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Sustainability is Hot! Are you?

What are the hottest brand, marketing and product concepts in business today? I argue they are sustainability and green. Focusing your business plans on those areas can lead to revenues and profits. They can also lead to doing good.

Some of us have been arguing that for years. It took melting ice caps and sky-rocketing oil prices to get most businesses to hear us, however. And, today, the automobile and airline industries are paying the price for putting profits ahead of visionary thinking and for failing to put people first instead of short-term earnings.

Mario Vellandi, Melodies in Marketing, gets that. Recently, he attended Sustainable Brands 08 and videotaped the sessions, which covered topics in marketing communications, product development, operations, human resources, and management. The educational value of these videos is priceless. This is your opportunity to learn best practices and to bring your business into the 21st Century.

Caution: Creating a marketing plan around sustainable brands and pushing out the word that you are green is not creating a sustainable brand. It is just you talking hooey and trying to sell swampland in Florida as seaside property. Sustainable brands are authentic and follow a precise set of values that guide every decision in your business. They do not represent short-term earnings; they represent a way of doing business that is good for the planet, good for people and good for your bottom line. Keeping that in mind, here is Mario in a 10-minute highlight video followed by the complete collection of videos.

Grow your brand strong and do good while making money. It's a great combination.

Introduction & Highlights:
http://blip.tv/file/1063643

SMaRT Sustainable Product Standard (Special Event):
http://sustainableproducts.blip.tv

Environmental Defense Fund - Beth Trask:
http://blip.tv/file/1032136/   

California EPA - Leonard Robinson:
http://blip.tv/file/1031059/

Clean Tech Investment - Bob O'Connor, Wilson Sonsini, Goodrich and Rosati:
http://blip.tv/file/1030653/

CleanFish - Tim O'Shea:
http://blip.tv/file/1030619/

Brown-Forman (Alcohol) - Rob Kaplan:
http://blip.tv/file/1031015/

Green Marketing - Jacquelyn Ottoman:
http://blip.tv/file/1031373/

Dow Chemical - Julie Fasone Holder:
http://blip.tv/file/1032104/

Clorox Co - Bill Morrissey:
http://blip.tv/file/1030838/

PANEL: Current Consumer Green Brand Perceptions:
http://blip.tv/file/1030910/

Keen Footwear - Bobbie Parisi:
http://blip.tv/file/1031425/

7th Generation - Jeffrey Hollender:
http://blip.tv/file/1031591/

PANEL: Designers Accord:
http://blip.tv/file/1031012/

World of Good / Ebay - Robert Chatwani and Priya Haji:
http://blip.tv/file/1031671/

PANEL: Environmental Labeling:
http://blip.tv/file/1031331/

Big Green Purse - Diane MacEachern:
http://blip.tv/file/993541/

PANEL: The New Social Ethic, Making Sustainability Personal:
http://blip.tv/file/1032916/

Climate Change Film Producer - Patrick Gregston:
http://blip.tv/file/1034282/

Method Products - Eric Ryan:
http://blip.tv/file/1031468/

These videos are under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial license, and may be downloaded and redistributed as appropriate.

When Is Green Really Green?

If you've been paying attention, you've likely noticed lots of companies talking about their green efforts. Even my business shared how we changed all of our lighting to energy-efficient bulbs (and then had to explain our recycling of those bulbs, as they contain mercury).

But when is green really green? It's relatively easy for a business to say it is doing what it can to protect the environment; it is much more difficult for a company to do what is necessary to invest in good environmental practices. Such things as available technology, industry practices, budgets and current manufacturing processes get in the way, often necessarily.

This morning,  an American Management Association (AMA) seminar in New York focused on how companies can comply and turn sustainability into a competitive edge. Implementing Sustainability Strategies will be offered at AMA Conference Centers in several cities in 2008.It was developed to help companies better understand sustainability issues and more easily transform them into improvements to impact their triple bottom lines—economic, social and environmental.

The AMA offers the following five tips:

1. Understand how global trends affect your business, and then analyze align, and strategize these trends to create your company’s sustainability policy.
2. Learn how to measure performance and develop a cost/benefit analysis.
3. Identify key internal and external stakeholders and employees—and then enroll and engage them.
4. Measure and benchmark energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions.
5. Be completely honest about your company’s policy.

I would put number 5 first. Without honesty, there can be no trust and credibility. And it only takes one or two companies exaggerating or lying to destroy the credibility of all businesses touting green practices.

It's About the Hydrogen, Baby!

For the past two years, I have been a huge fan of Cadillac's marketing campaign. As a Baby Boomer born  60+ years ago, my generation grew up believing owning a Caddie was part of the American dream. But they are expensive, once were humongous, and expensive to feed. So we looked to our later years in life as a time when we could splurge on our dream car.

But things happened along the way to change our minds: Primarily, concerns for the environment and an increase in gridlock made Cadillac a not-so-smart purchase.

Today, Cadillac is changing its ways. The cars are smaller, less expensive relative to the value of the dollar over the years, more efficient and more in-tune with customers wants and needs. Their message remains focused on the dream and the happiness that a Caddie delivers. And now they are going green.

General Motors' latest concept car is a Cadillac that could get 300 miles on a single tank and has nearly all the eco-friendly features you can think of.

The Provoq made its debut at Consumer Electronics Show (CES), It runs on a hydrogen fuel cell and a lithium ion battery. The battery, which gets recharged from a wall socket. is used only for peak power and storing electricity to extend the range. It is expected to get 300 miles on a tank of hydrogen, and the fuel cell is much smaller than previous generations, which increases internal room and storage. On the roof sits a solar panel for running the car's electronics.

My dream of owning a Caddie may come true yet.

Energy: Is Wind A Good Business or Environmental Investment?

  English Pravda shouts Offshore wind farms to power every home in Britain by 2020; a Stanford research team eyes offshore wind farms for California; Madison Gas & Electric gives us the facts about their wind farm; and Cape Cod continues to battle about a proposed wind farm off its shores.

For utility and energy businesses and for Americans and environmental groups, the primary questions are:

1. Is wind energy the best way to spend money today and get a return on investment tomorrow?
2. Is wind energy a environmental boon or bust?

In Britain, it is projected that wind farms will generate enough offshore electricity to power every home in the country by 2020. That means a reduction in sulfur dioxide emissions. It also means Britain's coasts are changed as wind turbines rise out of the sea to dot the skies and form navigational challenges to sailors. And although the British Wind Energy Association, a trade body which represents the country's wind and marine energy industries, welcomes plans for more offshore wind farm sites, it also questions the optimistic projections made by government. Furthermore, wind generated power is more expensive to generate than its coal- or gas-generated counterpart.

At Stanford, a research team concluded that the ocean not far off the Northern California coastline is the most promising spot for an offshore wind farm to generate power. They identified the sea off Cape Mendocino, roughly 150 miles northwest of San Francisco, as their top pick. They predicted that wind turbines there could supply 5 percent of California's electrical power needs.

For anyone who has every visited Cape Mendocino, a picturesque haven for wildlife, great vistas and rural lifestyle, one wonders if citizens of northern California will trade any of the risks for an expensive generation of but 5 percent of their power.

In Wisconsin, Madison Gas & Electric built and operates a wind farm consisting of 17 turbines (each 660 kW) to provide renewable, Wisconsin-based electricity. The farm provides enough electricity for about 3,300 homes.

Each tower weighs 73.5 tons with a height of 213' and diameter of 12' at the base and 6.5' at the top. Each turbine weighs 20 tons and has an expected life of 30 years. Three 77' blades (154' rotor diameter) constructed of fiberglass reinforced epoxy and other composite materials. They weigh 7 tons and spin at 28.5 RPMs. The total cost of the project was $14.5 million. The noise level is 47 decibels.

And anyone following the proposed wind farm construction off Cape Cod, knows that few residents, including Ted Kennedy, are thrilled with 200-foot turbines sitting off their treasured coast line.

For an investor or an entrepreneur, one has to ask themselves, if wind is not only a good alternative to fossil fuels but is it an alternative that makes good economic sense, smart environmental policy, and a savvy visionary choice out 20 years from now. How does one market what looks like a potential Albatross? How does one sell the idea to customers and investors? What do environmental experts say to convince America wind is a good choice?

P.S. The good news: Many are asking the difficult questions. If wind is a good alternative, investors will invest and wind farms will grow and prosper. For now, current wind farms are reducing hazardous emissions and are primarily situated in vast empty spaces.

Neenah Paper Gets It and Does the Right Thing

Paper is a staple of our lives: We wipe, clean, write, read, build and package with it. But to reach the paper stage, we do harm to the environment. So what to do? Abstinence is seldom the answer when it comes to popular and wanted consumer products and services. Therefore, we look to business to lead us in a direction where the products remain but the environmental footprint doesn't.

Neenah Paper, based in Alpharetta, Georgia, with manufacturing operations in the United States,  Canada and Germany, gets it. And they are doing something about it. In making the world a better place to live and work while not sacrificing product quality or damaging the bottom line, Neenah demonstrates that leading with your heart is a successful strategy and business model that should be adopted by all businesses and business managers. Here are just a few of the innovations and commitments that Neenah Paper has introduced.

In 2007, Neenah Paper, Inc., joined the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX®), the world’s first and North America’s only voluntary but legally binding greenhouse gas emissions reduction, registry and trading program. By joining CCX, Neenah Paper commits to tracking and reporting carbon dioxide emissions and to achieving a six percent reduction by 2010.

Neenah has also reduced its environmental footprint by using renewable energy sources, including Green Steam, as well as obtaining third-party certification by Green Seal, the Forest Stewardship Council and the Chlorine Free Products Association. Neenah Paper is a member of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Green Power Partnership and was recognized in 2006 for its purchase of Green-e Certified renewable energy, making the company the largest purchaser of renewable energy in Wisconsin.

By purchasing 350 million pounds of steam per year, Neenah expects to reduce its natural gas consumption by 80 percent annually at it mill in Neenah, Wisc. The steam is a byproduct of a wastewater recycling process. It will be used primarily to dry paper during manufacturing and to heat the mill. Furthermore, by reducing natural gas consumption, Neenah will decrease its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 80 percent, which is equivalent to 150,000 metric tons. Decreasing carbon dioxide by this amount equals the planting of 250,000 tree seedlings, which naturally remove carbon dioxide from the air.

When I wrote "Lead With Your Heart," I had these kinds of actions in mind. Businesses can and should lead us in our pursuit of happiness, which means doing the right things to make our lives healthier, happier, and better.

P.S. Neenah Paper posted a jump in sales and profit for the third quarter of 2007, showing a net income of $15.4 million and earnings of $1.01 a share on $251.9 million in sales. This compares with a net loss of $14.4 million and a loss per share of 97 cents on $141.1 million in sales in the third quarter of 2006.

P.P.S.S. There remains a troubling side of Neenah Paper, as well. It continues to close plants and lay off workers. Although all businesses sometimes need to cut costs, I wonder if layoffs are always the best and only alternative. We will continue to report on businesses doing good, but will not ignore areas of concern. When we achieve the position of being labeled a business that leads with its heart, we must always do what is best for people, including employees. I welcome Neenah's response to my concern regarding the layoffs.