Green Business Strategy that Brands Your Company Effectively

Jason McCormick with Conscientious Innovation, wrote the following in response to a recent blog story:

We’ve done the research (including a super recent 5,000 people study of what people think of this thing called ’sustainability’ - April, 2008), we know that people rate Global Warming and Pollution as important sustainability issues. But it didn’t top the list. Personal and social sustainability issues such as connecting with community and leading balanced life leapfrog environmental issues.

As one of the respondent from an early round of focus groups said’ How can i look after the environment, if i can’t look after myself??’.

His company focuses on brand development for a wider range of issues than "green" or "environment."

What we’re seeing right now is a lot of what we call “knee-jerk green marketing” and it’s a big mistake. Companies are jumping on the green bandwagon because they think that’s the only way to get on the sustainability wave. What’s dangerous is that it’s leading to a lack of authenticity because it’s often done indiscriminately and without rigor. When brands make vague, philosophical claims about their pro-environment values, but don’t support them with specific, observable actions, it diminishes the eco story for everyone and begins to spark a backlash.

He's right...what we're seeing is a lot of concerned parents who are also business people getting concerned and seeing both the opportunity for healthier community for themselves and their families...and the greening of their bottom line to keep up with the highly publicized shift toward greener products and processes.

Many people think "green" is simple.  The consumer media makes it look that way.  "Just change your lightbulbs and convert to biodiesel."  And all will be better.  "Don't get overwhelmed.  Keep it simple. Think green."  But business greening is more complicated and like Jason says, it must be a metamorphosis of core competency  -- much like the caterpillar turns into a butterfly.

Greening a business involves training the employees; changing the products from gas-guzzlers and energy-hogs to ever greater efficiency in design and production; optimizing operations; optimizing the fleet of transportation used both by the company and the employees...and more.  Saving water.  Saving the air.  Saving natural resources.  We rely on nature's bounty for the source of everything that keeps us alive and busy at work -- and greening is that integrated into how we do business.

So if you want to do the green thing...think green, educate yourself, and take it a step at a time.  But get started because the future will leave you in a dusty barren wasteland if you don't.  That's the growing future for much of the earth.  (That's not meant to be an exaggeration.  Desertification of arable lands is a growing problem for many nations...)