June 25, 2008, Canada’s Federal Government announced new regulations for the labeling of goods making environmental or sustainability claims. As many products and companies are stampeding to the Green Frontier with nothing more eco-friendly than their slogans, we at Green Briefs took a closer look at the 63-page PDF document entitled ‘Environmental claims: A guide for industry and advertisers’. The new rules are drawn from the International Standards Organization’s policy on self-declared environmental claims. (Remember, the people who brought you the inspiringly entitled ‘ISO 14000’ Standards? Yawn.) The first thing I noticed is that the whole document is boldly labeled ‘DRAFT’. Was this a clerical error? Could Canada’s New Government possibly be guilty of Premature Announcement Release? So it would appear. I perused the document and soon found even more weasel-words:

“This guide should not be construed as regulation but will be referenced by the Competition Bureau as a first step when assessing environmental claims.”

Thank goodness. By the time anyone in Ottawa gets finished plowing through this tome, I’ll be long gone with my ill-gotten green booty. But, just in case they someday want to make an example of one of us, let’s look at a few of the nitty-green-gritties.

100% Carbon-Free A simple search for the word ‘Carbon’ produced zero results in the document. That’s right. Zero. I did it twice just to make sure. Sixty-three pages of the best environmental labeling regulations money can buy, and the planet’s biggest eco-disaster is completely ignored. Is this the Harper government’s idea of censorship by omission of emissions? Was the editor from Calgary? Whatever the reason, it makes it hard to take the rest of the document too seriously.

Nothing-friendly The document does attempt to lay waste to the common practice of green generalization. Terms like ‘Earth-friendly’ and ‘Planet-Friendly’ are to be eschewed in favour of more specific claims. (Note that according to recent research, the term ‘Eco-Friendly’ is recognized by  89% of consumers. Doh!) The regs also tread into some interesting territory life-cycle-wise. Take clause 5.7H for instance: “…Environmental claims… shall be true not only in relation to the final product but also shall take into consideration all relevant aspects of the product life cycle in order to identify the potential for one impact to be increased in the process of decreasing another.” More simply put (as I interpret it, at least), if the recycling process of a product takes more energy than manufacturing, a claim of energy savings from recycling cannot be made. A real stickler might even take Toyota to task for the amount of carbon created with the manufacture of the batteries at the heart of the Prius Hybrid. According to some calculations, manufacturing these batteries creates more carbon than the cars themselves could ever save. Smug eco-yuppies beware.

The basic premise regarding specific claims: PROVE IT. There are whole sections, sub-sections and paragraphs, duly labeled for those types who enjoy reading lengthy software license agreements, covering what is considered compostable, degradable, disassemblable, reusable, refillable, recyclable, promises longer life, energy savings, water savings or waste reduction. But it mostly comes down to this: You can’t say it without proving it’s true. Preferably using a third-party verified process. And no more burying the dirty details in the mice type. “If a carton has a claim on the front panel that requires an explanatory statement, the explanatory statement may not be on the side or back of the package, even with an asterisk to guide the reader to the other location. The statement must be with the claim.” That’s going to make for some sweet packaging design. The rotting mouths and death warnings of cigarette packages will look positively luxurious by comparison.

Kiss the green leaf goodbye. One of the most interesting stipulations in these guidelines is the prohibition on the use of natural elements in symbols: “Natural objects shall be used only if there is a direct and verifiable link between the object and the benefit claimed.” Thus a symbol of the ubiquitous leaf cannot be used alongside ‘earth-friendly’. (A term you’re not supposed to use anyhow) This is great news for graphic designers, as about 75% of these symbols will now have to be re-designed.

So when will we all get to go to the first hanging? Don’t hold your breath. Under the puffed chests of this announcement lies this simple statement, from the competition bureau’s web site:

“…businesses are free to adopt any business practice they so choose, as long as the claims they are making are not false or misleading. Therefore, while the Competition Bureau will use this Guide as a reference for evaluating environmental claims, deviations from the Guide might not, in and of themselves, represent a contravention of the Competition Act and/or the labeling statutes enforced by the Competition Bureau. Environmental claims that raise concerns under these statutes may be examined on a case-by-case basis…”

Sounds like business as usual. But as marketers, we can all learn from the new guidelines and make the marketplace a more genuine shade of green.

When I read the June 16^th news that Sony’s new 32” Bravia LCD TV uses up to 30% less energy, I was thrilled with the idea of saving the planet while sitting on the couch. In one demonstration, a press release stated, a watt-counter attached to the new 32-inch Bravia showed it consumed just 82 watts of energy to show a Blu-ray disc image of a Spanish city on its display, while a comparable model required 125 watts to show the same image. Joyous celebration! Pass the free-trade popcorn! 

But digging further, I discovered this is really nothing new. In fact Sony already received the European Green Television 2007-2008 award for its 40” Bravia KDL-40D3000. And according to one statistic, these LCD screens already use up to 67% less energy than a standard old-school CRT. So one would think this would be rich fodder for a creative ad campaign.

Instead, the brain trust at Sony (and their agency, Fallon) went with the tag-line ‘Color like no other’ – a nothingspeak statement that would make Orwell proud. Their ads over the last few years, ‘Play-Doh Bunnies’, ‘Balls’ and ‘Paint’ have spared no expense to prop up this lame line. One commenter on YouTube summed it up: “I hope they don’t get their paint from China”.

To be fair, these examples of cinematic excess have received recognition worldwide from the advertising elite, and I guess they must be moving product (although most ad awards are no measure of business success). But for my money, they fail to effectively differentiate the Sony product from any other.

How about showing some real consumer advantages of an energy-efficient TV? Watch three periods of hockey, but only use the energy of two… Show a couch potato attaching his Bravia to an exercise bike in a power failure, and having enough extra wattage to power his beer fridge… or picture a spot featuring a tree hugger biking home to his straw-bale house, grabbing a salad from the garden then settling down in front of his 32-inch Bravia to watch NASCAR.

Perhaps Sony and Fallon have some research showing consumers are more interested in bouncing rubber balls and clowns prancing in front of paint splats than in saving energy, money and the environment.

But in an era where our survival may depend on making better energy choices, I would hope a brand as iconic as Sony would lead instead of follow.

What is the best post-apocalyptic ride to park in your bunker? Wired Magazine sought some answers to this increasingly important question in a recent on-line issue. Turns out at least one reader had enough savvy to nominate the most sustainable ride on the planet to this top-10 list, a selection which seems oddly matched with the likes of the fuel-hungry Toyota FJ40 Landcruiser and the Mercedes-Benz Unimog. To quote Zip Lock, who posted the entry:

“Go ahead and laugh. Unicycles aren’t very fast and you can’t carry much, but they’re cheap, they’re reliable and you won’t have to scavenge fuel. What’s more, with both hands free you’ll have no trouble firing your rocket-propelled grenade.” 

Thanks to Green Briefs reader and World’s-Coolest-Offroad-Unicyclist Kris Holm for the heads up on this sage piece of on-line wisdom. Kris has his own specialty unicycle design and distribution company, and a web site well worth visiting just to see how far one wheel can really go. His KH24 model, shown here, is the actual cycle featured in the article.

Full disclosure: Green Briefs Blog is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Unicycle Creative, your post-apocalyptic sustainability creative and strategic resource.

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 an example of logistical brilliance, UPS discovered that by eliminating left-hand turns from their route planning, they were able to save a significant amount of fuel. The statistic presented, as of 12/2007, was actually 3 Million gallons.

DOW Chemical, not to be outdone, claims they have reduced their solid waste production by 1.6 Billion pounds – enough to fill 415 athletic fields one meter deep!

Wow! Isn’t that GREAT! Millions of gallons of petrochemicals unburned! Hundreds of football-fields devoid of DOW’s discharge, whatever that may consist of. Back slapping all around, team! I feel positively green and fuzzy all over!!

But then a traitorous part of my mind goes to work. If UPS burns 3 million gallons of fuel just sitting in left turn bays, just how much of the stuff do their trucks cook through screaming through sidestreets? And how many athletic fields are filled one meter deep by DOW’s tasty solid waste every year? These must be staggering figures. Suddenly, for me, these hardworking corporate citizens have lost their green luster.

OK, I may be a bit greenier and possibly more cynical than the target market for the average Congreentulatory Statistic. For now. But it won’t be long before more and more people are doing the math on the other side of those equations.

So think about how you communicate your sustainability milestones. Be humble. Let people know you are always trying to do better. And remember: Two wrongs don’t make a right, but three rights do make a left. Just ask any UPS driver.

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 cost could be shared. The room contains two facing seats, which make into a bed, with a drop-down bunk above. There is AC power, reading lights, climate control, curtains and a door. In these rooms it is completely permissible to bring your own liquor, and a shower is also available further down the car. The staff is friendly and accommodating (as they were in coach) and you have the advantage of exclusive access to the parlour car. This is definitely the way to travel, with the only downside (upside?) being you don’t get the chance to meet as many people. I plug in my laptop and catch up on some work, as the sun sets on Northern California. Folding down the upper bunk I catch a solid 8 hours for the first time this week. Better do some invoicing.

The last in a series of articles on Lorne’s Sustainable Journey to the Sustainable Brands 08 Conference in Monterey CA. Click here for the full list of sessions, or here for the ‘Fear & Loathing’ road trip journals.

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.

A nervous tic began behind my right eye, as my own high-octane engine-tweaking past struggled to the surface of my consciousness, and for a few hours all thoughts of carbon footprint were roughly shouldered aside by sparkling iron and blue-sky chrome. There is a visceral excitement and respect for the throaty sound of one of these finely-tuned eco-disasters that goes back to the proto-hominid who first witnessed the roar of a caged predator cat. The sheer mechanical overkill embodied in a chrome blower sticking out of a car that was designed before carbon was a crime is something to behold.

So do show cars have a place in a carbon-conscious world?
I would propose that they do. In fact, they may represent the very future of single-passenger automobiles, as over-powered, impractical, beautiful anachronisms. Carbon-spewing sculptures that remind us of the frightening roar and metallic tang of our own weakness for raw power and stark beauty. 

One in a series of articles on Lorne’s Sustainable Journey to the Sustainable Brands 08 Conference in Monterey CA. Click here for the full list of sessions, or here for the ‘Fear & Loathing’ road trip journals.

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) whereupon I finally ended up at the airport location, under the customer care of Kristopher Boudreau. Earlier, upon booking, I had been told they had no hybrid vehicles available. But as luck (and my considerable delay) would have it, a sleek charcoal grey Prius had just been dropped off. Kris was almost as excited about the Sustainable Road Trip as I was.

Let the Sustainable Road Trip continue… at 57.2 mpg.
The first thing I had to do was consult the owners manual for starting instructions. (Hold brake, insert square plastic ‘key’ and press power button) From there it was a bit like driving an electric golf cart with a gas motor that would randomly fire up. As soon as I figured out the big central touch screen, (which features a selectable readout of everything from climate control to climate-saving mileage) I was hooked on exacting as much economy as I could out of this sleek future-mobile. Numerous pick-up trucks and BMW’s cursed me as I drifted along at 55mph, one eye glued to the mileage readout. I averaged 57.2 miles-per-US-gallon over an 82-mile, mostly highway trip.

SUV’s for sale cheap.
In Capitola, one of my associates told me that dealerships were only offering $2500 – $3000 for gas-guzzling SUV’s on trade-in. A harsh wake-up for those who paid $30 – $40K and still owe $15,000.

Hummmmmm……….

One in a series of articles on Lorne’s Sustainable Journey to the Sustainable Brands 08 Conference in Monterey CA. Click here for the full list of sessions, or here for the ‘Fear & Loathing’ road trip journals.

As my sustainable road trip continues, I find myself with a day to ride around Monterey. This town has some visible signs of sustainability, with low-mow lawns and a bike trail that runs along the coast. This contrasts the 4-lane feeder highways that cris-cross through town cruelly undermining the Cannery Row atmeosphere. My rented bike, from Bay Bikes, is nimble and speedy, which is good, as I encounter strong headwinds on my way up the coast to Carmel. Homes along the way are mostly modest in size (beach and golf holiday cottages possibly) and almost all feature native plant-style landscaping instead of monoculture lawns. Carmel-by-the-sea is more ‘in-the-woods’, and is mostly a high-end shopping mall with really interesting cottage architecture.

Carmel Sustainable Restaurant Review: Grasings Coastal Cuisine. Chef/Proprietor Kurt Grasing. Although it doesn’t bill itself as an ‘organic’ restaurant, the menu does boast that they support local and organic farmers wherever possible. My waiter Cody also told me they serve only sustainable seafood, and that the catch of the day (Mahi-Mahi) was a farmed fish. Not having heard of a mahi-mahi farm, I asked him to find out where they were raised. A few minutes later, he told me it was a Hawaiian fish. Not sure about that one.

But, served on a bed of thick-cut heirloom tomatoes, couscous, feta and olives, it was delicious. I complemented it with a glass of local central coast wine, the Cycles Gladiator Pinot Noir. Appropriate given the hill I had to climb going back from Carmel to Monterey.

One in a series of articles on Lorne’s Sustainable Journey to the Sustainable Brands 08 Conference in Monterey CA. Click here for the full list of sessions, or here for the ‘Fear & Loathing’ road trip journals.

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 had a nice rich flavour, and didn’t leave me with crack-jitters by the afternoon.

2. Innovative disposable dinnerware by Verterra. Pressed leaf plates and starch-based cutlery made an impression. Not to mention they styling look that will go well with your wood-paneled rumpus room.

3. The Usual Generic Hotel Buns. This could have been the most organic, free-range, vegan-victorious pastry in town. But even if it was, you’d never know it. It tasted like pure, high-fructose corn syrup sweetened lard lovin’ to me. Not that I’d know.

4. Individually-Wrapped Multinational Salt Chips. I guess there may have been some arteries going into withdrawal from their usual sodium fix. Maybe one day they’ll figure out how to make an edible starch bag. Then we could just eat them like meds. But seriously, guys. There must be a cracked-sea-salt-organic-spud-farmer version of chips to be had.

5. Free-Range Bike Racks. I didn’t see a real one while I was here. Fortunately, the Hyatt staff seemed content to let me lock up wherever. I live for the day I can pull up to the valet, toss him my helmet and stroll into the lobby, reeking of international intrigue.

6. Complimentary Post-Consumer Waste. I guess a free newspaper is a traditional hotel thing. But when they start to stack up, it just looks like blue-box fill waiting to happen.

7. My New Wind-Powered Phone. A company called CHOICEgadget had these peel-and-stick business cards that purported to provide a year of free carbon offsets for the manufacturing and use of a typical cel-phone. Funny, my battery doesn’t seem to last any longer…
 

8. Great Green SWAG from ECOimprints. Hemp, organic cotton, biodegradable pens, and a trade-show booth that ECO imprints Partner John Borg made himself from reclaimed materials. Share the love.

9. Lighting lightly on the earth. Pulse Staging and Events provided LED lighting systems for SB08 that looked great (subtle colour-changing towers provided soothing entertainment for the patient psychadelic tripper) and use 20% of the energy of traditional lighting systems. They also run cool, which can save even more on A/C energy. President Michael Karp says they also make sure their electronic equipment is as carefully sourced, and complies with ROHS guidelines wherever possible.

10. Having a conference at all. Wouldn’t it be better just to get together over webcams? Or hold local conferences wired together with big real-time videoconferencing video walls? Or plug ourselves in like The Matrix and meet in a freaky virtual world filled with chaos and mayhem? Perhaps. But there is something innately inspiring about sharing a room with over 500 other intelligent, committed, focused professionals who share a goal to make the world greener. I know I will return to my zone much more energized and prepared to take on the forces of inertia. Until next conference, Dear Readers, stay tuned for a day of Sustainable biking in Monterey, and a return  Amtrak Trek which will likely sport some sort of adventure.

One in a series of articles on Lorne’s Sustainable Journey to the Sustainable Brands 08 Conference in Monterey CA. Click here for the full list of sessions, or here for the ‘Fear & Loathing’ road trip journals.

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 in a series, says Lee, and timing is critical. If you move too quickly or slowly, you can miss them completely.

The First Wave was environmental, and began with Rachel Carson’s iconic book, Silent Spring. This movement was a citizens approach, and response to it came from government in the form of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Revised Clean Air Act of 1970. The OPEC crisis and subsequent economic stresses, however, caused it to recede.
The Second Wave began with consumer interest in the late 80’s. ‘Green’ Businesses began to listen, but again, a recession shifted our focus, and the wave drew back.
The Third Wave was one of globalization, which Lee personified with a photo from demonstrations against the 1999 World Trade Organization meetings in Seattle. People began thinking about systems – are they fair? Social issues took centre stage. Soon after, 9-11 and subsequent fallout stalled us once again, but not, Lee notes, retreating to the same level as before. Some progress was retained.
This, The Fourth Wave, has attributes of the first three, but is focused on systems. (Climate, water, and food) This time corporations are playing a much bigger part, with big-business responses like the Toyota Prius, Wal-Mart’s supply chain greening etc.

These waves also generate divides in society. Lee lists the top 10 divides currently being created; Demographic, Financial, Nutritional, Resources, Environmental, Health, Gender, Educational, Digital and Security. These divides also create opportunity. Take the Demographic divide, for instance. The planet has just recently passed the 50+1% point where more people live in cities than in rural areas. Yet the automobile, as we know it, is designed for a much more spacious culture. Ford, in response, is now looking beyond cars, to Sustainable Mobility, imagining mega-cities where bus, trains and cars are all part of the same system, with streamlined payment and ridership options.

But for me, Lee’s biggest ‘aha’ moment came when he described the evolution companies must go through to become truly sustainable. In an ingenious hand-drawn Powerpoint chart (itself a thing of reductionist beauty) he showed the progression from incremental steps of efficiency and process, to the redevelopment of products and services to the wholesale re-engineering of entire business models. Only when we get to the third stage, he claims, will we truly be able to solve the big problems. And tthat will take some powerful talent.

The Rise of the Intrapreneur.
In every company that evolves changes, there are usually one or more core people or groups responsible for making it happen. These are the individuals with the vision to see an opportunity, the courage to take risks in an environment that may not reward them, and the sheer indefatigability to resist the energy-sapping inertia of the Big Corporation. These are the Intrapreneurs, and our success may well rest on their shoulders.Because in Lee’s words, “What a wave pushes up against creates the pressure that makes the wave bigger.”

Surf’s up.

One in a series of articles on Lorne’s Sustainable Journey to the Sustainable Brands 08 Conference in Monterey CA. Click here for the full list of sessions, or here for the ‘Fear & Loathing’ road trip journals.