As most of us are now only too aware, environmentalism and the broader issue of sustainability are becoming more important trends impacting the very nature of how businesses operate. IBM's latest Global CEO study finds that of the main issues creating change, environmental issues have gained prominence over the past two years, but they still rank well below market factors, globalisation, people skills and technological challenges.
Whilst many companies develop standalone green policies or use green elements in their marketing, moving forward the real challenge is to put environmental concerns at the heart of all business processes and decisions, to create a sustainable framework right across the value chain. Consumers are demanding this from their brands. Research by Havas Media, finds that consumers expect brands to help solve climate change. To quote from this article
"Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of who is credibly making changes and who is not, despite green stereotypes associated with different sectors. The result: green marketing strategies and good environmental practices are no longer a “nice to have” for brands, but increasingly a “must have” in terms of not only maintaining brand image but also in maintaining market share."
Global brands across multiple industries have been making considerable noise of late about their commitment to sustainable causes of late. Coca-Cola rolled out a series of films featuring ‘green’ Olympians at the Beijing games, as part of a series of changes it is making - including its own US recycling plant for all cans and PET bottles. Microsoft’s ‘Get Green, Stay Green marketing’ program was launched back in May 2008, although with mixed reviews. Sony Electronics has been focusing on sustainability with an e-recycling program, working with Waste Management Recycle America. It has 155 electronic recycling points in the US and is to hold an event in Boston that will invite consumers to recycle their unwanted electronic products, with the first 2,000 people receiving a gift in return. The initiative is to be supported with recycled ads used back in the 1970s.
Meanwhile, the range of ‘green’ brands is expanding, offline and online. Trendwatching does a great wrap on some of the latest brands to hit the shelves. The new search engine Forestle caught our eye, with its pledge to save rainforests with each search, but it now appears to have lost its relationship with Google.
Digging deeper into ‘green marketing’, we found a wealth of thought leaders, blogs and media, which may prove useful to some marketers out there. This list is by no means exhaustive, just some interesting links we found:
The Green Biz Blog at Businessweek is a good starting point
La Maguerite – an environment blog with a section on green marketing
Future lab has a good article around green marketing, with some useful examples from the auto and energy sector.
Environmental leader looks at the green initiatives from US corporations
ecoAmerica reviews a lot of the major and regional press on this subject
Promo Magazine has a pretty good green section looking at all elements from branding, advertising through to implications in terms of direct mail and fulfilment.
We shall endeavour to build on this over time.
