I believe this message is a short-sighted one. As I have written over the past couple years since the economy started to dip, companies that slash their commitment to sustainability to cut costs will suffer long-term consequences with customers who are increasingly demanding that organizations they buy from do business in socially-responsible ways.

The writer, Ethan Boldt, does try to segment marketers into various buckets, based on their (or their customers’)  interest in sustainability and how this impacts their marketing decisions:

1. Marketers and organizations that do not care about green, regardless of the economy
2. Organizations that always care about green, regardless of the economy
3. Marketers that care about green, depending on their target markets

I do agree that sustainability is more important to certain companies than to others, depending on the markets that they serve.  However, the writer and some of his subjects imply that a barrier to “green mail” usage is due to its higher cost structure and that only once economy rebounds will it make a comeback.  This article fails to mention that people can be greener about their mail without it costing their organizations any more money. The fact that people can use wind power, soy-based inks (if printed offset) and certain types of recycled paper without any additional cost, is crucial to understand, as there is a rampant misperception in the marketplace that going green costs more. If people work with the right production partner, they can go green in a way that does not have a negative impact on the bottom line.

Marketers need to be sensible about watching expenses, especially when the economy is still weak.  However, if there were better education in the marketplace (from the U.S. Postal Service, the Direct Marketing Association, etc.) about ways to go green at no extra cost, I am confident that not only would marketers make more sustainable choices, but customers would come to expect that mail be done in a green way.  These would be positive developments, and would help ensure that direct marketing leaves less of a footprint on our fragile planet moving forward.

At the same time, to ensure a bright clean energy future for this country and to accelerate America’s transition to a clean energy economy, we want to acknowledge and applaud the actions of the following list of Senators, Members of Congress, a Governor, and political committees in different parts of the country, both national and local, who, working with Grossman Marketing Group, have adopted solid sustainable practices in terms of producing their direct mail and printed materials using 100% certified wind power, vegetable-based inks and recycled paper, and by adopting practices that are very much in keeping with the values and priorities of this landmark piece of legislation:

• Senator Sherrod Brown (Ohio)
• Senator Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire)
• Senator Mark Udall (Colorado)
• Senator Mark R. Warner (Virginia)

• Congressman Paul W. Hodes (New Hampshire)
• Congressman George Miller (California)
• Congressman Tim Ryan (Ohio)
• Congresswoman Niki Tsongas (Massachusetts)

• Governor Bill Richardson (New Mexico)

• Association of State Democratic Chairs
• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
• Democratic National Committee
• Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
• Massachusetts Democratic Party
• New Hampshire Democratic Party
• New York State Democratic Committee

Only by reducing carbon emissions and greenhouse gases are we ever going to address the threat of global warming and improve the quality of life on our planet.  These politicians are not only talking about it, but they are also “walking the walk” and living this vision by the actions which they have taken in their political mail, fundraising mail, etc.

Front and back of Al Gore mailing.

My firm recently produced envelopes for a mailing on behalf of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for Nexus Direct, a full-service direct marketing agency located in Virginia Beach, VA.

This fundraising appeal, comprised of 1.9 million pieces, was signed by former Vice President Al Gore. In keeping with his unwavering commitment to fighting global warming, the envelopes that were used were produced using environmentally-sound practices, most notably recycled paper, containing 30% post-consumer waste, and 100% certified wind power.

The back of the envelope featured statistics on the following savings: trees, pounds of solid waste, pounds of greenhouse gases, gallons of wastewater and BTUs of energy.

Please click here to view the mailing, which features all relevant eco-logos and a union label, as well as a full environmental report of the savings realized by using the above-mentioned practices. The statistics are from the Environmental Defense Paper Calculator, which I have written about on numerous occasions as being an excellent resource, especially due to its independent and transparent nature.

It is very clear that environmental issues are very important to designers and end-clients alike.  Here are the key points made:

• Cost is always a concern, as there is a perception in the marketplace that environmentally-friendly papers cost more than typical products
• “Green” printed products are often used to support a broader organizational mission that includes sustainability
• As long as quality is not compromised, environmentally-friendly papers are preferred

I am quite proud that my colleague, Brendan O’Hara, was featured prominently in the survey.  Brendan is a team leader at Grossman Marketing Group and manages some of our most complex print projects, and is well versed in the broad array of environmental issues facing our industry.  Here’s what Brendan had to say:

“I spec FSC, windpower, carbon neutral, soy-based inks and recycled papers a lot. We are a very ‘green-oriented’ company. Even if the customer does not specifically request these printing attributes, we offer them as a value added option.”

Here’s a link to the entire page.

According to NEDMA, the Prodigy Award is given each year to one marketing professional in New England under the age of 30 who has added the most to the art and science of direct marketing in the prior year.  NEDMA started the award eight years ago to recognize some of the most talented young marketers in the region.  During that time, members of organizations like Hill Holliday, Mullen, Oceanos and Vistaprint have been recognized for their expertise in areas including graphic design, direct mail and interactive media.

Many thanks to NEDMA for including me in this process and for all the work the organization does  to help develop the next generation of marketing professionals in New England.

Please click here to read the full press release.

George Donnelly, Editor-in-Chief, Boston Business Journal (R), presented Ben Grossman, Director of Grossman Marketing Group's Green Marketing & Sustainability Practice (L), with an award recognizing his firm's innovation in the printing and marketing industry on Friday, May 15, 2009. (Image courtesy Boston Business Journal)

As I wrote last month, my firm was honored to receive a green business award at the Boston Business Journal Green Business Summit.  We were especially excited to be the only firm in the marketing services space to be recognized.  Many thanks to our client, Zipcar, for nominating us.

The summit was held last Friday, 5/15/09, and we were presented with our award (even the plaque was made with recycled materials!).  Please click here for a list of the other winners.

Here’s a summary of the main points of the article that appeared in Friday’s issue about why my firm, Grossman Marketing Group, was recognized:

1. We were the first marketing & printing company in our region to offset 100% of its energy with certified wind power – and offer that eco-benefit to our clients at no extra cost
2. As a result of our wind power initiative, we have produced more than a quarter billion eco-friendly direct mail packages since 2006 for clients including the National Park Foundation
3. We recently negotiated preferred pricing arrangements with paper producers that enable us to offer printed materials made from a minimum of 25% post-consumer waste at no extra cost over the virgin fiber alternative
4. We have plans to build a sustainability consultancy

Here’s a link to a PDF of the article. Many thanks for your interest!

d’Arbeloff extensively discussed the causes of global warming and the need for more sustainable energy supplies.  Near the end of his presentation, he highlighted some of New England’s leading clean energy firms, in a wide range of categories.  I thought this list was highly-targeted, and wanted to share it below, along with links to the various firms’ websites:

1. A123 Systems – batteries
2. Aircuity – energy efficiency
3. Aspen Aerogels – advanced insulation
4. EnerNOC - demand response for utilities
5. Evergreen Solar – vertically integrated solar PV
6. FloDesign Wind Turbine – turbine technology
7. General Compression – energy storage (nacelle technology)
8. GreenFuel - algae-based biofuel
9. Konarka - thin film solar
10. Mascoma - cellulostic ethanol
11. ORPC - marine turbine techology
12. Protonex - Fuel cells
13. Qteros - cellulostic ethanol
14. Ze-gen – waste-to-energy

d’Arbeloff concluded by explaining that despite the dire environmental trends (coupled with unstable energy prices and finite fossil fuel supplies), there will be a bright “green” future.  He said this will be made possible, first, by the right policy, which will unleash innovation and free markets to solve our energy problems.

The event was hosted by Goodwin Procter LLP, and organized by my high school, BB&N.  A special thanks to my friend, Jonathan Shapira, author of the Cleantech Investing in Israel blog, for making it happen.

Courtesy www.trendwatching.com

Hey all – I wanted to share this interesting briefing on Trendwatching.com about eco trends that present exciting opportunities for marketers and entrepreneurs.

Trendwatching refers to these opportunities as an eco-bounty, and they provide the following definition: “ECO-BOUNTY refers to the numerous opportunities, both short and long term, for brands that participate in the epic quest for a sustainable society. Some of these opportunities exist despite the current recession, others are fueled by it, not in the least because of new rules and regulations. Downturn-obsessed brands who lose their eco-focus will find themselves left out in the cold when the global economy starts recovering.”

Have a great weekend!

Floyd Kemske, who serves as Editor of NEDMA News and Creative Director at Amergent, wrote up a nice summary from the event.  As it is not online yet, I’m pleased to include select portions of the piece below:

****From NEDMA News****
The session, moderated by Mariah Hunt, Senior Production Manager at Digitas, featured four practitioners from the front lines of the campaign for industry sustainability.

Each panelist provided a unique perspective on sustainability, its achievability, and its benefits. Ben Grossman, Director, Green Marketing & Sustainability Practice, Grossman Marketing Group , for example, has been instrumental in developing a model program for his company, which offsets 100% of its energy use through an organization called Renewable Choice Energy. This allows Grossman Marketing’s customers to credibly claim they make their printed collateral with certified wind power. In addition, Grossman has replaced petroleum-based window material in its window envelopes with corn-based material, which is both compostable and recyclable. Although the corn-based windows cost more, Grossman said, the company absorbs the premium so its customers pay the same as if they’d bought the petroleum-based ones.

According to Grossman, the company’s sustainability practices confer benefits in terms of increased sales, reduced costs, and more productive recruitment. But he advised the audience that sustainability isn’t something you can just say you do. “Customers are smart,” he said, “and they are conversant with the issues. They can discern a real commitment.” Transparency is important, he said. “Give people a way to dig down and investigate.” If you work at it and you are sincere, he said, you can use sustainability as a competitive advantage.

Mary McCormick, Senior Account Manager, Neenah Paper Inc., said her company was committed to manufacturing products with high post-consumer waste content, FSC-certification, and reduced carbon footprint. Before delving into some of the technical aspects of sustainable paper manufacture, she may have confirmed Grossman’s assertion about competitive advantage when she noted that the invitation for President Obama’s inauguration was printed on Neenah paper, chosen because of the company’s sustainability practices.

FSC certification, which is the premier paper certification standard, guarantees a chain of custody for pulp products from the harvest site to the finished product. It doesn’t simply guarantee sustainability. It also addresses social issues (e.g., rights of indigenous peoples) and forest recovery as well. Neenah’s website offers a calculator you can use to find the environmental savings you will achieve by using FSC papers. Neenah has also developed no-new-tree papers, including one manufactured from sugar cane bagasse.

The panel presentations were followed by a lively discussion in which some members of the audience sought proof that sustainability practices could increase sales. None of the panelists could cite such proof, but Ben Grossman stepped up and said that if anyone in the room wanted to conduct a test to determine whether a legitimate green logo would boost response to a mailing, his company was willing to subsidize it. There’s a man who backs up his belief in sustainability!

My firm was chosen to be a Green Power Partner in 2008 because we offset 100% of our energy with Green-e certified wind power – we have continued the initiative and have gotten a number of our suppliers to join our consortium (we work with Renewable Choice Energy).
Below are the notable changes:

1. Minimum purchase percentages have risen for an organization to be able to be included in the program
2. Program requires purchase of new renewable energy, rather than from existing sources.  As the announcement stated, “The Partnership’s primary objective is to reduce the greenhouse gas intensity of the U.S. power sector by increasing renewable energy supply.”
3. Window for making an initial green power purchase has tightened – new partners will only have 6 months (rather than the previously-allowed 12) to make an initial purchase.  I like this change because companies won’t be able to market their involvement in the program without making the necessary investment in renewable energy…if it were up to me, I would shorten the window even further.

These are encouraging changes, as participating companies will now have to make more substantial investments in new energy sources in a shorter timeframe, helping to weed out the types of companies that join to make the minimum investment possible for the purposes of greenwashing.