Brand | The Green Economy Post: Green Careers, Green Business, Sustainability

US Sustainable Business Spending to Double to $60 Billion By 2014

By Tracey de Morsella on October 11, 2010 3 Comments brand, business sustainability, C-suite, CAGRs, carbon data management, carbon management, Chief Sustainability Officers, Citigroup, cleantech innovation, climate change policy, competitive dynamics, Compound annual growth rates, corporate sustainability programs, corporate sustainability strategy, David Metcalfe, electric vehicles, emission reductions, energy efficiency, Energy Management, FedEx, GDP, GHG regulations, global economy, Google, high-tech engineering, Hilton Worldwide, industrial engineering, infrastructure, innovation diffusion, Intel, Johnson Controls, oil prices, PG&E, renewable energy policies, risk drivers, risk management, smart grid, sustainability initiatives, sustainability spending, sustainability strategy, Sustainable Business, sustainable business market, sustainable business spending, sustainable operations, US Sustainable Business Spending 2009-14, utilitie, Vanessa O’Connell, Verdantix, Verdantix Critical Moments, Verdantix Critical Moments model

Using financial data from 1,833 firms with US revenues of more than $1 billion in 2008/09, independent analyst firm Verdantix finds that spending on 29 sustainability initiatives will grow from $28 billion in 2010 to $60 billion in 2014. Over the 2009 to 2014 period the US sustainable business market will experience a 19% compound annual growth rate. The sustainable business market forecast finds that growth of 11% in 2010 will increase to 16% in 2011 and 24% in 2012. Growth in spending is driven by improved economic growth, risk drivers, competitive dynamics, innovation diffusion, higher oil prices, state-level GHG regulations and renewable energy policies. The study covers all industries and all sustainability initiatives from energy efficiency to spending on strategy, risk and brand.

Corporate Social Responsibility’s Seven Best Practices: Avoid Greenwashing Through Stakeholder Engagement

By Cecilia Lu on July 6, 2010 4 Comments brand, Cecilia Lu, Clorox Green Work, community involvement, Cone, consumers, corporate social responsibility, corporate social responsibillity, corporate strategy, cradle to cradle, CSR, CSR policy, CSR reporting, CSR strategy, environmental transparency, environmentally responsible, green, Green Business, Green Marketing, green strategy, greenwashing, Kiwano Marketing, life cycle assessment, Lifecycle Assessment, McDonald, Method, Perry Goldschein, product design, SDialogue, Seventh Generation, Sierra Club, SMS, social responsibility, socially responsible, sofia ribeiro, stakeholder engagement, stakeholders, sustainability branding, sustainability communications, sustainability issues mapping, Sustainability Management Systems, sustainability reporting, Sustainable Brands 2010, sustainable transparency, transparency, trust

A look at the seven best practices in corporate social responsibility (CSR). They include: setting measurable goals, stakeholder engagement,sustainability issues mapping, sustainability management systems (SMS), lifecycle assessment,sustainability/CSR reporting, and sustainability branding.

Green Marketing: Motivating Mainstream Consumers to Make Sustainable Choices

By Sofia_Ribeiro on June 14, 2010 3 Comments additives, biodegradable, brand, chemical waste, chemicals, Clorox, efficacy, green communications, green consumer, Green Marketing, green products, Green Works, Kiwano Marketing.Eco Pulse 2010, natural, natural ingredients, organic, packaging, pesticides, preservatives, recycling, renewable energy, Shelton Group, sofia ribeiro, Sun Chips, Sustainable '10 Conference, Sustainable Brands, sustainable packaging, sustainable product life cycle, Suzanne Shelton, transparency, transparent

Today I attended a great session at Sustainable Brands conference by Suzanne Shelton, President and CEO of theShelton Group. Mainstream consumers are complicated. They know just enough buzz words to make you think they know more than they do, and most don’t actually go green to save the planet. How do mainstream consumers ACTUALLY make decisions about which green products to buy?

Make Your CSR Believable? How? Create and Leverage Social Capital

By cjarvis on November 11, 2009 1 Comment Allstate Insurance, and How To Win It Back, Blackberries, Blackberry, brand, Chris Jarvis, Christine Arena, corporate reputation, corporate social responsibility, corporate terrorist, corporate transparency, Creative Minds, CSR, CSR strategy, customers, Dennis Bruce, economic collapse, energy, ethical corporate citizens, Exxon Mobile, FBIC, green, Harvard Business School, Jeff Swartz, JustMeans, Monsanto, Realized Worth, responsible supply chains, RIM, Royal Bank, social capital, social concerns, stakeholders, sustainability message, Timberland, top three worst insurer, trust, Trust: Why Business Lost It, trustworthy, workplace

Many companies are turning to Corporate Social Responsibility as a strategy to win back the trust of their stakeholders and customers. It won’t work. Why? Because you don’t become trustworthy by asking people to trust you even more. Corporate social responsibility requires trust.

6 Things Green Company Hiring Managers Want To See On Your Resume

By stephen_hinton on November 10, 2009 7 Comments 3BL, accrediting organizations, alternative energy, brand, business startup, certifications, credentials, engineering, environmental, Financial Management, green companies, Hinton Human Capital, infrastructure, Internal Rate of Return, IRR, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, LEED-AP, Licenses, manufacturing, market share, Mathematics, PE, performance based compensation, PMP, Professional Engineer, profitability, project management, Project Management Professional, resume, return on investment, ROI, Science, Skills, standards, startups, STEM, STEM professional, Stephen Hinton, sustainability, sustainable, technical skills, technology, traits, triple bottom line, Triple Bottom Line Accounting

Stephen Hinton provides insight into what traits green companies are looking for in candidates and what skills and traits they expect to see on their resume. He lays out the six pieces of important information that you need on your resume to stand out and get hired.

Five Strategies for Building Your Ethical Brand Without Being Accused of Greenwashing

By Jennifer_Rice on November 6, 2009 5 Comments align brand, Ben & Jerry's, BP, BP Solar, brand, brand building, brand differentiator, brand strategy, Clorox, corporate responsibility, CSR, CSR programs, customer experience, customer experiences, distribution channels, downtur, Ecomagination, ecosystem, Element, environmental initiative, ethical, ethical initiatives, ethical reputation, ethical value proposition, GE, goodwashing, greenwashing, GreenWorks, Heavenly Bed, ingredient brand, loyalty, managing perceptions, marketing, Marks & Spencer’s Plan A, McDonald’s, parent brand, philanthropy programs, PR, product brand, Reposition the Brand, reputation, Starwood, Target, triple bottom line, Unilever, Wal-Mart, Westin

There’s been a lot of discussion about elevating corporate responsibility to become a strategic driver of your business. Most companies would like to benefit from their ethical efforts in the form of increased customer attraction and loyalty, yet few have figured out how to do it successfully. When marketing and PR are relied on, it can often backfire in accusations of greenwashing. The secret is to apply brand-strategy principles to build your ethical reputation.

Executive Leadership Needed as Renewable Energy Firms Tackle Challenging Times

By dawn_dzurilla on June 18, 2009 1 Comment ACORE, bench of talent, Booz Allen Hamilton, BP Global Wind and Solar, brand, Brent Cook, budgetary issues, Chris Huntington, Clean Energy Fellowship Program, Clean tech, Climate Change and Energy Initiatives, contractors, Dan Reicher, Dawn E. Dzurilla, down economy, economic climate, Erik Straser, executive leadership, experienced leadership, extended-range plug-in-hybrid vehicle, Fast Company, Fast Company 50, financial constraints, flow of capital, Gaia Human Capital Consultants, geothermal electric power plants, Good Energies, Google, green markets, human capital, laying-off, leaders, leadership ranks, long-term, Massachusetts Green Energy Fund, Michael Ware, Mohr Davidow Ventures CEO, organizational chart, Organizational planning, performance, positioning, professionals, ramp-up, Raser Technologies, renewable energy, Reyad Fezzani, Rhone Resch, Richard Goffin, Samantha Byrd, SkyFuel, solar energy, Solar Energy Industry Association, stimulus package, strategic issues, talent, talent acquisition, Technology Partners, underemployed professionals, unemployed, venture capital, Willy Osborn, workforce training

In these challenging economic times, with seemingly thousands of unemployed or underemployed professionals available as candidates, you might think that renewable energy and clean tech leaders would be having a field day attracting and choosing leadership and professional candidates at will. But while many talented professionals from all walks of life are interested in landing a role in the clean tech industry, firms need to be sure that they select the right people for the job. Attracting the right talent to an organization is considered half art, half science and it is accomplished with a lot of hard work and occasionally a bit of luck and good fortune. And one way to help firms get out there is through positive press announcements and employment branding activities.