There is a supplement in the New York Times today called the "Business of Green".

BASF has taken the full back page to profile a story of its plastic bags that have a shelf life of one year then biodegrade in compost within weeks. Their website has eight other cases including; ethanol extract from corn, reduction of diesel exhaust from school buses, and an 80% more energy efficient home. It is too easy to be cynical that this is just BASF marketing when, in fact, the accomplishments are extremely impressive. Check it out at www.basf.com/stories.

Posted on March 26, 2008 9:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We know that going green is good for the earth and we are quickly learning that it is increasingly good for business. But how sustainable is sustainability as a business differentiator? If everyone is doing it - where is the competitive advantage? Green is quickly becoming tablestakes - there may be more risk in not doing it than benefits in doing it. If you agree, how can companies benefit and differentiate in green going forward?

Posted on February 22, 2008 9:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

• The Ibis Porte de Clichy has a façade covered in photovoltaic panels, which convert sunlight into electricity


• San Francisco's Orchard Garden Hotel rooms have the city's first door-key-card controlled electricity system—remove your card when you leave and the whole room automatically "turns off" (something that Europe has had for some time)


• Hotel Triton has decorated a room on each floor using environmentally safe paints, furniture created from salvaged forest-fire wood, and organic hemp towels and sheets

Posted on February 18, 2008 9:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Green was once associated with sacrifice - it was painful to be green if you were a business. We associated green with extra cost, extra effort, questionable impact and return, compliance, and sacrifice. That is no longer the case. Green is now associated with strong and important branding, increased revenue, price premiums and deeper customer loyalty. Now green forces you to be better at everything you do. It is an extra lens that promotes greater innovation and awareness of impact. Think of the Lexus Lhs luxury hybrid that is priced at $125,000 and promises (according to their literature):

• A Powerful Statement
• Three Operating Modes
• Responsive Performance
• Fuel Efficiency
• Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (SULEV)

Posted on February 13, 2008 9:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Andrew Shapiro of GreenOrder recently spoke at an event on Corporate Image and stated that we are currently using our resources as if we had 1.25 earths. A chilling and very simple description of the challenge before us. Check out more at www.greenorder.com and share your comments.

Posted on February 8, 2008 8:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In my first post, I said that Green is good for business.

That thought is now more widely shared than ever. But decision-makers I have dialogued with are frozen with fear of being labeled a poser, greenwasher, or too preachy and the result is many are not taking any risks in acting and promoting a relevant green agenda. Any business regardless of size and industry can make strides and be proud of what they accomplish. This can be in the following areas:

Strategic Planning: senior management can kick start the whole thing by developing or revising sustainability goals to align with their core business.

Supply Chain and Operations: environmental audits of all practices can point out cost-competitive improvement strategies.

Green Real Estate: a business' physical footprint and practices can create value in real estate.

Renewable and Cleaner Energy: yes swapping out lightbulbs is step one but there are much deeper programs for renewable and cleaner energy projects.

Greenhouse Gas Management: this requires an audit of greenhouse gas emissions to arrive at cost-effective strategies to reduce or offset impacts related to manufacturing, operations, and travel.

Understandably this is an investment but one that will pay off in may ways. Thoughts?

Posted on February 5, 2008 7:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

If you haven't already, check out Larry Light's article in the November 12 issue of Advertising Age.

It is called Marketers, Seize the Opportunity to Help Heal Society's Ills. It helps separate the posers from the prophets. And it was fun to read that 360 Vodka is claiming to be the world's first environmentally friendly vodka. This is based on the 85% recycled-content bottle and that all labeling, packaging and promotional materials use 100% recycled paper along with water based inks. Share with us examples of other products that are paving the way...

Posted on November 26, 2007 5:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

It is a great question because it puts us all on the spot.

Would you pay more for a product or service based on the associated corporate responsibility efforts? These efforts could include green/environmental programs, trade practices, work and employment policies and programs, etc. A study commissioned by Greenpeace International with Ipsos MORI shows that PC users in nine countries would pay more for an environmentally friendly PC (respondents from Mexico indicated they would pay $240+ more). Whole Foods' entire business model is based on premium pricing for natural products. A recent Maritz study shows that 47% of Generation Y'ers said they would be willing to pay more for environmentally friendly services, products or brands. How about you? Would and do you pay more for services, products or brands that do good? What values are you looking for from the companies you purchase from? Make sure you vote on this very topic off our homepage under "Be Heard."

Posted on November 5, 2007 9:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Thanks for your recent comments.

I wanted to focus on the issue of engaging employees in green programs at work. Omar Michael's comment from the first post mentioned the fact that apathy is a significant barrier to employees getting involved in anything. We know that many businesses invest in a range of corporate responsibility programs to do the right thing and to promote a healthier brand image. The challenges have been sincerity, commitment, and momentum. My query is, how do we ensure that green programs make real contributions and how do we engage employees in the process? Any examples or ideas would be great for this discussion. Share away...

Posted on October 9, 2007 1:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Who isn't green these days?

At DDB we have watched the efforts of many organizations as they pursued green as their main focus of corporate responsibility. We have witnessed the posers and the prophets. Like any promise made - there has to be commitment and proof. Recently we were involved in the Green Conference with Advertising Age and Discovery Communications. It was great to see the interest in the subject and growing evidence that corporations were making some real changes (but many, many miles to go). One scary factoid was presented by David Perry of the Aspen Skiing Company that covered the potential disappearance of snow from that region in the next 100 years! Not the type of green goal we are hoping for. I suggest you check out www.savesnow.com to learn more and see a company standing up and doing real green things.

One of the biggest challenges facing companies today in going green is keeping the focus focused. Green is unbelievably broad. Sure there are practices that big, medium and small businesses can change across the board to make differences but it seems to me that a deeper focus will have deeper impact. Also this stuff cannot be pursued so one can send a press release - this has to be DNA bonding material for the organization.

According to a piece in Newsweek, "the number of Americans who say they worry about the environment "a great deal" or "a fair amount" increased from 62 to 77 percent between 2004 and 2006. The 2006 poll was done in March, before the attention-getting release of Al Gore's global-warming film, An Inconvenient Truth." In our business, we know that consumers are rightfully influenced by businesses that are corporately responsible during the purchase process. And with related savings in going green like long lasting and environmentally friendly light bulbs, it is just smart business. Two solid reasons to head this way - more customers and lower costs (green has always been equated with money).

Let me stop myself there even though I have a ton more to say. I am really interested in your thoughts on truly being green, its impact in business, and any great ideas you have to treat this globe we all live on better. Keep it clean, be real, and keep it coming...

Posted on September 4, 2007 2:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)