The Inspired Economist

If you want to “green” your news reading, just go online, right? Ditch that dirty, landfill-clogging paper. Not so fast, argues Sarah Westervelt, environmental expert and activist. In a recent article on The Dead Tree Edition, Westervelt said that she was “too informed about what’s going to happen to my computer when I’m done with it” to feel good about reading Web news and gave a number of compelling reasons that newspapers are actually the greener choice.

Among her reasons for rejecting e-news, as reported by The Dead Tree Edition, the toxic materials contained in electronic devices and a complex waste cycle (including more than a dozen plastics in each), combined with not enough value in re-use to make recycling the parts non-economical. Paper, on the other hand, comes from a renewable resource, doesn’t contain the toxic materials, and is highly recyclable.

The post is a great read, and it certainly makes you think about the consequences of our wired world. (Some of the arguments that have been made against Apple’s new iPad.)

At the same time — and while I cannot disagree with Westervelt’s facts — this argument really only works if it’s an either-or proposition. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking to get a little green into your conference schedule? There are a number of printing, marketing, and paper-related events coming that touch on a variety of business and marketing topics from a sustainability perspective. Some require you to leave your office. Others don’t.

Thanks to What They Think’s Going Green section for this list.

• SFI and FSC Certification in North America - A Summary Comparison (Webinar)
  Feb. 4, 2010
• State of Green Business Forum
  Feb. 4 & Feb. 10, 2010
• Forming and Facilitating Sustainability Teams: Engaging and Training Employees
  Feb. 5, 2010
• INK on Paper: Beyond Your Line of Sight (Webinar)
  Feb. 11, 2010
• MiaGreen 2010 Expo & Conference
  Feb. 25-26, 2010

State of the World 2010 is on book stands, just in time for President Obama’s State of the Union address, though I’m not sure he’s read it given his talk of economic growth to create more jobs in businesses that require more stimulus spending and more government oversight.

I’ve regularly blogged on our state of the economy, an economy inexorably based on the same life support systems that sustain every creature on Earth. At its root, the economy should be about caring for our planet in much the same way that Pope Benedict has recently proclaimed that we must care for Creation. “The different phenomena of environmental degradation and natural catastrophes, which unfortunately occur all too often, remind us of the urgency of dutiful respect toward nature, recovering and valuing a correct relationship with the environment each day,” said Pope Benedict (as quoted by the Catholic News Agency).

Our economy should be about sustainability and restoration of our fragile planet, not greed and never-ending growth. Our sense of fulfillment or happiness is rarely found at America’s Mecca (the mall). Nor will we be able to charge it on our credit card. When it comes down to it, we can buy what’s no longer available: clean water and air, healthy soil, a vibrant local community, a safe place to raise a family.

Pope Benedict’s message is along the same lines as the perspectives shared in Worldwatch Institute’s latest, authoritative flagship book, State of the World 2010: Transforming Cultures: From Consumerism to Sustainability (W.W. Norton). Without an intentional cultural shift – one that values sustainability not consumerism — no pledges from government or advances in technology will be enough to prevent the preventable calamity of climate change and ecological collapse, destined to forever change how we live on this planet. We must rediscover a story of living and working, quite different from the present consumption and material wealth-driven one that often defines meaning, satisfaction and acceptance for so many of us, with dire consequences for ecological systems and the billions of people who have been called the “have-nots” in the so-called developing world.

Read the rest of this entry »

Last week Bill Gates entered the digital publishing world by establishing the Gates Notes - an online evolution of his now annual January letter sharing his thoughts and learnings on the progress of the issues central to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It’s interesting and symbolic that the next chapter of his life story would include an “open source” platform for sharing IP on social innovation.

It’s not that he’s such a great writer or that this will yield hints for the release of a revolutionary cause-related software program. But rather he’s put out there an experimental platform for sharing insights that might be absorbed and advanced by others. Read the rest of this entry »

I did something a little nuts today. I have run a small niche publishing business since 2000, and I learned very quickly that when you print books on demand and sell them retail, you either lose nearly all your profit margin by buying packing boxes or you have to charge a lot more than you might be comfortable doing. My goal was to charge less for shipping than Amazon and the others, so charging full shipping cost to cover the mailers defeated the purpose. So I looked at the stacks of envelopes and boxes in the corner, waiting to go into the trash, and thought, “Recycle!”

Now, the Strong Tower Publishing titles page has a little disclaimer:

Did you know? Strong Tower Publishing recycles. While we sell directly to the public, our direct sales are relatively small, so you may find your book packed in a recycled box or with recycled paper. This allows us to protect the environment and keep our shipping prices extremely low.

This morning, however, when I went to look for a used padded envelope or box, I was completely out of them. There was an unopened bag of yellow mailing envelopes, but I hesitated. Then there it was, the empty envelope box. Perfect! So I cut along the seams, turned it inside out, and it fit perfectly around the book. A few staples, some tape, and a mailing label. Done!

Granted, it took me 15 minutes to get it together, so I’m not suggesting that companies trade in their efficiency so every piece of scrap can have a second life. It’s the premise I think that is relevant here. We too easily trade convenience for environmental responsibility. Read the rest of this entry »

For marketers looking to improve the sustainability of their print marketing programs, there is almost nothing more important than the role of the paper. For this reason, Wausau Paper has launched a new online community, Digital Space, for designers, printers, and other experts in digital print technology and applications.

The site includes both a collaborative, social media aspect and a blog community featuring experts on paper, printing, and sustainability. Among those experts is, well, me. I will be a regular contributor on topics related to digital printing and the greening of print marketing.

Read the rest of this entry »

While the U.S. Postal Service bleeds red with billions of dollars in financial loses ($3.8 billion in 2008), they keep earning environmental accolades for their green roofs and energy conserving initiatives. Today, some post offices are even LEED certified by the US Green Building Council. As I wrote about last week, the US Postal Service has always been on the leading edge with respect to experimenting with fuel efficient vehicles – even if they’ve been unsuccessful in garnering the widespread adoption of these alternatively fueled vehicles outside their test markets.

So what gives? How could the US Postal Service be in such dire straits with all their green initiatives and their “fleet of feet” making deliveries door-to-door on foot?

Failing to Adapt to Change

This shouldn’t be new news: For years, Americans have been moving away from hard copy to electronic forms of communication. Many of us have gotten fed up with the piles of unwanted mail solicitations and catalogs by the pound by getting our names and addresses on “Do Not Solicit” lists with the Direct Marketing Association. We’ve opted out of banks’ direct marketing schemes for credit cards and insurance. We’ve signed up for electronic bill pay. So, I would have thought that US Postmaster John Potter would have recognized these changes, having grown up with the US Postal Service and having been at the helm since 2001.

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been a number of years since we have seen any initiative lead by a power brand in the arena of corporate social responsibility. This Wednesday, Pepsi launches one of the biggest corporate social responsibility efforts that we’ve seen since the launch of (RED) in 2006 with the Pepsi Refresh Project.

Good CSR takes strategic development and an early glimpse tells us that Pepsi has hit a home run.  Why?  Here’s ten reasons Pepsi looks to have gotten it right.

1. Brilliant name leveraging what Pepsi is and what the initiative suggests (an innovative, short term experiment).  It creates expectations for the new and unthinkable.  It allows for evolution of concept.  It feels lively and substantial all at the same time.
2. Beautifully executed.  The allure of the web site demonstrates this was no Q4 afterthought.  Great colors, great graphics, modern, polished and very navigable.
3. Simple. They’ve managed to take a rather complex process and reduce it to content that makes sense and leaves you without questions.  Make no mistake, this is really hard to do.
4. Momentum builder.  This isn’t a one-time effort.  They have invested US $20 million to support this initiative over the course of 12 months.  This will create visibility for the brand and will generate hype for the process, the brand and the winning organizations, well beyond campaign time.
5. Understated. Pepsi is doing this instead of a Super Bowl ad spend.  Do they fall all over themselves telling you that?  No, they focus on the opportunity.  That’s finesse. Confidence. Leadership.
6. Scope. This isn’t simply focused on an area where you’d expect Pepsi to focus their CSR efforts.  Going beyond water and community issues, the Pepsi Refresh Project paves the way for six different avenues of social impact.  Your issues. Your ideas. Your choice.
7. Smart messaging. Consumers are inherently optimistic and respond to positive messages.  Yet we are living in difficult times and marketers need to be careful.  With “Refresh Everything”, Pepsi manages to communicate a uniquely appropriate brand and product message that aligns with a believable promotional effort that is spot-on relevant.
8. Digital advocacy. Presented online, promoted online, managed online - this campaign will be endlessly sticky with infininte opportunities for leveraging social media.  Participants will be given the tools to promote it.  There is transparent tracking.  This campaign marries the best of social media and entrepreneurial advocacy.
9. Urgency.  It is not one giant long-running campaign.  It is twelve individual months of contests.  There is a stopwatch on the main page that is counting down to launch, to enter, and to vote.  And grant winners will receive their funding in an astounding four weeks from each month’s announcement of winners.  Pepsi means business!
10. Appeal.  This isn’t drippy do-goodersim.  This is about Pepsi as the facilitator of actionable ideas.  This is about the consumer using Pepsi as the platform.  This is relationship building and brand leverage at its best.

When we think about greening “print,” we often think about books or marketing communications like direct mail. But what about the world of packaging? Because packaging provides the additional functions of shipment and product protection as well as marketing, it brings a host of unique issues far beyond other types of printed materials.

Plus, it’s on the verge of being regulated.

Multichannel Merchant recently noted that regulations such as PAS 2050 (developed in the U.K.) limit, among other things, the impact of packaging on carbon emissions throughout the product lifecycle. The World Resources Institute is now reviewing how to leverage PAS 2050 for the U.S.

This matters so much because “green” packaging is more than about using recycled or earth-friendly materials in the packaging itself. It’s about the entire packaging lifecycle, including distribution and disposal.

For example, have you thought about what happens when packaging doesn’t properly protect the product? Read the rest of this entry »

Leading the way for the green evolution for the Hilton Garden Inn franchise, the Hilton Garden Inn Gatlinburg, drawing inspiration at the doorstep of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, has embarked on the fast-track to bring this upscale hotel into the green business movement. Opening in May, 2009, this 118-room hotel is nestled across the street from the rumbling Little Pigeon River in downtown Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and offers a spectacular view of Mount LeConte in the distance, often sculpted by clouds and mist.

The Hilton Garden Inn Gatlinburg offers more than window dressing in terms of their green efforts. That’s why, when the final points are tallied, it will likely earn Silver LEED certification.

A few of their eco-innovations include:

• Rainwater retention on site with parking lot pavers, capable of absorbing 100 percent of the rainwater. The pavers were acquired within 500 miles of the site and are non-reflective, reducing the heat island effect.

Read the rest of this entry »