Green Marketing

Live from London: Ken Livingstone, Al Gore, and lots of great environmental news coverage

If you haven't looked across the Atlantic lately, at least in a certain direction, the view is enchanting. The Guardian maintains an excellent online section for environmental news, with tabs for the major issue areas.

Much-maligned prime minister Gordon Brown announces a national effort to help homeowners make their houses environmentally friendly. The complex undertaking is a series of concatenated initiatives, to be tracked and funded separately.

The new scheme includes the launch of an "Act On CO2 advice line," which will give callers across the country information on how to use less energy in their homes, save water, reduce waste, adopt greener travel methods and get information about grants and offers from energy companies.

The government said it would provide £100m for the Energy Saving Trust to deliver a broader program for green homes, which will see the rollout of a network of one-stop advice center around the country over the next 12 months.

The package of measures also includes a "green makeover" for up to 100 communities in England to cut their carbon footprints. The green neighborhoods initiative will encourage communities to focus on homes with carbon footprints that are hard to reduce, such as Victorian terraces and tower blocks.

The scheme, backed by up to £10m from the government's environmental transformation fund, will also target properties which use gas or oil for heating and action outside the homes, including efficient street lighting and community energy projects.

I hope Obama and Hilary are listening. Lots of "tower blocks" in the United States could use some assistance. In other news, London mayor Ken Livingstone talks about environmental issues in the current mayoral race, scheduled for May 1. Livingstone is daring, has lots of viable ideas, and boasts a successful track record of getting something as seemingly radical and controversial as congestion pricing enacted in his city. I hope U.S. mayors, including Seattle's Greg Nickels, are paying attention. (Disclaimer: The discussion in the broadcast covers many different issues, not just Livingstone's initiatives.)

And if you're observing Al Gore's sizeable tracks, The Guardian provides a fine compendium of his current activities. Mercifully, the coverage omits speculation about another presidential run by Gore.

Al Gore yesterday launched a drive to mobilize 10 million volunteers to force politicians to act on climate change—twice as many as the number who marched against the Vietnam War or in support of civil rights during the heyday of U.S. activism in the 1960s.

During the next three years, his Alliance for Climate Protection plans to spend U.S.$300m (about £150m) on television advertising and online organizing to make global warming among the most urgent issues for elected American leaders.

The We Can Solve the Climate Crisis initiative aims to build up pressure on the next U.S. president to support stringent mandatory emissions controls when they come before Congress, and take a leadership role at the renegotiation of the Kyoto treaty.

Environmental activists yesterday described the plan as the most ambitious public campaign launched in the United States.

"The resources are completely unprecedented in American politics," said Philip Clapp, of the Pew Environment Group. It is equally ambitious in targets. The Alliance has already reached out to organizations as diverse as the Girl Scouts and the steelworkers union to try to broaden its appeal.

Thank you, President Gore!

Mountains ahead, actually

Depending on what you pay attention to, it could be easy to assume that large parts of the world are in general agreement that climate change is happening, the environment is in trouble, global population growth is out of control, and people and businesses can help create awareness and take action to ameliorate the situation.

But that consensus depends largely on your perspective and to what extent you choose to see what you're most comfortable with. On the West Coast, indeed, many individuals and organizations may share certain ideas regarding our environmental responsibilities. However, we may be ahead of our governments. And some businesses may move in a green direction simply, and maybe occasionally a little superficially, because it's the profitable and prudent thing to do, aside from whatever convictions their executives may hold. (Not that they shouldn't.)

Consider the well-published case of James Hansen, one of the world's leading climate scientists and head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies since 25 years. Author Mark Bowen, in a new book called Censoring Science: Inside the Political Attack on Dr. James Hansen and the Truth of Global Warming, describes how the current U.S. administration tried to control NASA scientists' ability to communicate with the public and worked hard to prevent public understanding of climate change and its consequences.

Hansen and Bowen spoke on Democracy Now and NPR. As of now, the NPR site offers the first chapter of Bowen's book, which makes for riveting reading (and could have benefited from some editing).

We quote from the Democracy Now interview:

"Well, my concern is general with both Republican and Democratic administrations. They both feel that they can control what scientists say to the public. So their offices of public affairs in the science agencies are headed, in general, by political appointees, and they review the press releases before they go out. So, it doesn’t really make sense in a democracy. The public should be honestly informed. And then, of course, the publications are allowed to make the decisions, and they don’t have to follow exactly what the science says. There are other considerations that they have. But they shouldn’t influence what is presented, the scientific evidence. And I object to that, regardless of which administration is in power.

"... the one particular event that stands out in my mind is when I wrote a paper called “Global Warming in the 21st Century: An Alternative Scenario,” in which I emphasized that it’s not only carbon dioxide, but other climate forcings—methane and black soot—and we need to address those also. And for some reason, the people in the White House didn’t like emphasis on the non-CO2 parts of the story, and I just—the press release just kept coming back, and I would try to change it, they would change it, and finally I gave up. I just couldn’t get a press release through the way I wanted it.

"... they don’t even admit that it’s going to the White House. You know, it goes to NASA headquarters, and then it sort of disappears for a couple weeks. And where is it? Well, it’s very often at the White House, and I mentioned that. And now, they tried not to make that known, you know? And that’s, again, something that’s very inappropriate, in my opinion. And again, it’s happened in both administrations."

Al Gore was certainly deserving of the Nobel Prize he received, especially given the reasons named for his selection. But what happened when the Nobel committee considered Hansen, who surely had been nominated for one of the awards? Maybe next time.

Greenwashing goes to the movies

Because the film "Michael Clayton" ran for months in a neighborhood I usually refuse to visit, I didn't see it until last weekend. I was glad I did. George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton, and other actors do excellent work. The story is exceptionally well told. And it has a lovely greenwashing angle.

It's hard to pinpoint what exactly Unorth, a fictional company, actually does. The first description we hear of it in the movie is numbingly vague. It makes mention of resources... outsourcing... business values... Eventually, you find out that one of Unorth's products played a role in killing people. And you see the pretty commercial, played from a giant screen at Times Square, then repeated many times while Wilkinson's character records and replays it in his loft.

For a connoisseur of greenwashing, that commercial is a masterpiece. It features a diverse crowd of humans, a gentle-but-strong voiceover, and soft-but-thrilling music. Imagery offers lively green, earthy brown, and children playing with soil. A blossoming flower sprouts up between the "U" and the "north" of "Unorth" into vibrant life. The commercial's structure emphasizes three core values, which I unfortunately forgot, but I'm sure they're crowding the back of my head.

When I looked at the latest agenda of Globe2008 in Vancouver, B.C., I was frequently reminded of that brilliant commercial and the film in which it resides. The event program amounts to a lexicon of environmentally themed advertising with the words and images deemed most relevant by business marketers, including the popular tripartite assignment of important notions: Invest, collaborate, educate... Efficiency, innovation, partnership... Frankness, clarity, insight... Engage, listen, act... Main other keywords include the usual suspects: sustainability, green, responsible, right, environment, growing, efficient, planet, clean, save, difference, and a few others. Download GL08_confProgram.pdf 

Globe2008 starts tonight with a reception. People and companies are often more interesting than what they share in their advertising, and I look forward to meeting them and hearing their stories at the event. I'll be sure to share any examples of environmentally themed marketing that seem praiseworthy, and I hope I can suppress the righteously evil inclination to point out the more obnoxious greenwashing.

Enter to qualify for CEO Magazine award, meet green persons at Sculpture Park

Washington CEO magazine is calling for entries for its "Green Washington Awards."

WE ARE LOOKING FOR LEADERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL AND SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES IN ALL INDUSTRY SECTORS.      

Washington CEO Magazine invites you to enter the first GREEN WASHINGTON AWARDS. It's an opportunity for your company, it's management and employees to be recognized for contributions to maintaining the environment of the Evergreen State.

Tell us what you're doing. You may be featured in Washington CEO Magazine!

Green Washington Awards will recognize companies and organizations whose initiatives and actions shape, educate and provide a catalyst for environmental sustainability--clean technology, recycling, carbon footprints, and more--in Washington state.

There is no cost to participate.

• Simply complete this online survey.
• A panel of judges will select the top companies in the state. Judges are:  Joan Crooks, Washington Environmental Council executive director; Ben Packard,  Starbucks director of Environmental Affairs; William Ruckelshaus, Madrona Venture Group; Jon Naimon, Light Green Advisors, LLC, management partner; Gifford Pinchot III, Bainbridge Graduate Institute president; and Doug Walker.
• Submissions are encouraged from companies of all sizes, non-profits and government agencies.
• Winners and finalists will be honored at an awards event in May 2008. Award winners and their accomplishments will be featured in Washington CEO Magazine.

Reviewing the entry form at first made me think the magazine is mostly interested in companies that make and market environmentally valuable products or services, or that show innovative leadership in practicing environmental values. But I was wrong. Verification with an instant, friendly response from the publication made it clear that they're being more inclusive than that. Companies of all sizes are welcome, and CEO Magazine is interested in showing the breadth of what organizations and their people do to help the environment. The awards event will be held at the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle on May 21. Given that the site of the Sculpture Park used to be one of the more environmentally compromised spots in the city, the turnaround to one of the best places on the West Coast to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon, and now to become the site of the Green Awards is heartening.

Check out the panel of judges to get a sense of the credibility of these awards, which will probably showcase some interesting contributions that should be better known, in addition to giving some latecomers an easy way to hop aboard the green wagon. Some people just need more help than others.

In San Francisco, mayor and leading paper do today what most everybody else will get around to tomorrow

A week-long trip to the Bay Area gave me a chance to catch up with the region's environmental news.

Back in the mid-nineties, SFGate already was one of the more interesting and complete news sites, and today, it's still a worthwhile resource for news about San Francisco, the Bay Area, and California. Initially a joint undertaking by the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Examiner, after ownership changes that brought the Chronicle to the Hearst Corporation and the Examiner into irrelevance, the site is still the online home of the Chronicle and almost indistinguishable from it.

SFGate offers a Green section that parallels the quarterly environmental-themed sections of the Chronicle. As of today, the last edition featured is from October 19, 2007, a long quarter ago.

However, the Chronicle and SFGate provide environmental news also in another area of the site. Focus here appears to be mostly regional and West Coast, but articles to do with more-or-less environmental events from the rest of the world (such as what's happening with elephant culling in South Africa) also find themselves recycled here.

The Chronicle's extensive coverage is light years ahead of many other urban and regional newspapers, and probably has a lot to do with values and attitudes of Bay Area readers. The paper also employs an environment editor, Audrey Cooper, who as recently as a September 2007 conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists was an assistant metro editor at the paper. The print issue features daily half-page ads with a picture of Cooper next to the prominent tagline: "Coverage that moves beyond the trendiness of being 'green'." "Green staff" is listed on a separate page, and you can contact the team at green@sfchronicle.com.

Sophisticated enough not to simply join in the green choir, on February 20, the Chronicle cast a critical eye at the recent creation of a  "director of climate protection initiatives" by San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom. The salary for this position is said to be a neat $160,000 annually. The tone of the article is a little too populist for me, but still... It's remarkable that San Francisco is not just implementing environmental policies, but they have already become part of what some people consider excessive spending and a bloated mayoral administration. Even Ross Mirkarimi, lone Green Party member on the city's board of supervisors, criticizes the mayor's green empire building.

One might expect someone with such an exalted handle to solve global warming and save the rainforest all in a day's work.

But the new climate protection initiatives director is just the latest person to join the city payroll in the name of tackling global climate woes, raising questions about whether environmentalism is becoming the latest excuse for a bloating government payroll.

San Francisco has at least two dozen other city employees already working directly on climate issues at a cost to taxpayers of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"Although it sounds very well intentioned, and perhaps even necessary, I'm concerned this is a case where eco-chic has gone out of control," said Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, the only Green Party member on the Board of Supervisors.

Newsom's critics in City Hall have pounced on the amorphous "climate protection" title and have blasted the mayor for creating the new role—as well as for creating new jobs for other members of his senior circle and doling out hefty pay raises—while the city braces for a projected $233 million deficit next fiscal year and lawmakers contemplate reducing hospital operating room hours and delaying playground improvement projects to balance the budget.

The article goes on to discuss existing environmentally-focused roles in the city's government, makes a good case for the existence of substantial redundancy (which might actually justify a new director's position, as long as the person in that job can streamline things), and lists what salaries the city employees in current jobs related to climate and environmental issues receive. Personally, I think this is great news. Most other cities don't even have environmental directors and an abundance of green bureaucrats to worry about. The lucky San Franciscans can keep an eye on these persons' effectiveness and critique the mayor for using environmental initiatives to house loyalists and green-shower voters. Download sfgate_director_of_climate_protection_initiatives_02202008.pdf

Environmental policy with both real and projected accomplishments play a major role in the life of the city and its mayor; don't expect any changes in that regard. Just yesterday, Gavin Newsom announced that San Francisco has received a second-place rating as one of America's greenest cities by Popular Science Magazine. Browsing around the mayor's press releases and announcements, you can soon see a pattern that combines environmental commitment, results, and propaganda. Consider, for example, the 2005 press release on phase II of the mayor's clean and green initiative and the naming of the city's first "director of city greening." People elsewhere might just turn green from jealousy.

Emerald Exceptions

The Washington Clean Technology Alliance describes itself as "a business alliance for clean technology sectors in the state of Washington. Its mission is to secure Washington's position as a leader in clean technologies by supporting businesses to take full advantage of industry opportunities emerging in the region and around the world."

The Alliance is participating in Globe 2008, a large tradeshow for environmental technologies, products, and services. "We will occupy half of the entire U.S. Pavilion," at the show, the Alliance states. This event happens March 12 to 14 of this year at the not-too-green Convention & Exhibition Centre in downtown Vancouver, B.C., colloquially known as "Canada Place."

It's worthwhile keeping an eye on the Alliance and what it will be able to accomplish for Washington businesses and the environment. In recent weeks, one keeps hearing about the Seattle area as one exception to the threat of a nationwide recession. The innovations of green business may play a large role in keeping the regional economy sound.

Consider the Alliance exceptional in another way as well. It just doesn't seem typical for our region. Or does it? Seattle city government is famous for being process-driven and frequently inconclusive. Right or wrong, the state has a similar reputation. Note, then, that the Alliance was founded as recently as March 29, 2007, and the list of members already begins to read like a who's who of leading companies and public entities. Organizational preparations goes back a few more years, but happened within very recent memory.

During the next few weeks, we'll take a closer look at some of the Alliance's members and how they represent themselves with their environmental accomplishments.

What good is sustainability? From news fluff to serious inquiry in two or three easy steps

Marketplace, a channel for business and political news offered by American Public Media, delivers a daily Marketplace Morning Report. On the radio, the content is light: introduction, music, a news tidbit, some static from your local radio station if you live in a hilly area, a sponsor spot, another news tidbit, and on you go to more static, traffic, and weather. This morning, I happened to catch mention of Marketplace's Greenwash Brigade and checked it out online.

Several "hand-picked environmental professionals" consider companies' environmental claims on behalf of their products and services. Brigade members belong to the Public Insight Network, a grassroots generator of news tips for American Public Media (you, too, can join). Greenwash Brigade articles include a more-detailed-than-usual overview of the environmental ideas brought forward by the current crop of presidential hopefuls.

Clinton's and Obama's platforms are like falling pleasantly into Oz in comparison to the Republican platforms, but they too raise a few concerns. Obama is seriously invested in nuclear energy--living in the state with the most polluted nuclear site in the country, I'm not convinced we have the capability to store nuclear waste safely. Sorry Obama and sorry France.

These candidates have very detailed long-term energy policies and I was particularly tickled by programs designed to train and support the next generation of green collar jobs, driven by renewable technology smarts. I like Clinton's ideas on SEC disclosure regarding climate change impacts and Obama's emphasis on clean food supplies by incentivizing organic farming and pushing for country of origin and genetically engineered food labeling.

The candidate's ideas deserve consideration and criticism, especially if you're sick of hearing vapid talk of "change" and "opportunity." Get to Grist for a good overview of their proposed environmental policies.

The Greenwash Brigade offers blogs, resources, and Consumed, a site dedicated to consumer issues and sustainability. Within the blogs, Sites That Sustain Us shares fresh takes on environmental issues, but by far the meatier one is Double Takes, which returns in depth to previously covered eco-stories and examines what ensued. If you want to do more than nibble at the green surface of events, this is a decent channel to do so, as long as the occasional touches of preciousness don't bother you. That's just the flavor of much one hears on public radio. An article headlined "Building for Life" includes comments from Bill McDonough, an architect and educator, who is questioning the notion of sustainability itself (which, ironically, figures prominently in the headline section of American Public Media's environmental sites). Well worth considering as you digest companies' statements focusing on the very same.

"I'm not really that interested in sustainability," he said. "What's your relationship to your wife? If you say 'sustainable,' I'll say 'I'm sorry.' Just being sustainable doesn't necessarily mean we're being productive and prosperous, that the world becomes a better place. It simply maintains existing systems."

Local green news: steps forwards, sideways

Seattle's two daily newspapers, the Seattle Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, have the traditional sections we are used to seeing in a paper, including business, sports, entertainment, national news, and so forth. They don't have a "green" or "environment" section. Why not? I'm not aware of any other newspaper that offers extended coverage of environmental issues. But here in the generally eco-aware Pacific Northwest, many readers would probably appreciate more thorough environment-related information, especially if it were to help them take action.

It's nice to see that a monthly glossy magazine, Seattle Metropolitan, has begun dedicating more space to environmental issues. The January issue includes an article by Manny Frishberg, titled "Carbon Cure (or) Feel-Good Fraud?" Frishberg provides a fine summary of the carbon offset discussion, including the many valid arguments against current carbon-offset practice. I am particularly impressed with the fact that Frishberg does not attempt to make up readers' minds for them, but allows them to think about the issues.

A nonprofit organization called NativeEnergy receives a respectable grade:

"NativeEnergy may be one of the more accountable offset projects going; it's one of just four to get an unreserved thumbs-up from twoleading authorities, the Stockholm Environmental Institute and Tufts University's Climate Initiative. Otherwise the carbon offset market leaves ample room for doubt: It is completely unregulated; brokers may choose to follow the Kyoto Principles but aren't required to. Not all brokers verify their emission cuts with third parties. Many claimed cuts are just estimates for projects that are still on the drawing board."

We discussed TerraPass and its carbon offset offerings elsewhere in this blog (see entry from November 14, 2007) and found reason to doubt the value and effectiveness of that organization's programs.

The same January issue of Seattle Metropolitan includes a long, beautifully written article about the late John Beal and his work in restoring Hamm Creek, a small stream in South Seattle that once was ruined, but today has at least a chance of environmental redemption. Without Beal and his tireless efforts, none of that would have happened. We definitely need more like him. The article also details the somewhat questionable contributions of city government to Hamm Creek's revival.

Most unfortunately, Seattle Metropolitan does not make its current content available online. If you don't want to cough up $4.99 for these two articles and many fluffier offerings, you may have to get lucky in your doctor's waiting room.

In other news, the Seattle Times tells us that biofuel company Imperium Renewables cancels its planned IPO and may seek private financing. I hope Seattle-based Imperium Renewables succeeds. If not, there's always Brazil to show the rest of the world how to create a thriving alternative fuel industry.

Don't worry, you still get to spend money even if you're celebrating a green holiday

Always a little behind, the New York Times glibly restates the conversation that pits a green vs. a conventional, consumption-heavy Christmas (or other preferred winter holiday).

Frivolity versus severity. Materialism versus sacrifice. Welcome to the “green” holidays.

The holidays have always been an emotionally combustible time for families, bringing together a sometimes volatile mix of siblings, crotchety grandparents, and ill-behaved children. But in recent years, a new figure has joined the celebration, to complicate the proceedings even further: the green evangelist of the family—the impassioned activist bent on eradicating the wasteful materialism of the holidays.

Otherwise known, at least to skeptical traditionalists, as the new Grinch.

The article goes on to discuss that the positions are not as clear-cut, but the unfortunate simplification, enforced by the illustration, has already taken root.

However, if you're interested in combining your environmental holiday beliefs with a little depressing excess, help is on the way. Barneys just mailed out a catalogue entitled "Have a Green Holiday" and presents the same theme on its website.

Gorgeous green gifts, fabulously fair-trade fashion, sensationally sustainable swag, orgasmic organic denim and cashmere, environmentally conscious tchotchkes of all descriptions + philanthropic gestures to warm the cockles of your heart.

The papers and printers used in the catalogue are said to be "certified to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards." Different leaf-shaped markers note items "supporting a particular charity" or that are "philanthropic." For example, "a portion of the proceeds from the sale" of each $805 Fendi shopping bag will be donated to Sustainable Harvest International. And "a portion of the proceeds from the sale" of each $3,110 Valextra laptop case will be given to The Climate Project. The actual amount of these "portions" is not defined for the reader. I would hope that savvy consumers expect more disclosure than that. Barneys shoppers spending healthy sums on these luxury items should really push the company to give them more than a green-laced lining to their holiday shopping. If you can afford these gifts, you are not that easily persuaded, are you?

By the way, if you're not familiar with the Forest Stewardship Council, consider a visit, including a review of their certification process for paper and printing and green building.

Great green leap forward, maybe

Seagate Technology, one of our clients, will be presenting during a conference at the United Nations on November 27 and 28. The theme is the Positive Impact of ICT on the Environment and Global Climate Change. AIT Global is the facilitator. AIT Global is one of the sponsors, and the Global Alliance for ICT and Development is the other. Co-sponsors, however, include an industry-wide green rainbow of companies, such as Dell, HP, IBM, Sun Microsystems, Xerox, and others. The companies are not meant to talk about their products, but about the environmental merits of technologies they develop and take to market. We'll be covering news from the event as we receive updates, and we'll also try to track some of the event's reflections in the messages published by media and corporations.

By the way, it doesn't cost anything to attend, just travel expenses. Probably not too much to ask to get to listen to, and maybe even interact, with the industry and civic leaders expected. So, please do register and participate.

Presenters listed as of today on AIT Global's Web site include:

• U.N., Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General (to be confirmed by GAID)
• Office for the Counsel on Environment Quality, Executive Office of the President, Washington, DC, James Connaughton, Chairman (tbc)
• NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), US Department of Commerce, Joseph Klimavicz, Chief Information Officer and Director, High Performance Computing and Communications, GAID, Sarbuland Khan, Executive Coordinator
• AIT Global, Mike Lackey, President
• IBM, Wayne Balta, VP Corporate Environmental Affairs and Product Safety: Topic - Environmental Leadership and Climate Stewardship
• Hewlett Packard, Patrick Tiernan, VP, Social and Environmental Responsibility: Topic - The business of environmental responsibility
• EMC, Jeffrey Nick, SVP and CTO: Topic - Redefining the Efficient Data Center: Energy, the Environment and Sound Business Practice
• Seagate, Joni Clark, Sr Product Market Manager: Topic - TBA
• Xerox, speaker TBA: Topic - TBA
• Dell Computer, Tod Arbogast, Director Sustainable Business: Topic - Life Cycle Approach to Environmental Leadership
• Sun Microsystems, David Douglas, VP ECO Responsibility: Topic - Eco Responsibility for Business & the Planet
• Tandberg, Fredrik Halvorsen, CEO: Topic - Key Elements to Engage Business Leaders in the Environmental Movement
• Verdiem, Kevin Klustner, CEO: Topic - IT Energy Efficiency - The Future Is Now!
• InfoWorld Magazine, Paul Calento, Senior Vice President, Strategic Development
• Computerworld Magazine, Tom Hoffman, Editor-at-Large
• ClimateSavers, Matt Banks, Executive Director: Topic - TBA
• The Green Grid, Bruce Shaw, Board Member of The Green Grid: Topic - TBA
• SNIA, Leo Leger, Executive Director (tbc): Topic - TBA