Marketing Sustainability; Making a Paler Shade of Green, Chic

A couple weeks ago, I attended GEED (Great Energy Efficiency Day) on Capitol Hill where I rubbed elbows with politicians, policy wonks, government officials and industry leaders. I also listened to numerous speeches all promoting sustainability.

According to the 1987 United Nations General Assembly’s Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development; Our Common Future, “Sustainability is the capacity to endure. In ecology the word describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time. For humans it is the potential for long-term maintenance of well being, which in turn depends on the well being of the natural world and the responsible use of natural resources.”
 
The GEED conference speakers all claimed to believe that moving the world away from polluting fossil fuels and towards renewable and cleaner energy sources was a worthy goal. The main message of the event however, seemed to be that complete conversion to clean energy by consumers and businesses would not happen quickly due to costs of developing these new technologies and bringing them to market as well as the current economy’s dependence upon fossil fuels to function. Their general consensus was that conversion to a new energy economy will happen, but it will happen gradually.

So, they argued, the next best thing to going totally green is to promote sustainability because this is something that can be done right now that can positively impact the economy and the environment. The belief is that taking this “Light Green” approach will jump start the process of cleaning up our environment as green energy technologies continue to be developed.

The message that saving energy and promoting sustainability is good for economic reasons has taken root and has begun to grow in our political system and corporate culture. ARRA, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has had a major influence on industry leaders when it comes to promoting sustainable products and practices primarily because of the Green Technologies appropriations in the final bill which total $61.3 billion. Even skeptics who do not believe humans have anything to do with climate change are being persuaded that sustainable development is good for the economy, good for cost savings and therefore good for business.

Although investments in renewable energy are included in ARRA’s Green Technologies funding, loans and investments into energy conservation and energy efficiency programs such as funding for development of an electric smart grid, funding to state and local governments to be invested in energy efficiency, funding for weatherization of modest-income homes, and funding for increased energy efficiency in federal buildings make up the largest portion.

This has led to recent agreements between industry and advocacy groups on new federal minimum efficiencies and initiatives like Home Star credits and Rebuild America. According to the National Academy of Sciences, buildings consume 1/3 of energy worldwide, are the single greatest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and energy usage from buildings is expected to grow to become 40- 50% of total operating expenses of commercial and residential buildings, so these are important, positive steps for the environment that will also lead to growth in industries that support energy efficiency retrofitting and upgrades.

So what are the barriers to increasing the demand for sustainable products and services? I asked GEED’s “Energy Efficiency Technologies, Today and Tomorrow” panel that included Robert Dixon, Senior Vice President & Global Head, Efficiency & Sustainability, Siemens Industry Inc., Steve Hochhauser, President, Residential Systems, Ingersoll Rand and Michael Lawrence, Vice President & General Manager, Johns Manville that very question. They all agreed that a lack of awareness from the public of how their sustainable products and services could benefit them on a personal level was the single greatest barrier to growing that portion of their businesses. After all, as Michael Lawrence stated, “Insulation is not a very sexy product.”

He may have a point, but he also may have become victim to his own assumption that building products aren’t sexy. In fact, it appears that other business decision-makers in his category and other industry sectors such as energy engineering and environmental services share this same self-perpetuated stereotype. Not many companies that sell siding, windows, insulation, HVAC, water filters, utilities products, etc., have even tried to evolve their brand image and messaging from sensible and utilitarian to sensible and chic – probably because they don’t realize they can. It is actually surprising to see how many businesses in these categories, even the mega corporations, share similar, unexciting branding that could almost be interchangeable.

THE BOTTOM LINE IS SUSTAINABILITY MARKETING NEEDS A MAKE OVER. Studies show that building owners, home owners and employees want to support energy efficiency because they know it will save them money and/or because they genuinely care about the environment. In addition, investors, governments, and businesses are beginning to demand efficiency because they need to meet mandates and/or comply with new building codes. The piece that is missing is that consumers and business decision-makers feel no excitement or emotional connection to particular products and brands that can help them meet their sustainability goals.

For example, corporate representatives attending GEED were heavily promoting the message that energy efficiency should be embraced by all industries because it can both increase revenue growth and is the socially responsible thing to do – but this just addresses the logical reasons for becoming more efficient.

My years of marketing experience has taught me that whether a company sells their products to consumers or businesses, people are people. We all respond to emotional triggers as well as logic. Good branding encompasses both logical and emotional components. This is why in addition to stepping up public relations and corporate communications, companies promoting energy efficiency would be smart to hire marketing partners and advertising agencies that know how to create a compelling brand message to make a paler shade of green chic.


By Laureen Peck