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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On my return Amtrak trip from Sustainable Brands 08 in Monterey, I elected to sample life in the sleeper car, with my own little booth and bed: car 1432, room 11. This was a significant up-charge, ($257) although that price includes all meals (worth about $50) and if traveling with another person (or two…?!)  that […]

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Walking through the idyllic seaside burg of Capitola, California, my green sensibilities were assaulted by the flashing colours, gleaming steel, and deafening V-8 roar of the Capitola Hot Rod Show. These were muscle cars in their element, under a California sun, each the offspring of countless hours of hard work, mechanical ingenuity and late-night garage-creativity. […]

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In order to travel for a meeting in Capitola (near Santa Cruz) I was forced to rent a car. For the first hour and a half, I was ensnared in a ‘we’ll pick you up’ runaround fiasco (before you loose the legal pit-bulls, Enterprise Rent-A-car, let me sure you it worked out for the best) […]

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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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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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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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