A-Z of green marketing

December 2009

There are hundreds of ways to do green marketing. Some of the ideas in this A-Z will work for your organisation; others will not. In any case, it’s a good place to start. Enjoy!

A is for awards

Winning an eco-award is a great way to establish your green credentials and distinguish you from your competitors.

The Green Awards recognise creative work that communicates the importance of corporate social responsibility, sustainable development and ethical best practice. Past winners include O2, Honda F1 and Cadbury.

B is for brand

How far will you go to be green? Get this across in your branding.

The Body Shop, one of the UK’s greenest brands, believes there is only one way to be beautiful: “nature's way”. The company applies this thinking to the way it does business, makes products and sources ingredients. As a result, it is practically synonymous with green.

C is for corporate social responsibility

Many businesses see the greening of their businesses as a core part of their CSR programmes.

Beaverbrooks the jeweller heads the The Sunday Times list of the ‘Best 100 Companies’ for 2009. Every year, the company gives 20% of post-tax profits to charity, and staff choose which cause to support.

D is for demographics

The environment is a concern for people from all age groups and socioeconomic levels.

That’s why thinking about the non-green benefits of your product or service is often the best way to define your target audience. This is what John Grant refers to as “great first, green second” in his Green Marketing Manifesto.

E is for eco-labels

Eco-labels help to make your brand more credible. They tell consumers whose external standards you are complying with, or who you are working in partnership with.

The Soil Association certifies 80% of organic produce in the UK. Customers recognise its label as the ultimate mark of organic integrity.

F is for funding

Funding initiatives make it easier for companies to go green.

There are several organisations that make grants available to help businesses offset the costs of buying energy-efficient equipment, and to develop new eco-friendly products. Try the Carbon Trust for starters.

G is for greenwashing

Greenwashing is taking something normal and making it seem greener than it really is. If your customers think you’re lying about your eco-credentials, you lose their trust and devalue your product and brand.

Greenwashing has been the downfall of some big UK brands. Consumer blogs and other social media are quick to expose offenders.

H is for hospitality

"Negative public perception of elaborate corporate hospitality in the current climate of redundancies and pay freezes has discouraged many companies from public displays of spending," says a report by business-to-business market researcher MBD.

But face-to-face communication with senior decision makers is still a vital part of the marketing mix. For a truly green corporate hospitality experience within easy reach of the M4, check out Sheepdrove Organic Farm’s Eco Conference Centre.

I is for ink

Greener materials make greener brochures, flyers and business cards.

Apple Print uses vegetable-based inks. The Newbury printer takes its eco credentials seriously and has put much time and effort into achieving two environmental standards – from the Forestry Stewardship Council and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification.

J is for junk mail

According to MyCustomer.com, direct mail accounts for approximately 550,000 tonnes of household waste each year. You can help counter this by cleansing your contact list, or eliminate the need for paper altogether by switching to email newsletters.

You can improve your green credentials by asking your staff to cancel any print magazines they don’t want to receive.

K is for knowledge

You are launching a new green product. Unless your customers already understand its green benefits, you will need to explain a thing or two.

Few of UPS Systems’ customers were familiar with fuel cells when the company introduced them to its product portfolio. UPS Systems embarked on a campaign to educate the market and raise awareness of the technology’s benefits and, one year on, has installed more units in the UK than any other company.

L is for legislation

Self-regulation, rather than legislation, governs much of the advertising industry.

The Advertising Standards Agency recently held a seminar to raise awareness of problems arising as a result of environmental and ethical claims. Claims about CO2 emissions such as carbon ‘neutral’, ‘zero’ or ‘negative’ are particularly open to challenge, as are absolute claims such as ‘100% recycled’ or ‘wholly sustainable’.

M is for messages

What green messages appeal to your customers? Are they relevant to your products and services, or the reasons people choose them?

In 2006 Ariel launched its ‘turn to 30’ campaign. Instead of focusing purely on how washing clothes at cooler temperatures protects the environment, Ariel informed customers that turning to 30 reduces the energy used by 40%, therefore saving them money. And since the product works just as well at lower temperatures, this doesn’t jeopardise the cleanliness of your washing. Ariel understands what matters to its customers, and kept the green message secondary to the cost message.

N is for natural ingredients

Natural ingredients can increase the appeal of food, drink and beauty products. As consumers become more environment- and health-conscious, they switch from chemically enhanced products to natural ones.

Innocent’s ethos is simple: “100% natural, 100% of the time”. Its smoothies, juice drinks and ready meals are free from concentrates, flavourings and additives: “pure, natural and healthy”.

O is for organic

Organic food is one of the biggest success stories of the green movement. Countless food brands have focused on positioning it as something tasty, healthy, real and desirable, and not just as something that is kinder to the planet than non-organic alternatives.

The organic niche is so attractive that everyone from Heinz and Kraft to Kellogg’s and PepsiCo is offering organic versions of standard products.

P is for packaging

Do you still use vast quantities of unnecessary packing, and encase your products in vacuum-sealed plastic shells? Less packaging helps save money (and the planet), and increases your appeal to eco-conscious buyers.

Green & Black’s prides itself on being ethical. Customers appreciate this when they find its Fairtrade products in biodegradable packaging made from 100% recycled materials.

Q is for qualitative research

Qualitative research can help you understand how to make your company greener in ways that matter to your customers.

Informed by market research, the ‘Purple Goes Green’ campaign saw Cadbury reducing its plastic packaging by 247 tonnes and cardboard by 115 tonnes. Listening to customers helped Cadbury go green and retain its market leader status.

R is for recycling

Recycling is one of the easiest ways to be greener and it’s something everyone can do.

According to wasteonline.org, industry and commerce produce about 75 million tonnes of waste each year. Of this, 68% is sent to landfill and 4% is incinerated – only 29% is recycled.

S is for sourcing locally

By sourcing products and components locally, you can reduce your travelling distances and carbon footprint, cut your production costs and improve your green credentials.

Waitrose prides itself on taking a local approach to sourcing its produce and claims it is “the only supermarket to sell local products within a 30-mile radius of a branch”.

T is for tree planting

There are many schemes that allow you to show your green commitment by doing something to help the environment.

Abbey is working with Tree Appeal to enhance its green credentials. It has pledged to plant five trees in the UK for every Green Loan a customer takes out.

U is for unified workforce

As representatives of your organisation, your employees must stay up to date with your green initiatives and promote your environmental commitment to your customers.

Nokia launched its ‘Power of We’ campaign to communicate its environmental efforts. The result was a 73% rise in awareness among its employees, over 4,000 of whom made individual environmental pledges.

V is for value

Your customers may be prepared to pay a premium for green products and services.

In a recent survey of IT managers, Symantec discovered that, all other things being equal in the technical stakes, two thirds of respondents were prepared to pay a 10% premium for the greenest technology option.

W is for word of mouth

Word of mouth marketing is one of the most powerful forms of marketing – if you get it right. Positive word of mouth creates customer loyalty and brand credibility.

IKEA made a conscious decision not to promote its eco-credentials in external communications, instead choosing to rely on word of mouth marketing. IKEA was voted the seventh greenest brand in the US and the most trustworthy institution in Sweden (80% trusted IKEA, compared to 46% who trusted the church and 32% who trusted the leading political party).

X is for (e)xclusive

Some companies position their green products as being exclusive in some way, to broaden their market appeal.

The Toyota Prius is an example of a green product endorsed by high profile celebrities like Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Will Ferrell.

Y is for you

The most striking green marketing campaigns are those that focus on ‘you’, the customer and not just ‘we’, the company. You stand to build stronger relationships with your customers if you find ways to help them to make a difference, rather than just telling them about the difference you are making all by yourself.

Some retailers achieve this by encouraging customers to reuse canvas bags instead of using plastic bags.

Z is for zero carbon

Many organisations choose to make radical changes to ensure their operations are carbon-free.

The UK Government’s standards for zero-carbon housing state that all new homes must be zero-carbon by 2016. A zero-carbon home is one with zero net emissions of CO2 from all energy use in the home. Our client Sovereign Housing Group is already involved in building zero-carbon houses.

For advice on how the environment might be able help your business, and vice versa, contact us.

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