A report from Point to Point
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GREEN IS DEAD. OR: OBJECT LESSONS IN HOW TO OVERUSE A MARKETING OPPORTUNITY
GREEN 2010: WHAT IT ALL MEANS TO YOU AND YOUR CUSTOMERS
In January 2005, Point to Point published a white paper on green marketing opportunities targeted to manufacturers in the building and architectural products sector. That paper gave a broad overview of green marketing as it was emerging, and offered strategies for integrating green into one’s business – and potentially reaping its benefits. A lot has changed since 2005.
TRENDS AND ATTITUDES CONCERNING GREEN Consumers who have read about a company’s social responsibility agenda on its website that say they are more likely to purchase products in the future from that company
75%
Recent MBA graduates that would take a pay cut to work 77% for a firm with a credible sustainability strategy Segment of general public that say it is important to 80% work for a company that cares about the environment U.S. consumers that say they would pay more for environmentally-friendly products
35%
Consumers that consider environmental impact when choosing providers for services
33%
Forecasted growth of market for healthy products 2010-2014
25%
Today, green is more than a movement. It’s mainstream. Most consumers possess a deeper awareness of green than they did only a few short years ago; in fact, 82 percent of respondents in a recent consumer survey considered themselves informed on environmental issues.1 It’s likely that they expect businesses to deliver products and services that are green to some degree. It is also likely that they expect companies to give consideration to the environmental impact of their production and distribution strategies. These consumer attitudes may be reshaping business. According to MAPI Manufacturers Alliance, 80 percent of the general public feels that it is important to work for a company that cares about the environment, and 77 percent of recent graduates from top MBA programs would take an average pay cut of $5,500 to work for a firm with a credible sustainability strategy.2
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Though awareness of green has blossomed, so too has confusion. Years of greenwashing have made consumers cautious of green claims and green promises. In fact, the FTC recently updated Green Guides for the first time since 1998. Green Guides provides recommendations for how marketers should make green claims and how the meaning behind certifications can be made clearer. This undertaking by the FTC is an effort to simplify and substantiate green messaging so that consumers have a clear knowledge of the true degree of green that was used in the manufacturing process. It also indicates the high level of confusion that exists among consumers. For North American manufacturers, this begs a key question: Does green marketing still have legs, or is it a dead-end proposition?
GREEN IS DEAD. OR: OBJECT LESSONS IN HOW TO OVERUSE A MARKETING OPPORTUNITY
IT’S TIME TO THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT GREEN
Your goal, as a manufacturer, is to sell more product. And in the business-to-business market, that often means helping your customers understand that by buying your product, they will sell more of their product, faster and easier. That doesn’t change for green manufacturers. It’s still all about selling more product. Yes, green initiatives are sustainable. Yes, they lead to a healthier planet, bluer seas and greener forests. And yes, there can be tremendous PR value in doing the right thing, but in the end the ultimate goal is selling more product. For green to thrive as a component of sound marketing strategy, it must support this objective. YOUR GREEN MOMENT HAS ARRIVED
While many companies are chasing a green position, very few have been able to effectively refine a green message and integrate it within their brand architecture. At this point, there is still more noise in the marketplace than substance. As a result, opportunities exist to carve out a green position that underscores your products’ value to your customers. To be most effective, your green messaging should complement that value – not overshadow it. This means different things to different companies. Some may find that ‘all-in’ just isn’t feasible. For them, green branding and marketing can be accomplished in small bites – whether it’s the simple certification of a product as a ‘green-conforming’ product, or development of basic marketing messages that underscore a product’s green attributes.
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Other companies will choose to incorporate green into the fabric of their operation; to define themselves by it through green-certifying their products and processes, engaging employees and customers, and building a comprehensive marketing strategy from a green foundation. There’s no right way or wrong way… just the way that works best for you, your business and your customers. No matter what your approach is, we suggest looking at green metaphorically as akin to a single component of a wrist watch – that component by itself can’t tell time, but it works collaboratively with other components to deliver a finished product. And so green, by itself, may not be the base from which your brand emanates. But, it can help strengthen that base, provided you plot your course carefully. In the rest of this whitepaper, we will share our insights on all this with you. We’ll offer some starting points to run a green self-audit. We’ll help you see your products through a uniquely green lens. We will help you understand the green landscape as it pertains to your business. We will give you tools that can help you evaluate your specific competitive landscape from a green perspective. Finally, we will tie it all together for you with strategies to help you communicate, then evaluate and adjust.
GREEN IS DEAD. OR: OBJECT LESSONS IN HOW TO OVERUSE A MARKETING OPPORTUNITY
TAKE AN HONEST GREEN LOOK AT YOUR COMPANY
Our objective with this white paper is not to make a case for green, but rather, to help readers enrich their marketing efforts with it. Before we delve into green marketing strategies it’s important to propose some basic assumptions – underlying truths, if you will – about green: •G reen, sustainable practices benefit the environment… they improve air and water quality, reduce solid waste, conserve precious natural resources, and enhance biodiversity and ecosystems. • Green practices offer indisputable economic benefits… they streamline operational costs and optimize asset values. • Green practices enhance human health and our collective vitality… they boost employee morale, productivity, and health; they improve air, thermal, and acoustic environments; and they minimize strain on infrastructure. • The majority of educated consumers in industrialized nations no longer need to be convinced of these benefits. They know that green is good, they know that first costs relative to acquisition of green products and services tend to be a bit higher, and they’re aware that payoffs down the road can be significant. In his keynote address to the 2007 Greenbuild International Conference and Exposition, former President Bill Clinton referred to green as “…the biggest economic opportunity that our country has had to mobilize and democratize economic opportunity since World War II.” We agree. We think that’s great, but just because an opportunity exists doesn’t mean you should run after it without thinking through the implications. So from our
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perspective as marketers, this begs two fundamental questions: How can manufacturers identify a viable space within an opportunity as significant as this? To what degree can they potentially benefit? Answers will vary based on the size of your company, the types of products and services you offer, customer characteristics, and the culture that you and your people have created. Achieving clarity begins by asking some basic questions. The Green Earth PR Network offers a “Green Audit” survey on its Web site (greenearthpr.net) designed to help businesses evaluate their capacity for incorporating sustainable practices into their operations. It doesn’t focus specifically on evaluating marketing potential, but we think the questions it poses are relevant for companies to consider if they hope to build green into their brands. Here’s a quick rundown, paraphrased for space:3 1. Step back and think about the people in your company: How likely do you think it is that they would embrace green policies and actions? 2. To what degree do you believe sustainability permeates your corporate culture? Do any green goals currently exist? 3. Do you think your company is further along the green path than your competitors? In what ways? 4. How would you assess leadership attitudes regarding sustainability? Is green still on the long-range wish list, or have executives embraced it and mandated its adoption on multiple levels?
GREEN IS DEAD. OR: OBJECT LESSONS IN HOW TO OVERUSE A MARKETING OPPORTUNITY
5. H ow effectively does your company respond to innovation and implement change in general? Do small changes occur over time or does the company think big and act quickly? 6. How is green perceived in your company from a financial perspective? Does management perceive it primarily in terms of its costs, or is it viewed more as an investment? STAND FOR GREEN – AND STAND APART
“Give it another 20 years, and there’s not going to be a need for green marketing consultants. Hopefully, it will be integrated into a brand management function so that everyone knows green.” — Jacquelyn A. Ottman Founder of J. Ottman Consulting Inc. Author of Green Marketing: Opportunity for Innovation
Fast-forward two years from Bill Clinton’s 2007 Greenbuild keynote. The 2009 Greenbuild show in Phoenix, Arizona featured more than 1,000 exhibitors on two massive floors of the Phoenix Convention Center. Obviously, green products abounded. Now, if you were going to a show called Greenbuild, you would expect to see green, right? And since you’re expecting to see green, you wouldn’t need to be told, “This product is green,” but that’s exactly what most of the exhibitors did. One message after another blurred into a collective clutter. ‘Raise your green quotient.’ ‘Save the environment.’ ‘Save energy… Save money!’ You get the point. Most exhibitors zigged, and very few zagged. Consequently, basic product and service quality, selection, service, aesthetics, on-time delivery and other performance metrics were overshadowed by messaging that touted green – often, in very ordinary ways, and without a direct benefit to customers. But there were exceptions. Oldcastle, one of the world’s most prominent building products and materials companies, had a large presence at the show. Yet green messaging in its
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booth seemed noticeably absent relative to other exhibitors. Instead, messaging was geared toward bottom-line benefits that Oldcastle products offer customers. The company didn’t abandon green – in fact, it articulated its green position and green initiatives in its annual Corporate Social Responsibility Report, as well as in a collateral piece available at the booth: Oldcastle acknowledges the challenges that climate change presents to humanity and to our businesses and we are committed to doing our part in developing pragmatic solutions. Oldcastle operates in a sustainable manner through steps that involve ongoing systematic plant upgrades, increasing energy efficiency, reducing waste, optimizing water usage and recycling secondary materials and fuels. Each Oldcastle Product Group is developing products and processes that will help us to succeed as environmental stewards well into the future. Read on to learn what Oldcastle product groups are doing to comply with all applicable environmental legislation, improve environmental stewardship toward industry best practices, promote environmentally driven product and process innovation, and demonstrate good neighbor policies in the many communities in which we operate. We think Oldcastle’s approach sent a subtle, yet powerful message to Greenbuild attendees: ‘We’re green, we have our green house in order, we’re comfortable with it, we’ve spelled it out clearly, and we’re happy to share it with you. So let’s not dwell on green for green’s sake. Instead, let’s talk about ways that our people and our green products can help your business thrive.’
GREEN IS DEAD. OR: OBJECT LESSONS IN HOW TO OVERUSE A MARKETING OPPORTUNITY
BOTTOM LINE
According to the Korn Ferry Institute, “…companies poised to derive competitive advantages from sustainability treat their (green) programs as an opportunity and not simply an added cost to absorb, another risk to manage, or one more regulation with which to comply.”4 USEFUL LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION Oldcastle: www.oldcastle.com Green Earth PR Network: www.greenearthpr.net
We hope you’ll take some time to consider the questions we included from Green Earth PR Network earlier. Doing so will give you a good starting point to gauge your company’s current green position – and its appetite for integrating green into its marketing moving forward.
Green Marketing: Opportunity for Innovation by Jacquelyn A. Ottman. www.greenmarketing.com.
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GREEN IS DEAD. OR: OBJECT LESSONS IN HOW TO OVERUSE A MARKETING OPPORTUNITY
TAKE A HARD LOOK AT YOUR PRODUCTS
“Build an internal business case and show how (green) is going to drive more sales or close more deals. You do that by showing how important it is to customers.” Michelle Price, Manager of Hewlett Packard’s Worldwide Environmental Strategic Marketing, Imaging and Printing Group and author of “The 42 Rules of Green Marketing” If anyone can speak with authority on the marriage of green and marketing, it’s Price. She’s responsible for global environmental marketing strategy and planning across all of HP’s Imaging and Printing Group’s businesses, segments and regions. For her and HP, the decision to embrace green was obvious. According to an HP study 75 percent of small- and medium-sized business owners said they took environmental factors into consideration when purchasing printing devices. Earlier this year, MAPI Alliance surveyed its members to identify which green marketing practices they found to be most effective. According to its report, “Best Practices for Green Marketing,”5 few customers would pay a premium for a green product unless it had a clear financial payback. ONE STATISTIC – TWO MEANINGS
More than one-third (35 percent) of U.S. consumers say they would pay more for environmentally friendly products, according to a survey on “green” living from market research firm Mintel.6 While this statistic may seem impressive on the surface, it also means that two-thirds of U.S. consumers apparently won’t pay more for green products. Ask yourself, then: Are you willing, or prepared, to fundamentally alter your brand and your go-to-market messaging in order to resonate with only a minority of U.S. consumers?
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Certainly, different products appeal to different market segments, so “U.S. consumers” may not be the most relevant metric for you to use. But it is instructive about the risks of reworking a brand solely around green. So where do you start in evaluating your products from a green vantage point? Ask yourself these questions: 1. What is your product category, and what green or sustainable benefits are appropriate for it? For example, biodegradability may be an attractive feature for one product, but not another. 2. Where are your products being used? What is considered green in one part of the country may not be in another. For example, reusable products may be more preferable in areas where landfill space is at a premium, while biodegradable products are a better choice in areas that allow compositing. 3. How will your products be used? Some products require more energy during their manufacture than they save in an end-use application. Understand the nuances and act accordingly. 4. In what ways do you believe your products are green? List them out and rank them according to what you think are the most salient benefits – and those that you think your customers care most deeply about.
GREEN IS DEAD. OR: OBJECT LESSONS IN HOW TO OVERUSE A MARKETING OPPORTUNITY
5. D o alternative technologies undermine any green claims you make regarding your company’s products? While recycled stationary and envelopes offer green benefits, for example, they are generally less green-friendly than e-mail. 6. Has the company promoted the green qualities of its products? What’s been said?
8. How much do you know about consumers of your product? Can you identify influencers, channels and end users, and have you studied them in detail? Have you conducted primary or secondary research? Do you know what they like about your product? About your company? What drives their buying decisions and how they perceive green?
7. Are there ways in which you think the company’s products aren’t green – or even potentially harmful to the environment? This includes not only their intended use, but also the constituent elements of their construction and the process by which they are produced.
Addressing these questions will give you the insights you need in order to decide how, and to what degree, you should integrate green messaging into your product marketing. You’ll have a better idea of what’s really important to tout, and to whom.
CASE STUDY: PATAGONIA’S FOOTPRINT CHRONICLES® Transparency is key to establishing and maintaining credibility in green marketing. That means being honest about the environmental benefits of your products and services… and sometimes, the costs. Consider Patagonia, a global manufacturer of outdoor apparel. On its website, the company clearly articulates its green position under an “Environmentalism” sub-heading. Topics covered include its response to the recent Gulf of Mexico oil crisis, “Freedom To Roam” environmental campaign that includes a variety of wildlife-preservation issues, and a series of environmental essays. But Patagonia goes beyond traditional green marketing with a sub-site called The Footprint Chronicles (www. patagonia.com/web/us/footprint/index.jsp). Here, visitors can select specific Patagonia products, track the origin of their constituent materials, and learn about the environmental impact of that product – both the good and the bad. Patagonia even offers insights on how it hopes to mitigate such negative effects. Through The Footprint Chronicles, company officials are acknowledging that the collective actions of their business affect the environment in very different ways. Patagonia obviously believes that its core customers identify fiercely with environmental concerns, so this tactic strengthens the bonds of trust between them. While the company’s green programs may promote broad environmental benefits, their use of green marketing ties directly into the essential interests of their customers.
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GREEN IS DEAD. OR: OBJECT LESSONS IN HOW TO OVERUSE A MARKETING OPPORTUNITY
BOTTOM LINE
It is honorable for companies to embrace green on general principles. But strong brands are based on strong beliefs about a product’s place and value in the market, so virtue alone buys you little equity in the game. Instead, drill down further to define what green really means to you and your customers – then work to own that position in your market. If it’s quality, leverage green to demonstrate why you’re the best. If it’s price, be specific about the ways in which
green helps you keep your costs low, and how it helps customers save money and increase margins. If it’s beauty, describe beauty through unique messaging and strategies that articulate WHY your products are both green, and beautiful. You may not have a Fortune 100 marketing budget, but the opening is there for any company that is willing to think this all through and make smart decisions about their brand, their place in the market, and the ways in which they communicate with their customers and prospects.
LESS REALLY CAN BE MORE In addition to the Oldcastle example cited earlier, two other exhibitors at Greenbuild 2009 caught our attention. One was Kirei (www.kireiusa.com), which manufactures decorative tiles and panels made from agricultural fibers and, among other things, reclaimed coconut shells. The products themselves are green in many respects, and Kirei cited each one clearly in its press kit materials. But the company made a leap that most other Greenbuild attendees didn’t; they attempted to seize ownership of a singular space in the green realm: beauty. “Beautiful natural materials” was the tagline that anchored all collateral materials. Beauty isn’t necessarily a benefit that comes to mind when thinking of green products, so we applaud Kirei for their effort to stand apart, grab ownership of a relevant space, and try to articulate beauty in an elegant way. Another company we liked was Big Ass Fans (www.bigassfans.com). The name pretty much says it all – if you need a big ass fan (and plenty of people do), they’re likely to be your first call. Given their bold claim to the fan industry’s big ass space, company officials apparently didn’t see any reason to alter their brand with arbitrary green messaging. That’s not to say they ignored green entirely. The green message they conveyed in their displayed brochure was simple, straightforward, and built inside a more comprehensive messaging framework: “Our products improve air circulation and, thus, aid in energy conservation by reducing the dependence on heating and cooling systems.” Beyond that, marketing materials and messages focused solely on the quality of the products, and the depth and breadth of products available. While other exhibitors peddled green, Big Ass Fans integrated a strong green argument into broader messages about the product.
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GREEN IS DEAD. OR: OBJECT LESSONS IN HOW TO OVERUSE A MARKETING OPPORTUNITY
UNDERSTAND THE GREEN LANDSCAPE
If you’re serious about integrating green into your business strategy and your brand, then you need to understand how third-party certification of your product can help you market it properly.
its wood content, for example, but certification is helpful for distinguishing forest products that were sustainably harvested in responsibly managed forests, since their origin isn’t immediately evident.” 7
A standard is a set of guidelines and criteria against which a product can be judged. A certification says that a product meets those criteria.
Marketing experts differ on the effectiveness of certifications. Some think they’re effective, others see them as a necessary evil, and others still think that the sheer number of competing certifications negate their overall impact.
So what does it mean to have a green and sustainable product, or be a green company? The answer, it turns out, isn’t as simple as you might hope. As green has permeated consumer consciousness, dozens of independent national and international organizations have established various green product directories, certifications, labels, and other appraisal systems to quantify and qualify green product claims. It’s become somewhat of a boom industry, with more than 400 standards and certifications now in use, and new ones popping up almost weekly.
WHAT TO DO?
Navigating through the array of green product standards is an important consideration for anyone who intends to green-market themselves and their products. Understanding the benefits of green product labels and certifications is one piece of the puzzle, but comprehending the time and investment required by a product manufacturer to comply with these standards is also critical.
Unfortunately, each system defines a “green product” differently. This can make apples-to-apples comparisons head-scratchingly difficult, and as a result, manufacturing companies aren’t always sure where their products, their services, and themselves fit within the green realm. If manufacturers are confused about their positions, consumers certainly are as well.
Before choosing a labeling or certification system for products, manufacturers should look carefully at the risks and rewards of each system. Below, we’ve included a brief list of some of the most prominent third-party U.S.-based certification organizations. Hopefully, this will help you understand which ones are relevant to you as manufacturers – and which ones matter to your customers.
As Jennifer Atlee and Tristan Roberts put it in their 2008 article, “Behind the Logos: Understanding Green Product Certifications”, “The more self-evident a product’s attributes are, the less they need to be verified with certification. Lumber doesn’t need certification of
• BuildingGreen, www.buildinggreen.com. Publisher of the GreenSpec directory that lists 1,700 green products. It also contains useful case studies, news and articles.
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• Composite Panel Association, www.pbmdf.com. Certifies and educates end users about composite panel products.
GREEN IS DEAD. OR: OBJECT LESSONS IN HOW TO OVERUSE A MARKETING OPPORTUNITY
• Energy Star, www.energystar.gov. Claiming to have saved $7 billion last year, this government-supported program partners with 7,000 public and private organizations to certify green residential building products, appliances, heating and cooling equipment, lighting and fans, plumbing equipment and computer and electronics equipment. • Federal Trade Commission’s Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims: www.ftc.gov/bcp/ grnrule/guides980427.htm. • Forest Stewardship Council, www.fscus.org. Certifies wood-manufactured products based upon ecologically sound and socially responsible criteria. • Greenguard Environmental Institute, www.greenguard. org. Tests and certifies low-emitting interior products and materials. • Green Seal, www.greenseal.org. Promotes products that conserve resources, cause less pollution, and minimize global warming and ozone depletion. Green Seal produces technical product reports and certifies Green products. • Scientific Certification Systems, www.scscertified.com. Tests and certifies green products and materials. • U.S. Green Building Council, www.usgbc.org. Offers a wide array of sustainable design tools, case studies and resources. Mainly known for its LEED certification program, the USGBC promotes the design of highperformance, environmentally responsible buildings. So how do you determine which certifications and standards are relevant to your business, your products, and your customers? Melissa Schweisguth, director of membership development and education for the Food Trade Sustainability
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Leadership Association and an independent consultant on CSR/sustainability and marketing/communications, provides sound advice in her recent Greenbiz.com article “10 Tips for Savvy Shopping in the Certification Market.”8 We’ve paraphrased her tips below: 1. R elevance: Determine how important the certifications or standard is to your company, your suppliers and your stakeholders. 2. R elative Priority: Decide which relevant certification areas matter most to your company. 3. Recommendations: Ask peers, suppliers, field experts and key stakeholders what options they would suggest or advise against, and why. Scan the market to see what comparable businesses are doing and why they selected that path. Competitors may choose one program over another simply to maintain differentiation, so ask colleagues for their input. 4. G overnance: Research the ethics behind each label’s development and implementation. Look for independence, regular efficacy assessments and direct audits, third-party verification, periodic updating of criteria, broad stakeholder involvement in governance and standard setting, organizational and process transparency and public reporting. Alignment with the ISEAL Alliance Code of Good Practice is a good indicator here. 5. R eal Impact: Consider measured, positive outcomes for workers, suppliers, end users, your business, the environment and other stakeholders. Many certifiers produce annual reports, and all should be able to produce data demonstrating how their offerings leave people,
GREEN IS DEAD. OR: OBJECT LESSONS IN HOW TO OVERUSE A MARKETING OPPORTUNITY
planet and commerce better off than the status quo. For a balanced, unbiased view, review assessments from third parties and solicit input from directly affected stakeholders, such as workers in supply chain verification programs. 6. R igor: To avoid greenwashing, choose certifications that go beyond the status quo, add significant value, and have a meaningful positive impact on people and planet. Seek out high-bar criteria and quantifiable systems that make relative performance clear, such as the graded levels used for LEED and USDA Organic. Additionally, look for programs grounded in vetted international frameworks, such as International Labor Organization Conventions, ISO standards, the United Nations Global Compact and its constituent elements. 7. R equirements: Understand what your company, suppliers, and business partners must do to comply with the certifications you select. Having to make changes need not be a deterrent, since these engender the higher-level progress toward sustainability that’s necessary and truly worthy of recognition. You’ll simply need to estimate what’s needed in such cases and develop strategies for initial certification and scaling up. For example, if sufficient raw materials aren’t available, you might label one product line initially and expand as supply grows. 8. R eturn on Investment: Sellers and buyers often face costs related to audits licensing and commodity premiums through higher supplier prices. In some cases, capital improvements, staff expansion and process changes may
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also be necessary to meet requirements. These should be clearly linked to necessary activities with quantifiable deliverables and yield commensurate results and benefits. Ask peers and suppliers what costs they’ve incurred and how ROI has panned out. 9. R ecognition and Resonance: Labels do serve a marketing function so it’s important to gauge the familiarity and influence of your options. Relative awareness in itself isn’t cause to select or bypass a specific prospect. It may simply reflect marketing, not real value. It’s simply an indicator of how you’ll need to communicate to build support from stakeholders. 10. R eputation: It’s becoming easier to find independent assessments of labels from industry experts, media, and others. Different viewpoints offer a comprehensive, well-rounded assessment. Give certifiers the opportunity to address any significant negative feedback you encounter, since hidden biases or misconceptions may be at play. BOTTOM LINE
Sifting through the universe of standards and certifications to identify relevant ones for your business and your products can be time-consuming and confusing. It’s important to make sure that those you pursue are relevant to your business, customers, and product value proposition while enhancing your marketing efforts.
GREEN IS DEAD. OR: OBJECT LESSONS IN HOW TO OVERUSE A MARKETING OPPORTUNITY
USEFUL LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION •F or a really comprehensive list of certifications and related information, we highly recommend the Green Building Product Certification and Labeling Systems manual developed by the Green Building Alliance, a Western Pennsylvania-based organization that promotes green building initiatives. You can access it here: http://tinyurl.com/32b644k. • I SEAL Alliance Code of Good Practice: www.isealalliance.org/code. According to ISEAL, voluntary standards systems need to operate effectively to deliver on their stated social and environmental goals. All steps in the standards and certification process, including standard-setting, verification, impact assessment and governance, have a role to play in the effectiveness of the system as a whole. ISEAL builds an understanding of good practices for standards systems and sets internationally applicable good practice guidance for the implementation of credible standards systems. These Codes of Good Practice are applied by leading standards systems and are an ISEAL membership requirement. •U SDA Organic: www.usda.gov. • International Labor Organization Conventions: www.ilo.org. • I SO standards: www.iso.org. ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world’s largest developer and publisher of International Standards. ISO is a network of the national standards institutes from 163 countries (one member per country), with a Central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, that coordinates the system. ISO is a non-governmental organization that forms a bridge between the public and private sectors. Many of its member institutes are part of the governmental structure of their countries, or are mandated by their government. Other members have their roots uniquely in the private sector, having been set up by national partnerships of industry associations. •U nited Nations Global Compact: www.unglobalcompact.org. Launched in 2000, the UN Global Compact is both a policy platform and a practical framework for companies that are committed to sustainability and responsible business practices. As a leadership initiative endorsed by chief executives, it seeks to align business operations and strategies everywhere with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption.
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GREEN IS DEAD. OR: OBJECT LESSONS IN HOW TO OVERUSE A MARKETING OPPORTUNITY
TYING IT ALL TOGETHER: COMMUNICATE AND EVALUATE
“The blunt truth about the politics of climate change is that no country will want to sacrifice its economy in order to meet this challenge, but all economies know that the only sensible long term way of developing is to do it on a sustainable basis.” Tony Blair, United Kingdom Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007. Now, it’s time to develop strategies and messages that leverage green to enhance your brand, better articulate bottom-line advantages of your products, and possibly help your customers sell more products...with your products. Brands with green attributes can be powerful leaders in the markets they serve. That’s because they leverage emotion effectively to drive brand preference, and ultimately, sales. Studies confirm that when certain consumers believe they can effect environmental or social change through association with green products, their commitment to those products is strengthened. In the B-to-B world, the connection to consumers is often tangential. But in many other cases, the product touches the consumer through a purchasing or distribution channel. In those cases, a green strategy may still have high consumer relevance. Consider some tips when pulling it all together: 1. Define market expectations about green. Talk to your customers, influencers, distributors, consumers, and others who affect the sales process in your business. Your goal: Learn what environmental, economic, political and social issues impact them, and get a better understanding of how green factors play a role in their buying decisions.
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2. Understand the competitive green landscape. Before embarking on a marketing program that integrates green to any degree, it’s critical to understand how your competitors are using green in their marketing efforts. Knowing this information up front may not influence your own messaging; but it’s important to be aware of, and it could help you to position your products and services relative to them. 3. C ommunicate your product’s point of difference. Conventional marketing articulates the benefits of products that were developed to meet basic consumer needs. Green marketing is more complex. To be effective, it must succeed in balancing claims of quality, performance, affordable pricing and convenience with environmental compatibility. It should also project a consistent image that relates both to the product and its parent company’s environmental commitment. In this regard, it’s key to establish and maintain channels with specifiers and end-use consumers to help them understand the bottom-line benefits of your products. 4. C onsider the environmental impact of your marketing methods. For example, sending a national direct mailing promoting the green benefits of your product is fine, but doing so on non-recyclable paper can damage the credibility of your claim. Consider channels that utilize recycled paper, soybean inks, or better yet, send your message electronically. Some companies rely solely on “virtual” press releases and environmental reports. Misrepresenting a green product will always do more harm than good to your organization. People who specify consumer green products expect and demand accurate representations.
GREEN IS DEAD. OR: OBJECT LESSONS IN HOW TO OVERUSE A MARKETING OPPORTUNITY
5. A void confusing jargon in your messaging. The greenwashing wave is bad enough without throwing acronyms and terms at consumers. Terms like “Low VOCs” and “GMO-free” are meaningless to most people and don’t do much to enhance your brand. Say what people understand, say it well, and make it memorable. 6. Allow green to permeate communication channels. Promote your message – use green to your advantage in any medium you choose, so long as your claims are legitimate and verifiable. Communicate your corporate commitment and project your values where and when you feel it’s appropriate. 7. E nable sustainability over time. Don’t quit. Continuously strive for “zero” environmental impacts of your products and processes. Learn from your mistakes. Green is a moving target; attitudes and regulations change almost constantly. Addressing environmental issues on a continuous basis will enable you to anticipate consumer shifts, better control your marketing resources, and leapfrog the competition when market opportunities appear.
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8. F ocus on the customer…and help them sell more stuff. Your customers need to sell high-performing products to their customers so, make that job as easy as possible. Help them validate their high-performance claims. If it’s a ceiling system, be the component in that ceiling system that most clearly articulates the way your product makes their product perform better. If it’s an electronic sensor within a home appliance, own a definable performance benefit that gives that appliance manufacturer more ammunition to sell their product. 9. T est, learn and improve. Marketing efforts only have value if they are working, and the only way to know if they are working is to measure them. Building metrics into your effort is a key element. And don’t forget to start by measuring your baseline.
GREEN IS DEAD. OR: OBJECT LESSONS IN HOW TO OVERUSE A MARKETING OPPORTUNITY
CASE STUDY: LUBE STOP Founded in 1985, Lube Stop is Northeast Ohio’s largest independent quick-oil change company, employing 250 people and operating 37 locations throughout Cleveland, Akron, and Canton. In 2007, Lube Stop executives took a hard look at their business, their industry, their customers, and the world in which they operated. They saw that ecological and environmental issues were real, and they believed they were part of the problem. From that meeting, Lube Stop established a formal sustainability program that forever changed its operations – and its brand. This program seeks to reduce energy use, water consumption, and overall waste streams. Fiscal and environmental gains from the program are continuously analyzed. Results are significant. Lube Stop has cut its electrical costs and its gas costs by 12 percent and 14 percent respectively. The company purchases credits from the Cleveland Carbon Fund to offset 100 percent of the carbon emissions associated with business travel. Lube Stop is also currently working on alternative lighting solutions incorporating T-8 ballast lighting, light sensors, and aggressive energy usage policies to reduce electricity consumption by up to 40 percent. The company voluntarily installed programmable thermostats at all store locations to reduce gas consumption during off hours and holidays. It purchases gas from a provider that buys renewable gas and invests in renewable energy, and executives are evaluating costs and incentives for vegetative roofs and solar panel installations. Operationally, Lube Stop adopted a drop-ship model for its inventory, so products are delivered straight to the 37 store locations instead of a warehouse. This has enabled the company to eliminate its warehouse and the carbon footprint associated with weekly deliveries. Paychecks are now delivered via direct deposit, eliminating the need to deliver paper checks to the stores several times a month. Beyond the numbers, the pursuit of a more sustainable business has instilled a broader sense of purpose for employees and strengthened the company’s culture of respect and accountability. Employee turnover has dropped 42 percent since the formal launch of the program in 2007. Moral of the story: Though Lube Stop isn’t a product manufacturer per se, the green roadmap it designed is instructive for companies across a range of service and manufacturing sectors that seek to make sustainability the centerpiece of their brands.
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GREEN IS DEAD. OR: OBJECT LESSONS IN HOW TO OVERUSE A MARKETING OPPORTUNITY
CONCLUSION
So what have we learned since our first analysis of green marketing in 2005? Several things:
Group, summed up the opportunity and challenge that green poses to manufacturers:
1. G etter technology, today and tomorrow, will give consumers unprecedented access to green information about companies and products.
“Consumers are still really anxious about their ability to make a good green choice. They’re worried they’ll buy the wrong thing and, when forced to choose, they go back to the names they know and trust. So, if you have a trusted brand name, explore rolling your green products under it. If you’re a newer product without a well-known brand, put your marketing dollars into building the brand.”
2. G reenwashing will continue, as it always has. Though we, as consumers, are growing smarter about green, we may also be growing more cynical. 3. Green has become important to businesses and consumers across a wide spectrum. For some, it’s critically important. Given this divergence, manufacturers must understand where their customers reside within this spectrum of perception. Companies that figure it out stand to prosper. Those that don’t will spend time and money on misguided marketing programs – and potentially damage their brands in the process. 4. All things being equal, many consumers prefer to make environmentally conscious buying choices. But things are rarely equal. Studies prove that the financial implications of a buying decision usually trump all other considerations. A company’s environmental record matters; but real value lies in the bottom-line cost benefits of green. In this sense, green products are no different than other products. Marketers must still quantify their value, and then demonstrate exactly how they will generate a financial return. Customers may like to feel good; but they’ll pay for bottom-line benefits. Your brand should be based on marketing strategies and tactics that work collectively to achieve broad objectives. In her recent article “Brands Matter for Green Products,”9 Suzanne C. Shelton, President and Founder of Shelton 17
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The suggestion implicit in what Shelton says is that the whole world is moving in the green direction, and manufacturers who have prepared for that shift by carefully considering the role green plays in their overall strategy will be better positioned for success. Because the stakes really do grow higher every year. In a world where people will soon scan bar codes with their smart phones to learn how environmentally responsible products and companies really are; in that world where retailers will display a product’s environmental “score” next to its price on the shelf, thinking strategically about green will be a necessity. Ultimately, green claims won’t cut it… only commitment will. Although this white paper offers basic strategies for a broad spectrum of manufacturing companies, it’s essential for companies to design marketing programs that complement and help drive their specific business objectives. As an advertising and interactive marketing firm with deep experience in business-to-business marketing, Point to Point can build upon the ideas presented in this white paper and help manufacturers meet their unique marketing challenges – no matter what business they’re in.
GREEN IS DEAD. OR: OBJECT LESSONS IN HOW TO OVERUSE A MARKETING OPPORTUNITY
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate “Living Green” Consumer Survey, 2008 (www.bhgrealestate.com) 2 ORC Guideline Survey, June 2009 (http://www. opinionresearch.com/fileSave%5CGreenOmnibusPR_ Final_06012009.pdf), as cited in “Best Practices for Green Marketing” MAPI Manufacturers Alliance, June 16, 2010 3 Green Audit for Action, Green Earth PR Network 4 Corporate Sustainability Initiatives: The Next TQM? Understanding emerging corporate sustainability practices through the lens of total quality management; Shelly F. Fust & Lisa L. Walker, Korn Ferry Institute, 2007. 5 “Best Practices for Green Marketing” MAPI Manufacturers Alliance, June 16, 2010. 6 U.S. Consumers Will Pay More for Green Products: Mintel, March 28, 2010, MediaBuyerPlanner (http://www. mediabuyerplanner.com/entry/50005/u.s.-consumerswill-pay-more-for-green-products-mintel/) / (www. mediabuyerplanner.com) / Mintel (www.mintel.com) 7 Jennifer Atlee & Tristan Roberts: “Behind the Logos: Understanding Green Product Certifications” Environmental Building News, January 1, 2008. Article appears on www. buildinggreen.com. 8 “10 Tips for Savvy Shopping in the Certification Market”, Melissa Schweisguth, Greenbiz.com, July 14, 2010. 9 “Brands Matter for Green Products”, Suzanne C. Shelton. 1
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GREEN IS DEAD. OR: OBJECT LESSONS IN HOW TO OVERUSE A MARKETING OPPORTUNITY
P O I N T O P O I N T
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Point to Point is an advertising and interactive marketing firm that helps our clients identify, bring into focus and overcome complex marketing challenges. Our expertise in branding, interactive marketing, social media, SEO and media planning allows us to solve each client’s unique problems in ways that maximize results. Our goal is always to be a catalyst of change for our clients by moving them from where they are to where they want to be.
To find out how we can help you build a more prosperous future, contact us: Scott Moss Director of Business Development 216-364-0432 smoss@pointtopoint.com