Is Green An All-Or-Nothing Proposition? In a word, no. Companies can benefit from Green branding and marketing in many ways, from the simple certification of a product to promotion of that certification to added marketing messages that underscore your product's Green attributes.
Your company may offer products or services that will never fit under the aegis of Green. But more often than not, there is a niche that you can fill within the Green realm. And if nothing else, you stand to increase your company's own efficiency and productivity by incorporating basic Green principles. Consider some examples that illustrate the degrees to which organizations can leverage Green in their product and corporate positioning:
Did you know? |
|
Several branches of the federal government and many federal agencies maintain stringent Green building policies. From the White House to the U.S. Navy to the Department of Energy, Green building projects save billions of dollars annually. The U.S. Government Accounting Office and National Academy of Sciences have recorded $30 billion in savings annually on just five R&D projects by the Department of Energy.9 |
- Basic - Product level: Ever wonder whether your existing or planned products might qualify under established Green standards? Find out. Every day, manufacturers measure products currently in production or on the drawing board against environmental criteria set by third-party certification organizations [see Appendix for specific organizations and contact information]. Products that meet these standards receive appropriate environmental certifications and may be marketed as such.
- Intermediate - Product and process level: Marketing Green products is a pretty straightforward proposition. But opportunities exist to expand your Green presence by practicing and promoting design and manufacturing techniques that are both cost-effective and environmentally responsible. Such techniques can include:
- Biomimicry, through which human problems are solved by studying and drawing inspiration from the natural world;
- Extendibility, whereby products are designed that allow for new features and retrofits;
- Rapid Continuous Improvement [RCI], a quality-enhancement tool that helps products to better fit their functions, and materials and assembly methods to fit the products;
- Recycled/reusable material selection to minimize the number of different materials used in products and ensure that selected materials are recyclable.
- Advanced - Comprehensive product, process and corporate identity: Some companies not only embrace Green marketing for their products, but they extend that effort into each facet of their operation through a deep commitment to pressing environmental and social concerns. Companies across the country and around the world already have begun substantially Greening their operations, bringing their employees on board, and communicating their initiatives to their customers, prospects and the media. A broad Green strategy such as this helps companies create exciting new products, saves them money, enables them to recruit more productively, and keeps shareholders happy.
Examples of corporate in-house Green initiatives include extensive recycling programs, cafeteria food composting processes, use of low-flow toilets and other Green building products, and participation in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's voluntary Green Lights energy-efficient lighting program. Many companies also pledge a percentage of sales [as pre-tax profits] to groups actively engaged in environmental protection. In return, many companies enjoy outstanding sales that are driven by a fiercely loyal customer base.