Green Marketing and Sustainable Print

1. The
Green
Scene
Where is
“green” going?
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2. The “Green Thing”
• A bit of history
• And here we are…
• What you can do
• How to tell the world
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3. Overnight Sensation
• 2007 - “Green” went mainstream
• 2400 trademark applications for green terms
and phrases
• 900 proposed marks with “clean”
• 900 more with “eco-”
• 2008 - More trademark applications
• GREEN - 3240 applications (32% increase)
• “eco-” - 1730 (86% increase)
• “enviro-” - 530 (26% increase)
• Green advertising up 3X between
2006 and 2008
• The sudden awakening?
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4. Back to the Future
• Resource conservation and
environmental stewardship
– ‘30s - The Dust Bowl
• Origins of awareness: Silent Spring,
Rachel Carson, 1962
– ‘60s - The “hippie” fringe
• 1970 - Earth Day
• 1987 - definition of sustainability
– “meet present needs without
compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their needs”
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5. Green Bandwagon 1989
• We were ready 20 years ago, what
happened?
• New fear, excitement, and hope
– Natural/man made disasters around the
world
– Fall of the Berlin Wall
• Green went mainstream, the first
time...
And then…
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6. Hype Cycle:
Failure to Meet Expectations
• Biodegradable trash bags
degraded too quickly
• Ugly florescent bulbs gave off ugly
light
• Recycled paper products with the
texture of sandpaper
• Greener cleaners that didn’t clean
And all too way expensive!
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7. Today?
• Depletion of natural resources
• Government initiatives
• Eco-management systems
• Sustainability rating (DJSI)
• Eco-labeling programs
• Carbon “cap and trade” (and tax)
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8. The World Turns Green
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9. Consumers Want Green
• Consumers clamoring for
“greener” products
• Manufacturers/marketers trying
to meet the demand
– Green advertising up
• 10X in 20 years
• 3X since 2006
• Are we delivering?
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10. Green Marketing
• Green Marketing: Make green
alternatives seem normal and
acceptable
• Greenwashing: Making normal
stuff seem green
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11. Seven Sins of
Greenwashing
1. Sin of the hidden trade-off
2. Sin of no proof
3. Sin of vagueness
4. Sin of irrelevance
5. Sin of lesser of two evils
6. Sin of fibbing
7. Sin of “worshiping false labels”
Source: TerraChoice.com 11

12. Anti-Greenwashing
• Understand environmental impacts across
the entire lifecycle.
• Understand/confirm the science behind
each green marketing claim.
• Provide evidence with third-party
certifications.
• Ensure your language is truthful; don’t use
vague terms such as “environmentally
friendly.”
• Don’t offer a choice that’s unnecessary or
even harmful.
• Tell the truth. Always tell the truth.
Source: TerraChoice.com 12

13. Who’s Responsible?
• To be green is NOT the
responsibility of the printer alone
– Intent: does it need to be printed?
– Design for green - begin with the
end in mind.
– Just what you need: no more, no
less.
• Designers and printers must
form a tight bond if our future is
to be sustainable
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14. Principles of Environmentally
Responsible Print
• Is the best way to • Select materials with less
communicate your impact and toxicity.
message? • Increase use of recycled
and renewable materials.
• Rethink to use less
material and less • Optimize production
techniques to eliminate
energy.
scrap, error and waste.
• Consider lifecycles from • Select lower-impact
design through packaging and distribution
production, use and systems.
recovery. • Design for reduced energy
• Design for recycling, use, water use, and waste
reuse, and recovery. impacts.
• Seek independently • Maximize the length of the
verified data about product’s useful life.
environmental aspects • Recover, reuse and recycle
and lifecycle impacts. materials at “end of life.”
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15. Our Customers Are Asking
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16. We Can Help Them
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17. Going Green…
“Go Green” must go beyond paper
and extend beyond the pressroom
to all facets of the industry – from
the supply chain to the consumer.
FSC/SFI-certified paper and soy
ink do not equal sustainable
printing.
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18. What We Can Do
• Add green benefits to • Participate in community
products/services events focused on green issues
• Become carbon neutral • Produce a sustainability report
• Buy carbon offsets • Reduce your carbon footprint
• Change to more sustainable
• Reposition your brand to be
materials sourcing
more green
• Create more environmentally
friendly packaging • Seek LEED certification for
buildings
• Donate money to environmental
efforts • Share your sustainability story
• Form partnerships with online and offline
environmental agencies/NGOs • Use alternative energy
• Improve sustainability of sources, such as wind, solar,
current products etc.
• Improve sustainability of supply • Increase the emphasis on
chain green in marketing
• Launch employee programs communications
reducing environmental impact
• More?
• Launch new green products
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19. Marketing 2.0
• One-way communication is over, your customers
want you to engage them in meaningful conversation.
They tell you about their needs; you influence their
buying decisions.
• Be social:
– Website
– Blog
– Facebook page
– LinkedIN profile
– Twitter tweets
– YouTube videos
– Flickr photo albums
– ...and on and on...
• Doesn’t take much cash, just time
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20. Questions? Comments?
The greatest problem in
communication ...
the illusion that it has taken place!
George Bernard Shaw

21. Contact Info:
Gail Nickel-Kailing, Managing Director
Business Strategies Etc.
Cell: 425-894-8524
URL: www.business-strategies-etc.com
SKYPE/Twitter: Gail_NK
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