bring them real, practical, and tangible benefits today, rather than lofty, esoteric, and poorly-defined benefits in the future.  Ethanol is a perfect case in point.  It may not be “the solution” to our energy problems, but it may be part of the solution if it isn’t undermined by bad PR and ineffective communications. 

What do you think?

In the green world, miscommunication is often worse than no communication at all.   If you’re going to communicate with this demographic, here are five “no-no’s” no green communicator should ever commit.  

1. Underestimating the intelligence of the audience.  

According to the New York Times, the green consumer is more inquisitive, less trusting, more experimental and better informed than any group of consumers have ever been before.  They think about their values every time they make a purchase.  Make sure you appeal to their head as well as their heart if you want your message to appeal to them.

2. Making and disseminating vague or misleading environmental statements. 

When Ford launched its “Kermit the Frog” advertising campaign a couple of years ago for their Ford Escape Hybrid, they tried to convince the public of their commitment to the environment.  One print ad read, “Green vehicles.  Cleaner factories.  It’s the right road for our company, and we’re well underway.” 

Meanwhile back at the plant, Ford only planned on producing 20,000 of its Hybrid SUV’s per year, while continuing to produce almost 80,000 of their gas guzzling F-series trucks per month.  That campaign backfired and the term “Greenwashing” became synonymous with their name.   Greenwashing is a term describing misleading instances of environmental advertising.   A definite “no no”.

3. Relying on sweeping generalities about the green consumer.  

The green demographic is not one thing.  It ranges from deep greens (19% who are totally committed) to medium greens (33% who are open and willing) to light greens (16% who will buy green only when it makes economic as well as ecologic sense).  Make sure you know who you are talking to before you start talking.

4. Committing sins of omission.  

Transparency is everything in this market.  When Horizon Organic Dairy advertised happy cows, the green consumer found out they weren’t so happy and they organized a protest against them.   All the great PR in the world won’t undo that.

5. Underestimating the power of the Internet. 

News spreads like a virus on the internet.   In a nano-second, millions of consumers can reach each other.  Be sure what you say (and don’t say) you want everyone to know because with the click of a mouse, they will.

The green market is estimated to reach $1 trillion in the next five years.  If you want to be part of that growth, you have to be as smart, as aware and as authentic as the consumers you want to reach.  Not being is the greatest flaw of all.

The green world isn’t just about things that are green.  It’s about the values that come along with caring like social justice; and people and planetary safety around the globe.  All of these are green thinking.  What better way is there to reach your market than by reaching out?

An integral part of green marketing should be an alliance with a worthy cause.   Advocate for one you believe in and if possible, one with a link to your overall message and positive image.

For instance, Patagonia, the outdoor clothing manufacturer, is all about protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (http://www.patagonia.com/usa/patagonia.go?assetid=1809), Stonyfield Yogurt is for supporting family farms and organic agriculture (http://www.stonyfield.com/EarthActions/) and Timberland, the foot ware company, is about cooling global warming http://www.timberland.com/corp/index.jsp?page=csr_env_stratgic_partnership).

These causes and they way they work with them are displayed as prominently as their products are on their website.   

There is no great shortage of great causes to align with, from the global to the local.  But it has to be authentic or don’t bother.  The green consumer will see right through it.

Now your social responsibility doesn’t end there.   Examine your own practices.  Are you carbon neutral?  Are your facilities toxin-free?   Is there a better way to do what you’re doing?   Are your working conditions safe and fair?   Not only are these worth supporting, the cost of not supporting them in the hearts and minds of the green consumer can be even more costly.  

These are all necessary parts of your green communication but first see what you believe in and what you can do better.   Then communicate it.   Walks gotta go with the talk.

How are you walking the talk?  We’d like to know!

Women and men have very different environmental concerns.   Women tend to be naturally closer to nature because of child bearing and other reproductive functions.  Women are also traditionally the nurtures, healers and gathers.   They are 15% more likely to rate the environment a high priority and represent two-thirds of the voters who cast their ballots around environmental issues and support increase government spending for the environment.

Men on the other hand tend to focus on environmentalism as energy independence.   The solution to our addiction to oil is the advancement of technology - solar, wind power, biomass.  For men, global warming is primarily a tech issue.  For women, it’s mostly a personal issue.   

Journalist Thomas L. Friedman in a cover story for the New York Times wrote that America should redefine green to make it more “muscular” and transform its characterization by opponents as “sissy,” “girlie-man,” and “vaguely French.”   He said, “Green isn’t some ‘wussy’ tree-hugging thing.  Green is patriotic.  Green is strategic.  Green is the new red, white, and blue.”

Four decades ago, Rachael Carson, the “mother of the environmental movement” wrote that “we’re challenged as mankind has never been challenged before to prove maturity and our mastery, not of nature, but of ourselves.” 

These differences have significant impact on the focus of your green message.   Don’t just know what you’re marketing, know what you’re offering and who it appeals to.   

The bottom line is all of us have both feminine and masculine qualities in us.   Smart green marketers recognize this and know how to craft their message to skillfully keep the balance.     

Some might think it is.  I think it’s more a question of accepting reality as it really is.  Our modern world consumes.   That’s a fact of life.   The question is can we accomplish something good for the planet as a whole if we understand and work with that? 

Gary Hirschberg of Stonyfield Yogurt faced just such a dilemma when their company was sold to Groupe Danone.  But he decided he could do more good for everyone concerned when he found a way to bring his product more mainstream and achieve greater distribution.

Visionary and author, Paul Hawken states, “Business is the only mechanism on the planet today powerful enough to produce the changes necessary to reverse global environmental and social degradation.”   Some of that business might include manufacturing green products.

In the perfect world, none of us would consume but that is not a possibility for planet Earth in the 21st century.   Our job and our quickest way to advance the green movement is to convert consumers from products that don’t promote planet health to green products that do.  The more believable and salient the green message, the faster and more effectively we can help accomplish that.  

Imagine if all of us switched to hybrids, non-polluting detergents, non-toxic cleaning supplies, reduced the chemical loads on our lawns and gardens, increased the amount of organics we ate, pressured officials to increase the amount of available alternative energy, went solar, reused, recycled and reduced.  

Wouldn’t that move all of us to a greener, more sustainable future?   Green commerce is not THE answer but is an answer to migrating as many consumers as we can to a better, greener and healthier way. 

That way we all win. 

Irv Weinberg

An intriguing statement regarding green and corporations was sent out into cyberspace from a green business community we belong to.  ”Does the ‘green’ come from the board room or the marketing room? If it comes from the marketing room, it’s greenwashing.” 

Our marketing minds lit up on this one.  So much so we simply HAD to respond to this blanket comment that we feel is detrimental to the forward movement of green in the world.   As a co-owner of a marketing company that is dedicated to bringing green to mainstream, greenwashing is not and will never be one of our marketing tactics.  And we’re not alone.

Two weeks ago, we had the opportunity to sit in the “marketing room” of a large corporation that was trying to figure out this whole green thing.  To our surprise, we found the conversations authentic, honest and transparent.

Yes, transparent. 

At the end of the day, is guidance needed?  Yes.  At the end of the day, was the ultimate focus still the bottom-line? Yes.  But for me this is the great challenge and opportunity.  Even our beloved Paul Hawken says that if economics and ecology aren’t joined, we’re in deep trouble.   

As a green marketing coach, one of my greatest pleasures is helping green business owners grow their business through sound and viable marketing strategies and tactics.  When I ask my coaching clients, “What is your vision?” — nine times out of ten I hear:  To EDUCATE the public in order to bring permanent, positive change in the world.  Their products are simply a means to an end. 

This always humbles me and energizes my dedication to each and every one of them — and ultimately to the advancement of green in the world.  These business owners are the ones we’ve been waiting for.  They’re the ones that will influence and educate the consumers.  And it’s the consumers that will ultimately influence the corporations. 

For me, here’s the real bottom-line:  What we need as a movement and a market is to adopt the attitude of inclusion, not exclusion.  And that includes corporations.  Gary Hirshberg, the CEO of Stonyfield Yogurt, said that he could do more positive change on the inside of a corporation than on the outside. 

So let’s quit the blanket statements about marketing and corporations and greenwashing.  Not all “green” from the marketing room is greenwashing.   Instead, let’s join forces (no one said it would be easy) and create the world we all want to live in.  Let’s help ALL people do their part so they can begin to become a part of something, well, GREAT.   

Carolyn

Scientific American magazine reported that a baby crawling on conventional carpet inhales the equivalent of four cigarettes a day.   When helping a natural floor covering company, we didn’t have to say much more than that to stop people in their tracks — especially mothers thinking of decorating their baby’s room.  

On our eco-podcast, America the Green, we started each show with an Eco Wake-up call such as, “If we recycled all of the newspapers printed in the U.S. on a typical Sunday, we would save 550,000 trees or about 26 million trees per year.  (Source:  California Department of Conversation).

What can you teach your potential customers about your green product or service that has stopping power?   One that lays out a solid “because” that’s not necessarily attached to a cause?   Hint:  Tell them something they don’t know.

For an organic winery, we helped spread the message about the heavy pesticide load of grapes found in conventional wines.  Here was their wake-up call, “The EPA considers that 60 percent of all herbicides, 90 percent of all fungicides and 30 percent of all insecticides are carcinogenic.   In California, where 90 percent of domestic wines are produced, grapes receive more pesticides than any other crop.” (Source:  Californians for Pesticide Reform). 

A green building store in Florida created shelf talkers, little signs strategically placed on the shelf underneath their products.  These signs conveyed the benefits and “green facts” of their environmental products versus the conventional choice.   This was her version of an Eco Wake-up call.

Tell your potential customers something they don’t know and tell it in a simple, effective way, backed up by reputable sources, and you’ve come a long way in making your green message reach not just preach. 

What’s worked for you?  We’d like to know.   Send us your views, stories or wins.