Reading through Hot, Flat and Crowded, by Thomas  Friedman, I came across an interesting description of clean fuels vs. dirty fuels, by Rochelle Lefkowitz, from Pro-Media.  In a flash of brilliant simplicity she describes them as ‘Fuels from Heaven or Fuels from Hell.” The Fuels from Heaven include wind, tidal, biomass and solar power. These […]

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Well, Sustainable Brands 08 is over, and it was a great conference, (Click here for a list of sessions covered by Green Briefs), but as I digested all of the learning, I noticed a green marketing communication tactic that may be a ticking bomb. I call it ‘The Congreentulatory Statistic’. It goes like this. In […]

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The Sustainable Brands 2008 show was, like the industry it represents, sometimes a contradiction. Here, in no particular order, are my Top-10 observations on both ends of the green scale: 1. Coffee with all the right adjectives. It was nice to see a departure from the ubiquitous generic hotel swill. This selection by Thanksgiving Coffee […]

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Mark Lee, CEO SustainAbility The theme of Sustainable Brands 08 was ‘Below the Surface’. Lee takes this to a whole new level, with a look at the macro picture of corporate action and potential in the sustainability journey. He begins by describing the green movement(s) as “Waves of pressure, of interest and regulatory activity.” Waves come […]

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John Shegerian, Co-founder, Chairman & CEO, Electronic Recyclers International Tatyana Kjellberg, Manager of Strategic Programs, Product Take-back, Hewlett-Packard Brenda Mathison, Director of Environmental Affairs, Best Buy  This presentation took place against the backdrop of a June 2, 2008 press release from Best Buy, announcing an electronics take-back test program being launched in 117 stores. The […]

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Paul Polak, Founder, D-REV In 2005, The luxury goods market was worth $455 billion. $7 billion was spent on haircare products alone. Corporations spent $140 Billion on advertising in the US alone. Yet, median household net worth rose only 2% in 2 years. Ours is the very pinnacle of expenditure and wealth, yet this is […]

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Janet Eden-Harris, Averil Doering, Umbria  The irony of blogging from a blogosphere session was too much for me to resist, but this actually ended up being one of the most relevant presentations I encountered. Janet Eden Harris opened with an introduction to the scope of the blogosphere as Umbria defines it, which goes beyond wordpress-style […]

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JoAnna Abrams Founder and CEO, John Burshek, Chief Research Officer, MindClick This research organization clearly presented the chasm developing within the sustainable marketing space: The Chasm: 66% Believe business needs to change. 16% believe business is doing so. 77% are engaged in green actions 40% don’t believe it’s going any good Majority understands terms like Reduce, […]

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Erin Carlson – Director, Yahoo! For Good, Yahoo! Inc This presentation, for me, was a great example of how a mainstream property can make sustainability work. Yahoo! Green is the most trafficked green website on the planet, billing themselves as the one stop shop for the Conscious Consumer. At a more visionary level, their goal […]

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Steve Pinetti, SVP Sales and Marketing, Kimpton (Earth Care) Hotels Jeff Slye, CEO, BEC & Strategic Advisor, Business Evolution Consulting Kimpton has long focused on quality of service and creating a guest experience, helping guests maintain their lifestyle while on the road. But since 2005 they have gone even further with their EarthCare program. Founded […]

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