Making Green Work For You!

Editor's Notes

1. Due to increased stakeholder power and regulation, greater transparency, global warming, scarcer and costlier resources, and increasing populations, the focus on sustainability is here to stay and will only intensify over time. As a result, the private sector is following the lead of the United Nations and various sustainability-oriented governments and NGOs. lLeading organizations use a core set of tools to develop a sustainability self-portrait and help them manage for excellence. Doing good is unlikely to cost shareholders.--- Only 2% of the studies reviewed showed that managers who dedicate corporate resources to social contribution impose a direct cost to shareholders.
2. Volvo 's head of product planning, Lex Kerssemakers, said " we all know that oil is running out ''. "We need to find alternative solutions and though we are aware of the alternatives - LPG, CNG, ethanol, electric and so on - we have to introduce these to the market ,'' he said. "If we don't do it now, we won't be ready in five years when oil may be prohibitively expensive.'’*
3. Some facts about waste: Every year we fill 11,942 miles of garbage trucks full with garbage. The average American employee consumes 2.5 cans of soda each day at work. BUT the beverage industry uses 46% less packaging in 2006 than in 1990 even with a 24% increase in sales. Almost 1/3 of the waste generated in the US is packaging. In 2008 Paper and Paperboard made up 31% of municipal waste. Plastics were 12%.
4. Nature is capital. There is nothing that we ingest, consume, wear live in or drive that didn’t come from the Earth. 90% of natural resources extracted from the Earth is wasted, ending up on factory floor.
5. The Penney Idea was adopted at JCPenney's first company convention in Salt Lake City in 1913. It was one of the first US business code of ethics, which include the objective "To test our every policy, method, and act in this wise: "Does it square with what is right and just?“ JCP’s ethics code is still in place. It’s CSR dept is an extension of this same ethos. As Jim Thomas explains his role, “My job is to be the conscience of the organization.” Think of it as ethics on a global scale.
6. US Offices create 12.1 trillion sheets of paper Per Year . A typical business office produces about 1.5 lbs of waste paper per employee per day. The average American attorney uses one ton of paper every year . Paper usage is rising by around 20% every year, with the average office worker using approximately 50 sheets of paper every day in the typical office. BUT … If you were to eliminate office paper from your waste stream, you can cut your waste bill by 50% or more. eNewsletters-  Creating electronic versions of newsletters, magazines,  and newspapers can drastically reduce the amount of paper thrown away every day. Useful link: Constant Contact – Provider of eNewsletter templates. w ww.ConstantContact.com Online Training Solutions Useful link: Osmosis – An intuitive learning management software. eFaxing vs. Paper Faxing Useful link: MyFax – Send and receive faxes via email. http://www.MyFax.com FT P Portals – FTP enab les companies to download/upload large files online. This helps eliminate printing an shipping costs. Useful link: File internet Protocol – Definition of how an FTP tool works. http://www.whatismyipaddress.com/ftp Green Print Useful link: GreenPrint – Fr ee software download. http://www.printgreener.com
7. More than 100 million trees are destroyed each year to produce junk mail.* http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/top-15-shocking-facts-you-didnt-know-about-office-paper-waste-461807.html#ixzz1BDq8UyNA Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
8. The best part about going green is you get to become a part of a community of like-minded business owners who share your values. Many will end up becoming your customers.
9. The LOHAS or Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability Segment are the greenest of the green. At 19% of the market, LOHAS believe in the connectivity of the planet’s health and their health and use products and services that support their beliefs. Typically they are married, educated middle-aged females. Active at home and in their communities, they consider themselves stewards of the planet and are leading edge as early adoptors of green technologies. They are more loyal to companies that mirror their values and are influential in their communities and circle of friends. The flipside is that 71% will boycott a company whose practices they do not like. Distrustful of paid media, they consult the Internet and social forms of information. Naturalites foremost want a healthy lifestyle and are concerned about chemicals and toxins in the environment. They are 15% of the population and do things like purchase organic food - not for the environment, but for themselves and family, use no VOC paints and natural cleaning products. They see themselves as committed sustainability advocates, but really they are not as dedicated to green purchasing as LOHAS or even Drifters, the next category. Naturalites are the least likely to be college educated, and have the lowest income. Half live in the South and are more likely to be African-American. Cleaning services, dry cleaners, house painters and even restaurants should think about including this group in your marketing. Drifters, the largest group at 25%, are driven more by trends than a true belief system to be environmentally friendly or sustainable. They are younger and concentrated in coastal cities, unlike LOHAS, they have not yet established their values and ethics with their lifestyle choices. They are easily influenced by the media and not as likely to do their own research. But eager to pitch in, they recycle, use CFL light bulbs, shop at Whole Foods, but again aren’t serious about it. Drifters tend to have have a moderate income and larger household sizes with 1/3 having children under 18. Conventionals are the second largest segment. They are the practical ones. They are ones that will spend more money on ENERGY STAR appliances to save money on the electric bill, they recycle, reuse things to reduce waste and pinch pennies but not as motivated to buy organics or do other health related things as the LOHAS or Drifters. Usually they are males in the mid-to-late 40s with the highest income level of all the groups, and 25% of them are retired. Unconcerneds actually do represent the remaining 17% of the market. Demographics of the group are generally younger males living in the South with slightly below-average incomes and lower education levels.
10. Historically, marketers developed products that met consumers’ needs at affordable prices and then communicated the benefits of the brand in a memorable way. Today’s Sustainable marketing creates demand through credible, values-laden communications that offer practical benefits while empowering and engaging consumers in meaningful ways. One can no longer view people as mere “consumers” with a never ending appetite for stuff, but how your product or service can improve the life of the person that buys it without harming the lives of others or the environment. Education is also an important piece of sustainable marketing; educating your buyers to the whys of your product, service and actions.
11. Even Whole Foods, a national chain, runs a program to source local products.