GreenSky Thoughts

Recycled Television Commercial

This morning's Creativity Online Email (AdAge) includes a new EDF Television commercial, which focuses on the issue of Climate Change as a man-made phenomenon, requiring a man-made solution.  Creatively the brand message: 'Save Today. Save Tomorrow.' is cleverly supported by making the commercial entirely from recycled film clips.

The voice over promises that by 2020 EDF Energy aims to reduce the carbon intensity of the emissions resulting from the production of their electricity by 60%.  But while the viewer is listening to this, the gentle 'it's not that easy being green' soundtrack and the warning that 'If we save today, we can save tomorrow', the footnote (aka: 'the small print) notes that: 'Aims based on improvements to EDF Energy's 2006 performance and is subject to change in the event of matters beyond EDF Energy's reasonable control'.

Of course an entire worldwide climate condition is not EDF's responsibility and certainly not in their realm of influence.  But if EDF can't make the changes, should they even be promising to?  Grand gestures of intent in the area of social or environmental responsibility are far more authentic and believable if they are based on absolutes.  Including this kind of addendum in the footnote feels a little close to greenwashing - saying the right thing, probably for the right reasons, but without having to make all that much committment.

A Tree is not just for Christmas

As we enter the festival of consumption that is Christmas, we are being bombarded by ubiquitous retail and marketing messages encouraging us – through the use of tinsel, lights and jingle bells - to spend spend spend!  (Which can be quite exciting, let’s be honest).

On the other hand, there is a counter-consumption culture emerging that is encouraging people to resist this message, and rather, to reuse, recycle and recreate the spirit of giving by offering gifts that represent time, rather than money.

Is this awfully ‘Grinch-like’, denying the spirit of the season?  Or should the focus be drawn to the simpler pleasures of the comfort of family, a warm meal and small, meaningful gifts?

A brand that demonstrates the idea of reusing and recycling beautifully is Lush, who make fresh handmade cosmetics, which are so beautiful, the product becomes its own packaging.  And cleverly, instead of using polystyrene, they protect their more fragile products by packing them in popcorn, which shouldn’t be eaten (unless you like your popcorn infused with aromatherapy oils), but being all natural, can be composted.

The New Consumer Magazine (Dec) includes the following in their Think-Sideways Christmas Catalogue – ‘Have less, live more’

1.    Give away a book you love

2.    Plant up someone’s window box

3.    Compile a handmade recipe book

4.    Give away something you don’t use

5.    Do someone’s chores.

We love the thought of giving the precious commodity of 'time' as a gift – imagine the joy of someone doing your chores?! We have a friend who has a policy of only giving consumable gifts at Christmas time – to be eaten, drunk or planted and enjoyed.

If anyone can find a brand/shop/retailer (that isn’t actually a charity or actively ethical) that encourages us to think before we spend, please let us know... ‘cos besides Lush mentioned above, we couldn’t find any!

Clean Energy Revolution? Or Greenwash?

Google's recent move into clean energy is a very strategic way of aligning themselves with the green issue.  It has invited some scepticism – what place do they have in the clean energy arena? – and smacks a bit of greenwashing to up their credentials in a market where high profile businesses can't afford not to be doing something.  But they are a very wealthy company who rely on their customers using energy to deliver their product.  As a technology innovator, their brand sits comfortably with innovation anyway, so why not apply their wealth, spirit and drive to clean energy?  Even if the resultant PR is good for business, does it matter what they do?  As long as they are doing something?

Some Are Born Green

Most companies and businesses are making the move to ‘Green’.  Some are born green: Innovative business created to support sustainability e.g.: Innocent Drinks or The Body Shop.  Some become green: Offering new products and reviewing the fundamentals of their business e.g.: Toyota.  And some have greenness thrust upon them: Responding to market pressure and consumer demand, these companies use CSR and PR to present their green intentions, which often amounts to no more than ‘greenwashing’.

We attended the Green Marketing NPD conference here in London a couple of weeks ago.  Many of the companies presenting acknowledged that they had to change at a very fundamental level; reinventing their production lines, looking at their waste, reviewing how their products were packaged and marketed.  Reassuringly, in more than one case, the products that were the result of these changes actually cost less to develop, produce and market.

Abbey Bank for example have developed a new green loan, which they are marketing and packaging using only sustainable materials – printing on recycled paper for example.  Encouragingly, this initiative is forcing a company-wide review of marketing collateral, across all their products.  This change is often a result of good intentions as well as customer pressure.  More and more consumers are demanding greener products and information.  But what are they doing with it?

Another observation made by many of the companies presenting was the very obvious Intention-Action Gap present in their customer’s behaviour.  Most claim that they would like to do something, but this seems dependent on how much they are expected to change their comfortable patterns of behaviour.

So does the responsibility of change lie with the companies?  Should they offer green products only? Reinvent their production and review their supply chain and simply stop offering plastic bags at the checkout counter?

If the consumer is not prepared to do it themselves, should they have greenness thrust upon them?

Ethical Consumption: Is Less the new More?

When you type ‘consume’ into an online thesaurus it throws up: use, devour, guzzle, and our personal favourite ‘chomp through’ with the antonym listed as ‘conserve’.

‘Ethical’ on the other hand offers suggestions like: moral, right, fair, principled and just. Can today’s consumption driven lifestyles ever be described as just?

A cup of fair trade coffee is arguably more principled than one which is not. But then what about the take away cup? And do you really need the caffeine in the first place?

We live in a throw away society of mass production and mass consumption. Marketing and advertising fuel consumerism, tapping into our aspirations and desires as well as our more basic need, as social creatures, to belong. Which then begs the question: what is ethical marketing?

In his new book, The Green Marketing Manifesto, John Grant says that “Sustainability is the idea that environmental (and ethical) objectives are not incompatible with ongoing economic prosperity” and that “it’s a step closer to marketing”.

He goes on to say that “green marketing (is) a creative opportunity to innovate in ways that make a difference and at the same time achieve business success”.

It is the role of ethical branding and marketing to bring these creative (better) alternatives to the mainstream and help make them a part of our everyday culture. 

Driven largely by climate change but influenced by a growing sense of responsibility in the collective consciousness, we are being forced to re-consider our consumption-driven lifestyles. Buy less or buy smart. Or, as Jonathon Porritt (co-founder Forum for the Future and Chairman of UK SDC) says in his forward to John Grant’s book: Cut or Switch.

Cut as in “consume less, downshift, live lives of elegant simplicity, share more, buy primarily what you need only from those who you know are doing good in the world”.

Switch as in “renounce today’s cretinous carefree consumerism, and instead buy smart, ethical, low-carbon stuff, take the worthiness out of ‘sustainability’ by getting funky, glamorous, up-market and aspirational”.

Perhaps a willingness to adopt both options is what lies at the heart of true ethical consumption.

‘If we "consume consciously and consume less" we can save money and improve our health, but best of all we are doing something for the entire world by using resources sparingly. Yes, Less is More.’ Kim Kaoss. Ethical Consumption

Jonathan Porritt ends by saying that “we need things conserved, shared, reused, recycled, slowed down and treasured at an ever deeper level.” His wisdom is in the word “treasure”.