Ecopreneurist

Night lights: The Next Green Promo Great Idea?

John Simonetta — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:47:06 +0000

This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of Proforma Simonetta Freelance, an eco-friendly promotional items consultancy (see proformagreen.com). John’s blogs are designed to keep us up to date on the “greening” of his industry.

Research by Sunbeam Hospitality and Andis Corporation shows that about 45% of hotel guests leave the bathroom light on as a night light while they sleep. Indeed night lights are so important to travelers that since 2003 the American Automobile Association TourBook includes the availability of night lights in their reviews of hotels.

Why? Perhaps because the National Safety Council reports that most accidents occur in the bathroom, and that poor lighting is the 6th leading cause pf accidents in the home and a major contributor to hotel room accidents. It seems that people just feel better sleeping with a light on.

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The Huge Implications of the Eco-Public Health Connection

Jennifer Kaplan — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:49:48 +0000

Someone recently asked me if there was a public health angle to greening small businesses. After thinking it over, it became clear there is. First, when we talk about green we are also talking about issues of safety and health: Materials should foster healthy environments, current and future. This means avoiding toxic and dangerous chemicals. It means using an appropriate ventilation system. It means projects should be well-built to minimize safety risks to the occupants (fire, collapse, etc.). It also means making larger ties between the products we buy and energy security, homeland and foreign security, and other “issues of the day.”

Please keep in mind that there are 27 million small businesses in the US and consider these facts from the SBA: Small businesses…

Employ just over half of U.S. workers. Of 119.9 million non-farm private sector workers in 2006, small firms with fewer than 500 workers employed 60.2 million and large firms employed 59.7 million.
Represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms.

I see three distinct public health implications:

Public Health Implication #1: I have a case study in my new book that talks about greening that is recognized by the EPA and OSHA as exemplary and that points out that quality, environmental, health, and safety standards are all intertwined; a company that set and meets the highest health and safety standards is the surest route to profitability and competitiveness. The Ideal Jacobs Corporation, a commercial printing company in NJ, has been recognized by both the EPA and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for environmental and social responsibility. One of a few, small independent manufacturers in the EPA’s Performance Track program—a program for companies with the best environmental management systems in the country.

Says Andrew Jacobs, President: “You can’t get the best profits, you can’t even compete worldwide unless you are the ultimate in making as little garbage as possible, having the least amount of it around so your people won’t get sick, and being one of the safest you can be. So by being the best employer, you’re also being the most profitable.”

Jacobs chose to focus on two high-impact areas of his business: solid waste and hazardous waste.

“After working through the EPA application [twice], I realized the correlation between reducing solid waste and higher profit margins. It suddenly dawned on me: Of course, create less pollution and [you’ll] have more end-product…We invited in OSHA, which was unheard of at the time. Then, I realized that the healthier and safer our place was, the more money I was making. Every click we made in terms of quality, environmentalism, and safety, every time we notched up, we made more money.”

Since 2002, the company has reduced its solid waste per dollar of sales by more than 50%. By substituting less toxic materials in its sheet-fed printing operations, the company achieved an 18% reduction in pounds of solid waste per $1 in sales and a 23% reduction in pounds of hazardous materials used per $1 in sales. Ideal Jacobs is proof that good sustainability practices are good for business.

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A Global CSR Summit is Coming To a PC Near You

Jennifer Kaplan — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:37:34 +0000

On November 5th and 9th a gathering of great CSR minds is happening virtually. And while there are many interesting forums and conferences happening every day, this global summit is somewhat unique because its coming to a PC near you.

I’m especially happy its happening virtually because my favorite CEO, Jeff Schwartz of Timberland, is giving the keynote. If you, like me are out of town, you do not to have to miss it.

It makes sense that a summit on new models of social responsibility should take place making use of a new model of communications. And the event is environmentally friendly as well. By utilizing web conferencing technology, the live summit’s carbon footprint is minimized (because large events can have significant environmental impacts). According to the organizers:

This is a ground-breaking summit that is using the latest communications technology to reach everyone who can help add to the knowledge necessary to to make social responsibility the way all organizations conduct business.

The summit has all the makings of a must-attend event:

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Get Tough. Get Green.

John Simonetta — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:29:27 +0000

This is not something I would recommend for everyday use. However we often get questions on the strength of the non-woven reusable shopping bags that are becoming such a staple for our industry, and this image seemed a great way to explain a point.

The point is green can be tough. A reusable non-woven bag does not mean a wimpy bag.

This is a photograph sent to us by our friends at Debco showing off the strength of their NW4060 FOLDING NON-WOVEN TOTE BAG.

The motor in the photo is a 1986 model year 20HP Yamaha, checking in at a weight of 110 lbs. The photo came about via a challenge that Debco put to their employees, asking them to really put the strength of their bags to the test.

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Interview with Jamie Wimberly, CEO EcoAlign, publisher of “Green Gap Redux: Green Words Gone Wrong”

Jennifer Kaplan — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:37:26 +0000

All this talk about going green, do we really know what exactly it means? Companies invest millions in trying to segment the green market. There’s the BBMG Conscious Consumer Report. The Roper Green Gauge. The Landor ImagePower Green Brands Survey. And on and on..(..so many segments, so little time!) Maybe more importantly: When we talk about green are we talking about the same thing? Apparently not.

This week I spoke with Jamie Wimberly whose firm, EcoAlign, just came out with a report called “Green Gap Redux: Green Words Gone Wrong”. Wimberly is CEO of Distributed Energy Financial Group (DEFG), a company in the clean tech space that includes EcoAlign. Jamie has nearly 20 years of experience in the energy and environment space, previously having served as the Vice President of the Consumer Energy Council of America (CECA), the President of the Center for the Advancement of Energy Markets (CAEM) and a Director on Boards of technology companies. He is a published author, frequent speaker and the Executive Producer of the award-winning Day In The Life Of (DILO) video.

Q: Hi Jamie. Before we talk about the “Green Gap Redux” report, can you talk about how your focus on energy makes EcoAlign different from other green marketing agencies?
A. I was attracted to the energy sector because it impacts so many of the big issues of our day, including the environment, and is integral to modern society in all aspects. The relationship between energy and environment is a symbiotic one, meaning that we won’t be able to clean up our environment and manage climate change without a transformation on how we produce, deliver and consume energy. Our deep expertise in energy (the partners alone have over 50 years of collective experience in the sector) means that we can go beyond your usual agency engagement and truly discuss all aspects of strategy – operational, financial, marketing, etc. As such, we are able to elevate the discussion of such things as messaging/ communications, product development, customer engagement, campaign design, channels and metrics, and other marketing-related activities to the C-level suite of our clients. Finally, I would note that “sustainability” is evolving into a complete management model. For that transition to be effective, you need to have a lot of skill sets and a strategic perspective that only comes from a deep understanding of all the moving pieces of a company. The end goal is for sustainability to become a business and economic driver to enhance profitably.

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Finding Broad Support for Energy Efficiency as a Solution for Climate Change

Daniel Parke — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:10:36 +0000

Mid-August 2009 poll results

A Washington Post – ABC News poll from mid August included questions on how the President is handling energy policy. The results showed very strong support for energy efficiency as a way to fight climate change. The accompanying published article, however did not mention efficiency and instead talked about solar, wind, nuclear (including the NIMBY issue) and transportation.

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Norwood Evolve Line (TM) Evolves Into Water Bottles

John Simonetta — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:24:31 +0000

The evolve(TM) line from Norwood seems to be doing a bit of evolving itself.

Norwood now offers two new cyclist style water bottles in the line, the evolve(TM) Sport Bottle 20 oz. and the evolve(TM) Sport Bottle 28 oz.

Both bottles are made in the USA and certified BPA free. Like the rest of the evolve(TM) line, these water bottles are made from biodegradable high density polypropylene ethylene. Both come in natural opaque or white body finish.

The bottles are listed by Norwood as biodegradable within 1 to 5 years in managed landfill, and the bottles ship with a hang-tag that can be passed on to end users to educate them about evolve(TM) and the use of biodegradable materials in general.

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5 Ways To Green Your Supply Chain

Jennifer Kaplan — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:10:13 +0000

If you are thinking about ways to green your supply chain, you’re not alone. A Supply Chain Consortium survey showed that organizations of all sizes are implementing sustainability initiatives throughout the supply chain not only to achieve regulatory compliance, but also to improve brand image and customer satisfaction.

What does that mean? The most effective greening of purchasing involves thinking about your entire inbound supply chain with an overriding purpose in mind: to select and purchase goods and services that are affordable, and have the least possible environmental impact throughout the course of every phase of their lifecycle including manufacturing, shipping/transportation, use, and recycling or disposal. And, contrary to popular belief, green purchasing does not always have to mean higher costs—although sometimes it will. In fact, by greening your supply chain you can often streamline your purchasing process, reduce overall costs, and improve your environmental footprint.

There are five good supply chain strategies that can be used to reduce waste. You can start by considering strategies that reduce the physical distance between where materials are sourced and where they are used. These strategies not only help reduce travel-related emissions, but also often result in shorter times to market and lower inventory holding costs:

Buying local is an excellent greening strategy. There significant social, environmental, and economic benefits to creating local economies. At this writing, some thirty-six cities and towns—from Albuquerque to Tampa—have adopted programs to label and promote locally owned businesses. It is always worthwhile to check with your vendors about the availability of local products and materials. Buying local also provides business owners with more control over their materials and end products. As an example, one wholesale distributor of locally grown food products in Michigan tells the story of being able to deliver poultry products that are cut to customer specifications quickly and on a regular basis, something that would be impossible if he were using larger, more distant vendors. The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) is a good resource for finding a local business network in your area.

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Fall Is Here. Water Bottle Jackets Anyone?

John Simonetta — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:53:33 +0000

As promised Ash City has really picked up their game for the 2010 season, offering more eco-friendly apparel items than most other manufacturers in the promotional items market.

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Brands and Culture, Symbiotic?

Ryan Jones — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:19:31 +0000

When you need to urgently need to blow your nose in Germany and don’t have a tissue on hand, you might ask a friend “Hast du ein Tempo?” (Do you have a Tempo?)

Tempo, it turns out, is a brand of tissue, not the German word for tissue.

Substituting a brand name for a general product description is relatively common across a number of languages. How many times have you heard someone say “Just Google that” or “Can I have a COKE please”? Over the years, powerful brands have impacted our culture and slipped into our language. For a brand, this is the ultimate compliment and a big awareness driver. In fact, Coke and Google (the 2 examples above) are now the #1 and #2 brands respectively on Interbrands latest list of powerful brands. Tempo continues to be a very powerful brand in Germany.

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