The time for marketers to act is now

The condition of the environment is expected to worsen in the years and decades ahead. Despite conflicting reports and opinions, most scientists still predict that the average temperature will rise between 1.8 and 4.0 degrees Celsius during the 21st century due solely to the burning of fossil fuels. By 2030, climate-change-induced calamities alone are projected to account for 500,000 deaths and $340 billion in damages, up from 315,000 and $125 billion today. The fast-developing BRIC economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China now attempt to meet their own escalating resource demands and will no doubt put further pressure on commodities. Over the past 50 years, fresh water consumption around the world has tripled; it is projected that, by 2025, two-thirds of the world’s people will not have access to potable water.

Green touches the lives of all people around the globe. Businesses cater to myriad stakeholders, including customers, investors, and employees; so industry leaders that are sensitized to the new rules are greening up their products and processes. They know that projecting a company’s image as a leader and an innovator, as well as being socially and environmentally aware, can only be positive. Influential customers want to do business with companies that have established their green credentials, so companies are launching hefty advertising and web campaigns, publishing extensively documented sustainability reports, cooperating with external sources to communicate transparently, and communicating their efforts internally.

Pick up any copy of Fortune or BusinessWeek or tune into a TV news program and you will likely see advertisements for multinational companies that are spending millions to project their commitment to sustainability and to create awareness for exciting new products and technologies: Dow Chemical’s The Human Element campaign portrays its ability to address pressing global economic, social, and environmental concerns. Chevron’s Human Energy campaign advocates for energy efficiency. General Electric’s Ecomag-ination campaign underscores its commitment to solve pressing environmental problems while driving profitable growth through the development of more efficient jet engines, wind turbines, major appliances, and other technologies. Underscoring social benefits, SC Johnson takes great pains to let you know it is A Family Company while Toyota communicates its interest in enriching the community and being a good neighbor via its campaign We See Beyond Cars. Although some campaigns may be questionable (should General Electric be advocating “clean coal” technology? And few would argue now that BP’s Beyond Petroleum campaign was markedly premature in light of the Gulf Oil spill and other recent environmental transgressions), the fact remains that companies now recognize opportunities and are attempting to seize them.

Communicating a company’s embrace of sustainability can enhance corporate equity since investors seek to reduce risk and many “socially responsible” investors want to align their values with their savings. Recognizing the opportunity, more and more companies are communicating their green mission and progress. For example, according to a study conducted by SIRAN, a working group of the Social Investment Forum, as of 2007, 49 of the Standard & Poor’s 100 issued sustainability reports, up 26% from 2005; and by 2008, 86 out of 100 had special websites detailing their efforts to address the triple bottom line – social, environmental, and economic – of sustainability, compared to 58 in 2005. These reports often detail progress related to sustainability performance aligned with standards produced by the Global Reporting Initiative, along with glowing mentions of coveted green awards – credible third-party demonstrations of environmental and sustainable excellence. For instance, a list of winners of the World Environment Center’s annual Gold Medal Award reads like a Who’s Who of Corporate America: the Coca-Cola Company, Starbucks Coffee Company, S.C. Johnson & Son Inc., the Procter & Gamble Company, and IBM number among their ranks. Dozens of companies representing over 50 product categories have cherished their nod as U.S. EPA’s “ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year,” indicating their willingness to work positively with government to foster energy efficiency. Some companies, like our client Bissell (“Get a Little Greener” site), Patagonia (“ecofootprint” site), and IKEA Canada (“The IKEA Way”), have special websites with detailed information for consumers.

On the product front, the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) bestows special Industrial Design Excellence Award (IDEA) prizes that have been won by Nike, Timberland, Herman Miller, and many other leaders for eco-innovative product designs. Some examples are listed in Figure 1.5.

Figure 1.5 IDEA award winners for design excellence

Chart: J. Ottman Consulting, Inc.

Finally, special green “Effies” – the advertising industry’s Oscar equivalent for campaign effectiveness – have been awarded to General Electric (GE) (“Ecomagination”), our client HSBC (“There’s No Small Change”), Wal-Mart (“Personal Sustainability Project”), and Frito-Lay’s SunChips (“Compostable Bag”).