Inspiring the Business Case for Sustainability

It’s tough to not like a guy with a southern drawl and who calls himself a “recovered plunderer.”
Here’s Ray Anderson of Interface from a TED Talk last month. I’m consistently blown away by his vision of more than a decade ago that business needed to shift its thinking to protect our finite resources. As he says, what [...]

Going Green – the real savings

I recently completed Strategic Sustainability Consulting’s Green Audit certification program in Washington, D.C. and was very impressed with the President/Founder, Jennifer Woofter’s thoughtful and well-reasearched approach to conducting a green audit. Most impressive is the proprietary carbon calculator developed in collaboration with D.C. based think tank, Redefining Progress and San Francisco based, The Green Office.  The [...]

Employees Are Important Stakeholders

When discussing sustainability I always try to talk about the true intentions of the movement in addressing economic, social and environmental concerns. Environmental issues seemed to have upstaged the big picture for the moment but a huge opportunity is being missed if you aren’t building the momentum through your employees. That’s why when assisting clients through the [...]

Seven Tips for Authentic Green Marketing

I mentioned in a blog post last week that the conversation of sustainability in the blogosphere has risen by almost 160% over the last couple of years. Bloggers are making it known to companies that we are watching. So while some companies may think their unrealistic attempts (think Pentel’s polar bear and cartoon icebergs as mentioned on Tom Fishbourne’s Aug. 31 blog)  as posistioning themselves as green go [...]

Sustainability: Is your company behind already?

Based on a recent study conducted by Nielson Online sustainability buzz among bloggers has gone up more than 150% since September 2006 — this based on the 70+ million blogs tracked by the company. The discussion has converged around key issues such as reducing energy consumption, sustainable development and sustainable agriculture. Brands are being scrutinized for greenwashing [...]

Innocent Greenwashing?

I had to chuckle about a UK company with a name like Innocent Smoothies being accused of falsely reporting transportation methods to make itself seem environmentally friendly.
According to the article at the Daily Telegraph, “Innocent Smoothies accused over environmental marketing” the company claims on its website that “fruit always travels by boat or rail” because these methods use [...]

Stop the Junk!

Next time you’re considering dropping one more post card in the mail to some unsuspecting prospects consider this: Nearly half (44%) of all junk mail delivered in the U.S. goes directly to landfill, according to a recent report by Forest Ethics.
Instead consider these suggestions from JP Collins of Pylon Studios for greening your marketing materials:

Digital vs. paper. [...]

Transparency questions

Transparency is to sustainability as a good bike chamois is to cycling; both are necessary but they have a tendency, no matter how hard you try to find the best solution, to rub you the wrong way every now again. Sorry I had to get in a bike reference due to my obsession with the Tour de [...]

Interface: Results of a Sustainable Approach

I’m constantly searching for metrics to support sustainable practices and I recently read an interview with Ray C. Anderson, Interface’s Chairman, that gave a convincing summary.
Interface is the world’s largest producer of modular floor covering. Anderson founded the company in 1973 but it wasn’t until 1994 that he committed his company to a path of zero emissions. As explained [...]