READY366     NEW YORK NY

READY366 is a brand innovation agency committed to creating better consumer experiences. READY366 is located in the heart of New York City and is comprised of a unique team of branding experts whose diverse talents and fresh thinking form a new model for creating successful brands in this new day. Our expertise includes consumer trends and insights, brand strategy, graphic and industrial packaging design, and sustainable design & production.

When and why did your firm become interested in environmentally friendly graphic design? A couple of years ago, we noticed a shift in the brand landscape where consumers were beginning to care more about brands in terms of how and where the products were made, if they were good for them and if they were good for the environment. We saw this as an important area to address, not only as brand stewards, but as stewards of the environment as well. As a response to this shift in mindset, we launched our company on February 29, 2008. We are answering to the tremendous need to create packaging that not only reduces environmental impacts, but also improves user experience and emphatically delivers on a brand's unique promise and essence.

Are the thrust of your efforts internal or external? Both. We believe that sustainability is a way of thinking and behaving, and in order to create successful green solutions for our clients, we needed to live by our own words. We hired Dinah Davidson as our Chief Sustainability Officer and she leads all our efforts both internally, from an office space, cultural and workflow perspective, and externally, as a green materials and design consultant.

Can you tell us in a little more detail about the internal and external changes? Can you give us an example of a green project you have done for a client? One of the most interesting initiatives we implemented internally is our Green With Envy Contest. We award an employee $250 in "greenbacks" if they are able to develop and implement a green initiative that proves both a measurable Earth savings and a cost savings to the company over a sustainable period. Our people have so much ingenuity and we wanted for everyone to find their own voice in our efforts.

As far as clients, we are currently in the process of developing a total package redesign for a major beverage brand that will reduce environmental impacts substantially. It's not ready for prime time yet, but soon it will be.

Can being 'green' help you in your marketing and sales to gain new projects and clients? First of all, you have to define what "being green" actually means, as there are many ways to do this and it's much easier to say it than to actually be it. So before companies can even think about marketing "green", they need to have a total level of commitment, make the investments and gain the expertise. Secondly, being "green" is only one part of the equation. Consumers buy brands to enjoy a unique benefit and experience, and this entails creating powerful strategies and design solutions beyond sustainability. Marketing green alone is not enough.

As a practical matter, does the economic slowdown effect make it hard to be "green"? Not really. Choosing to create a more sustainable solution can often reduce overall costs, including materials and transport, just to name a few. In some cases, you might need to make a major capital investment because you are making a change to your manufacturing line, but that will payoff over the long term. Being green is a practical matter, and that's the way to look at it.