The New Sustainability Frontier:
Transparent & Legitimate Forms of
Green Communication
Lisa Geason-Bauer
Evolution Marketing, llc
Why are we talking about green
communication/ marketing at Energy
Summit?
-
world is changing
how business is done is changing
new normal (post 2009)
hyper-transparency / rise of social media
Greenwashing is the unjustified appropriation
of environmental virtue by a company,
industry, government, politician or nongovernment organization to create a proenvironmental image, sell a product or a policy
or to try and rehabilitate their standing with
the public and decision makers. Many times
occurs after being embroiled in a controversy.
Take one Hummer, the most environmentally unfriendly personal vehicle known
to man. Plaster it with images of glistening green leaves and phrases like ‘EcoSmart’,
which just happens to be the name of your company.
Deception breeds Consumer backlash
Cone 2011 Green Gap Trend Tracker Research
found….
Consumers who feel misled by an environmental
claim may punish the brand. They will …
- Stop buying – 71%
- Boycott the product – 37%
- Do nothing – 11%
www.coneinc.com
According to new research from Mintel for the report Green
Marketing in Finance, 2011,
72% of respondents said
they “feel good about working with a financial
services firm that invests in companies that
are looking at eco-solutions.” However, the data also
shows a certain measure of cynicism, as almost half of
respondents state that they believe that a
company that claims to be green is just trying
to promote a better image for itself.
Mintel Press Release - http://www.mintel.com/
Why should my business be
concerned?
We are engaging in or are selling
legitimately “green” products or
services
How are you demonstrating
your environmental claims?
Research slides taken from 2011 Cone Green Gap
Trend Tracker – Fact Sheet www.coneinc.com
Result = Consumers are confused about
environmental claims due to…
(1) Being bombarded by general eco-claims
/ messages
(2) Because the products are
marketed/branded (with great images,
but no eco- substance)
(3) Not understanding the language used
by environmental scientists
Solution
Give consumers what they want
59% of respondents said it was acceptable
for companies to use general environmental
claims such as “green” or “environmentally
friendly” in their marketing ONLY IF THE
COMPANY BACKS UP THE CLAIM WITH
ADDITIONAL DETAIL !
2011 Cone Green Gap Trend Tracker – Fact Sheet www.coneinc.com
Steps your business can take….
(1) Define sustainability within your business
or organization
FOTODYNE Inc. defined sustainability in
terms of their products and specifically
within their supply chain. They went as far
as to design their products based on WI
suppliers
“Embrace sustainability –defined as acting
today so that future generations can meet their
needs and enjoy long-term markets for your
products, while safeguarding the sources of raw
materials on which your very business
depends.”
J.Ottman’s “The New Rules of Green Marketing: Strategies,
Tools, and Inspiration for Sustainable Branding”
published 2011
Step 2
Measure sustainability within your
organization. Choose metric's that fit your
culture/business model.
EX. City of Oconomowoc is a Tree City,
when analyzing their carbon footprint a key
metric they decided on was to
monitor/measure their street tree
population
Step 3
Use independent third party certifications to
help your business bench mark environmental
claims
EX. LEED certifications (buildings), USDA
Organic certification (agriculture), EPA Green
Power partner (for renewable energy
generators) , Forest Stewardship Council
certified paper (printing/wood)
Step 4
Educate the different audiences regarding
your organizations sustainability initiatives.
employee’s, shareholders & suppliers
EX. Miron Construction & Cool Choices
iChoose game
http://www.coolchoicesnetwork.org/miron-construction-co-inc/
Step 5
*Share with your clients/customers the
steps being taken by your business on the
road to sustainability in a transparent
manner (i.e. publish your metrics)
*Be honest about where your organization
is and about the steps you are taking to
move it forward.
WI Resources
WI Sustainable Business Council
http://ww.bus.wisc.edu/business-sustainability/council/
Green Maters Program
http://greenmastersprogram.com/
WI DNR’s Green Tier Program
http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/GreenTier/
Evolution Marketing website “Resources Tab”
Questions ??
Lisa Geason-Bauer
Lisa@evolutionmarketing.biz
262-354-0341