Bill Roth interviews Mike Dodge, President of Atomic Online, who discusses how to shape messaging to green women consumers vs. men. by Bill Roth, President, Northern California Community Technologies (NCCT), and the author of The Secret Green Sauce: Best Practices Used by Actual Companies Successfully Growing Green Revenues. Follow Bill on Twitter @earth2017. Connect with […]
Exceeding and defining industry standards – or even business standards in general – is one way that forward thinking companies will leverage their efforts from the existing guidelines and do more. Doing so will establish that they are not ‘toeing the line’ but rather ‘raising the bar’.
According to a recent survey conducted by California’s Employment Development Department, the state has nearly half a million workers spending at least half or part of their time on green products or services. The goal of the study was to establish baselines of green employment and green business practices in California.
Social media has begun to play a key role in how companies shape their corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies and present themselves as good corporate citizens. The standard for CSR is being redefined and is evolving as a driver of innovation. The bottom line is now three-fold, and is centered around people, planet, and profit. As business leaders strive to build more sustainable and socially responsible entities, formal social media strategies are becoming paramount.
The federal government is making sustainability a priority. Under the Energy Independence and Security Act, all federal managers are required to cut their fossil fuel use and are directed to acquire recycled content, energy efficient, renewable, bio-based and environmentally preferable products and services towards achieving certain goals. The are a number of “Buy Bio”, “Buy Green First,” programs, as well as Go Green Initiatives giving preference to products and services that meet green purchasing criteria.
The sixth round of ImagePower Green Brands Survey, presented by Esty Environmental Partners, Penn Schoen Berland, Landor Associates and Cohn & Wolfe, features a fresh perspectives into consumers’ attitudes toward corporate environmental sustainability and green products. The survey reveals that barriers to going green and environmental concerns are not consistent, however consumer commitment to purchasing from green companies is shared around the world.
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?
Numerous consumer polls proclaim increased spending on green products, but they fail to provide much insight into the actual purchase trends or specific decision drivers behind consumer choices. Instead of relying solely on such generalized market surveys, adoption of a strategic market research process will help businesses boost their revenue, reputation and competitive advantage from sustainability.