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IN THIS ISSUE
PUBLISHER’S NOTE:
SUBSTANTIATION, NOT SENTIMENT
Brand strategy and design consultancy Lippincott, in conjunction with The
Climate Group, has released the findings of a consumer study on brands and
climate change. The bottom line: despite the billions spent on
“green” and “sustainable” initiatives and
advertising, 76% of U.S. respondents could not name a single brand that
is taking the lead on climate change. It seems consumer businesses are not
being recognized for their efforts in this arena. This despite the fact
that the survey also reveals that a plurality of consumers are committed
to being green, they look to business for leadership, and they are seeking
likeminded companies with which to deal. This survey is remarkably
consistent — at least in spirit — with several others finding
that consumer companies trying to brand themselves as “green”
are coming up short. The Lippincott report suggests a reason: environmental
marketing messages may be too general and too feel-goody to overcome the
skeptical nature of today’s audience. In a nutshell, consumers who
care at all want and need more substantiation and less sentiment.
http://www.lippincott.com
— Gordon Kaye
PS: The study did find that some consumer organizations do a better
job than others at conveying the message, with GE, BP, Toyota at the top.
THINKING GREEN
In The Bag
The Burning Man Art Festival in the Nevada desert is the home to many
visual (and other) surprises. But next week, none will top the first
showing of “2663 Urban Tumbleweeds,” an eco-art installation
by graphic design firm MSLK. Seeking to raise community awareness of
plastic bags as a common sign and symbol of waste and overconsumption,
the Long Island City NY-based design firm came up with the idea of a
graphic statement on a grand scale: an art installation 2663 bags,
which represents the number consumed in the U.S. each minute. At Burning
Man, the bags are to be tied to the “Trash Fence” —
a name participants use to refer to the boundary fence that keeps
participants and trash inside the festival limits. Signage, made from
recycled vinyl graphics, tells the story of the environmental impact of
the bags. No new bags were harmed in making this project. The project,
note principals Marc S Levitt and Sheri L Koetting, began with a visit
to drop-off boxes at local stores to collect used bags.
http://www.mslk.com
Precyling
The Intelligence Group, a research organization specialzing in youth
and consumer culture, observes a new trend that is poised for growth.
It’s called precycling, the practice of working to avoid products
that create more superfluous stuff — everything from buying bulk
in order to avoid excess packaging to reusing everything from water
bottles to shopping bags — rather than throwing things in the
recycle bin and letting waste management sort it out. In the past six
months, 45% of trendsetters and 14% of mainstream consumers have
“cut down on bottled water purchases” according to The
Intelligence Group’s Cassandra Report. The report also found that
49% and 16%, respectively, have “cut down on use of plastic
bags” during the same period. Melissa Lavigne, director of
marketing for The Intelligence Group, said, “It’s not just
about how you dispose of [products and packaging] anymore. It’s
about being conscious about products you buy in the first place.
That’s the idea behind precycling.”
http://www.intelg.com
 Green Patriotism
Begun in 2006 as a project to photograph landscapes around the world
most acutely affected by global warming, the Canary Project is an
organization which produces visual media, events, and artwork to help
build public understanding of climate change and energize commitment
to solutions. Its varied strategies include visualizing global warming
in compelling ways that communicate a sense of urgency, cultivate
media attention to further inform the public, and distribute information
on concrete actions people can take to cut carbon emissions. The latest
project, a series of Green Patriotism posters by Pentagram’s
Michael Bierut for his hometown of Cleveland. Designed in concert with
a Canary Project exhibit this summer at The Cleveland Museum of Natural
History, the posters have been featured — with the green silhouette
of a Revolutionary War Minuteman as its emblem — in 60 buses
throughout the city to urge ridership.
http://blog.pentagram.com/2008/07/green-patriotism-1.php or
http://www.canary-project.org
Sundance Tripping
The Sundance Channel has announced that the network is moving forward with
the production of an eight-part series, titled “Eco-Trip: The Real
Cost of Living.” Each of the one-half hour episodes will trace the
eco-life of an everyday item such as a cotton t-shirt, salmon, a cell phone
or a bottle of water from production to disposal, revealing the environmental,
social, and health effects along the way. Hosted by David de Rothschild,
founder of Adventure Ecology — an organization that uses adventure
and storytelling to raise media awareness and inspire individuals,
communities and industry to take positive environmental action —the
series will include a proactive component, educating viewers on the decisions
they can make to live a greener lifestyle.
http://www.sundancechannel.com
SPECIAL FOCUS: GREEN MEDIA SHOW AND
SUSTAINABILITY WORKSHOP
SustainCommWorld is a consultant and event organizer working to
educate communication professionals from corporations and institutions
on the production of sustainable media, and the associated business
challenges and opportunities that face the graphic arts community and
those involved in media production. SustainCommWorld’s next major
event — The Green Media Show, a conference and expo set for
October 1-2 in Boston MA — explores the issues of sustainability,
profit and costs. GDUSA is involved in two ways. First, our readers
are being offered a $500 dollar reduction off the full conference price
(use discount code 5164:396 when you register). Second, GDUSA is
sponsoring the Design for Sustainability Pre-Conference Workshop on
September 30. It addresses the new issues raised by sustainability for
product design, and finding a reasonable solution for product materials
and packaging, containers and minimal carbon footprints. It is hosted
by Marc Alt, creative director, Marc Alt + Partners (shown here), a
design and brand strategy firm specializing in environmental strategies.
Here, our readers receive a $99 discount (use the code 3749:396). The
first 300 registrations to the full conference also receive a limited
edition, signed, dedicated Peter Max SustainCommWorld poster.
www.sustaincommworld.com/general/why_attend.asp
www.sustaincommworld.com/conference_programs/pre_conf_workshops.asp
MORE THINKING GREEN
Pairing Pizza And Packaging
Pizza Hut, now the largest pizza restaurant chain, will be making some
environmentally friendly changes. The company is pairing a health-conscious
pizza made of whole grain with organic ingredients with a new pizza box
that will be consist of 75 percent recycled content. It is being
introduced initially in Tampa, Florida, and Dallas in coming weeks,
and rolled out nationally later this year. The pairing of healthier
foods with eco-friendly packaging is becoming a pattern... See the
Burger King Kids Meal Redefined combining a nutritious child offering
with recycled paper bags in the July GDUSA Green Enews.
http://www.gdusa.com/egdusa/pages/080729-green.html
Green Mail
An interesting approach from France. Paris-based direct marketing agency
TBWA\Excel launches its Mailing Vert service (Le Mailing Vert) in
partnership with an envelope maker, printer and mailing house. Excel is
an agency of TBWA group specializing in fundraising and commitment to
social service associations, foundations and corporate citizens. The
concept: provide Excel's customers, many of whom are non-profits, with a
greener offer. Partners in Mailing Vert must promise to adhere to a
charter including four principles: (1) To protect the environment, such
as by purifying all waste water and using vegetable-based inks, solvents
and cleaning agents. (2) To preserve raw materials and protect natural
resources through the use of paper that is either recycled or derived from
sustainably managed forests. (3) To track waste and minimize energy
consumption, such as by optimizing transportation networks. (4) To measure
and offset the ecological impact of each phase of the direct mail process.
http:www.mailingvert.fr
Going Green Guide
PR News has published an extensive Going Green guidebook, which offers
strategies for greening a business. Diane Schwartz, vice president and
group publisher of PR News, edited the 200+ page guide. She comments that
“most companies are in the early stages of going green and
there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to environmental responsibility.
By providing perspectives and ideas from hundreds of executives across the
globe, this Guidebook should give our readers a clear idea of what’s
working, and just as importantly, what’s not, when it comes to going
green.” Included are numerous profiles of companies that have reinvented
or reconfigured their businesses to be more environmentally responsible.
Among the topics: manufacturing, printing and design, and CSR reporting and
tactics. It is for sale on the PR News website.
http://www.prnewsonline.com/store/13.html
Measuring Is Next Step
Rizco Design, Manasquan NJ, is the reputedly the first graphic design firm
in the country to be accepted into the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency’s Climate Leaders program. As part of the program, Rizco has
pledged to measure and reduce its corporate-wide greenhouse gas emissions
over a period of five years. Says Debra Rizzi: “We dedicated the
last year to going green starting with how our office operates, to the
creative process of a project and to the final project. Measuring our
greenhouses gas emissions and setting reduction goals was the obvious
next step. Considering that 26.8 million small businesses (less than
500 employees) were calculated in the U.S. in 2006, it is obvious that
small business collectively play an integral role in global warming.”
http://www.epa.gov/climateleaders and
http://www.rizcodesign.com
QUOTE OF THE MONTH: GREEN MEANS GROWTH
“The successful business model of the future will be
‘green’. Sustainability has become a core strategy and goal
at Unisource... and we are committed not only to distributing products and
services that help businesses respect our environment and people, but also
to partnering with our suppliers to educate businesses on how to make their
operations cleaner and healthier for long-term sustainability. In this new
era, it is the way to higher growth and profitability.”
Unisource Worldwide symposium on sustainability held in late July at
the Emory Conference Center in Atlanta
http://www.unisourcegreen.com
COMPANY DEVELOPMENTS
Biomass Breakthrough
In the spring of 2009, Smart Papers complete a groundbreaking high
efficiency, co-generation power plant. The $30 million facility will
ultimately use 100% biomass fuel (short-fiber cellulostic waste typically
found in landfill) to generate electricity and steam that will operate the
papermaker’s mill in Hamilton OH. Chairman Tim Needham reports that
Smart Papers will become the first North American paper manufacturer, and
second in the world, to move to biomass for power-generation needs, according
to Tim Needham. The end result: its papers will be carbon neutral and produced
fossil free. In addition to contributing to the State of Ohio’s goal of
reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the company is expected to sell clean power
to the regional electrical grid. Needham says that Smart “will leave the
lightest environmental footprint of any premium coated or uncoated printing
paper produced in North America.” Adds president and coo Dan Maheu:
“We will be a more efficient manufacturer, fiscally and environmentally
responsible, and energy independent.”
http://www.smartpapers.com/newgrntest/About/release.asp?NewsID=96
Taking The Pledge
Monadnock Paper Mills has become one of the first small businesses to
join the EPA’s Climate Leaders Program. As such, Monadnock has pledged
to reduce its corporate-wide greenhouse gas emissions. The industry-government
partnership that works to develop comprehensive climate change strategies,
and to help partner companies such as Monadnock reduce their impact on the
environment by completing a third party audited environmental mangement stem,
set aggressive reduction goals, and annually report their progross to the EOP.
Says Richard Verney, chairman and ceo of the family-owned mill: “Monadnock
has a long history of using clean, renewable energy and of continuously
improving our environmental footprint. Joining the Climate Leaders program
is a natural extension of our commitment to the environment.”
http://www.epa.gov/stateply/index.html
http://www.mpm.com/news/
Paper Podcast
“On Paper” is a bi-weekly, interview-based program focusing on relevant
issues associated with sustainability trends, and featuring interviews with
experts in the field of corporate responsibility, renewable energies, health
and wellbeing. The podcast initiates a dialogue that producer NewPage
Corporation, the largest coated papermaker in North America, hopes will serve
as a platform for measurable change — within the paper industry and every
other industry in which ethical and environmental stewardship is a core value
to both the company and its customers. New episodes are posted every other
Thursday at noon PST.
http://papertellsastory.com/podcasts (iTunes under Management & Marketing)
Certificate Presented
Admore, a popular presentation products company, is the first Ennis facility
to receive FSC Chain of Custody Certification. The certificate gives Admore
the ability to place and print the FSC logo on the projects that meet the strict
standards of the FSC criteria. Bill Tignanelli, General Manager of Admore,
said, “This certification continues Admore’s efforts to provide
environmentally responsible products. The Admore staff can advise distributors
on a green approach to design, production and manufacturing processes on all
of our presentation products.”
http://www.admoreonline.com
FSC-Certified Bestseller
HarperCollins has chosen Fibermark’s new Multicolor 80 line of
lightweight cover papers to jacket its international best sellers, “The
Daring Book for Girls” and “The Dangerous Book for Boys.”
Fibermark produces specialty covering materials for publishing and luxury
packaging. The Multicolor 80 line is not only available in a full spectrum
of colors and widths, specially designed for foil, ink and blind stamping, but
is also FSC certified. “HarperCollins took a very savvy approach to
marketing these books, and the cover paper they chose reflected their
strategy,” said Susan Hurt, vice president of marketing at FiberMark.
http://www.fibermark.com/multicolor
MICROSOFT EXPRESSION STUDIO BRINGS YOUR VISION TO REALITY
Microsoft Expression Studio takes your creative possibilities to a new
level. The professional design tools and innovative technologies in Expression
Studio give you the flexibility and freedom to bring your vision to reality
— whether you are designing standards-based Websites, rich user
experiences for the desktop and Silverlight, or managing digital assets
and content.
http://www.microsoft.com/expression/
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Top 25 Green Colleges
As compiled by Kaplan Publishing, in alphabetical order:
Arizona State University
Bates College
Berea College
Bowdoin College
Carleton College
Carnegie Mellon University
College of the Atlantic
Dartmouth College
Dickinson College
Duke University
Grand Valley State University
Hamilton College
Harvard University
MIT
Middlebury College
Oberlin College
Penn State University
Santa Clara University
Tufts University
University of California
University of New Hamphire
UNC, Chapel Hill
University of Vermont
University of Washington
Yale University
www.kaplanpublishing.com
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