Does Being Green Require Being Good?
As I’ve been publicly thinking out loud about forming the International Association of Earth-Conscious Marketers (a trade association for Green marketers), this article by Matthew Ammirati on MediaPost, “Is It Enough To Be Green? What About Being Good?” seems very timely.
The article asks whether we should…
…be buying an all-natural household cleaner in a recycled package but if the company has a team of migrants in Africa working in horrendous conditions in 18-hour shifts, does it really make you feel better about buying that product?
These kinds of questions come up regularly in my work the last decade or so, and they raise their heads again in thinking about how this organization will work. For instance, what happens if people who work on Walmart’s sustainability initiatives apply for membership?
Walmart has a lot of Green cred. They’ve done a tremendous amount in the past few years not only to make their own operations substantially Greener (and not coincidentally saving hundreds of millions of dollars. But there are many other aspects of their operation that are deeply troubling to me, and I don’t shop there.
I just looked again at the proposed behavior standards for membership–and I don’t see anything that would keep Walmart out. So if the organization were to adopt those standards, someone working on marketing Walmart’s sustainability initiatives would be welcome, as long as they were doing real Green marketing and not greenwashing. So would the conservative political consultant who has posted a couple of comments on these working drafts. Employees of a company such as Halliburton might have a much harder time proving they qualify.
What about a tougher case? Suppose someone has been involved with the sustainability initiatives over at BP (a company that actually at one point was fairly well regarded by mainstream environmentalists)? What about questions about supply chain and vendor practices and investing and charity programs and and and… Some kind of arbitration system will be needed to determine who qualifies and who does not. Any ideas for how to set that up?
In my eighth book, Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green: Winning Strategies to Improve Your Profits and Your Planet (co-authored with Jay Conrad Levinson), I very clearly and deliberately link ethical behavior and Green practices, and point out that the two combined are a powerful path to success. But the standards of behavior I’ve proposed for membership in this trade association are focused on the Green side and don’t really talk about ethics other than in a specifically Green context (e.g., no greenwashing). Should those broader issues be addressed? By whom, and who judges?
A lifelong activist, profitability and marketing specialist Shel Horowitz’s mission is to fix crises like hunger, poverty, racism, war, and catastrophic climate change—by showing the business world how fixing them can make a profit. An author, international speaker, and TEDx Talker, his award-winning 10th book, Guerrilla Marketing to Heal the World, lays out a blueprint for creating and MARKETING those profitable change-making products and services. He is happy to help you craft your messaging and develop profit strategies. Learn more (and download excerpts from the book) at http://goingbeyondsustainability.com
@JeanetteCates https://principledprofit.com/good-business-blog/does-being-green-require-being-good/2010/06/29/ #blog30 #mini7
@JeanetteCates https://principledprofit.com/good-business-blog/does-being-green-require-being-good/2010/06/29/ #blog30 #mini7
I’m interested in helping in any way I can, just let me know.
I’m interested in helping in any way I can, just let me know.
Shel, yes, I noticed the reference to me, I’m glad the word “evil” didn’t precede the reference, ha ha.
I did momentarily forget that this was an international effort, so yes, with regard to geographic diversity, it would be more than just US locations.
You will probably find that the sooner you bring in more help (or a steering committee) to think out the administrative aspects, the quicker, more efficient and more thorough the effort will be. As someone who formed organizations during and after college, I had a lot of ideas I was very proud of, right up until others showed up with more ideas than I had thought of. I realized the sooner I brought in those other minds to expand upon my ideas, the sooner we were doing the things we were talking about.
A side comment: When I have helped or started groups in the past, the first thing I always thought of what “how do we market this, how do we promote this”, I suppose that won’t be a problem with this group.
Steve, I totally agree that getting a steering committee up and running is a high priority. Maybe my post tomorrow will push for one to form. I’m leaving the country shortly and will be thinking about steering committee structure during my trip. Hopefully in mid-July I can propose a framework.
Are you interested in being on such a committee?
Shel, yes, I noticed the reference to me, I’m glad the word “evil” didn’t precede the reference, ha ha.
I did momentarily forget that this was an international effort, so yes, with regard to geographic diversity, it would be more than just US locations.
You will probably find that the sooner you bring in more help (or a steering committee) to think out the administrative aspects, the quicker, more efficient and more thorough the effort will be. As someone who formed organizations during and after college, I had a lot of ideas I was very proud of, right up until others showed up with more ideas than I had thought of. I realized the sooner I brought in those other minds to expand upon my ideas, the sooner we were doing the things we were talking about.
A side comment: When I have helped or started groups in the past, the first thing I always thought of what “how do we market this, how do we promote this”, I suppose that won’t be a problem with this group.
Steve, I totally agree that getting a steering committee up and running is a high priority. Maybe my post tomorrow will push for one to form. I’m leaving the country shortly and will be thinking about steering committee structure during my trip. Hopefully in mid-July I can propose a framework.
Are you interested in being on such a committee?
Some very interesting questions here.
My first thought, and maybe not the most popular one, and I’ll admit to maybe being too short-sided, is do we really want to exclude any potential members, beyond the basic precepts. Obviously and open membership policy where anyone could join would not be workable. But we are a limited few, why exclude to make us more limited. Must we all agree 100% on everything? Rather than saying “let’s meet half way”, if we have people that agree with us on 75-80% of what we care about, isn’t that an ally?
Look at AARP for instance, they have an age requirement. If they suddenly said they were keeping the age requirements, but only for men. Then if they went further and said only men of the right age, west of the Mississippi. Obviously, their numbers would keep shrinking the more they segment.
If this association is really good at what it wants to do, supposing there is an annual meeting/convention and maybe regional gatherings (because things happening in the gulf region where I live (Houston) are different from things happening in California, the midwest or the northeast), networking regionally/locally is essential. If the BP representative came to a gathering where 9 out of 10 people are practicing ethical green policies, and the rep is hearing all these ideas and suggestions, that BP rep will likely do one of two things: either end their membership with the Association, or go back to BP and look at ways to put better ethics into practice.
Having said all of that, you asked “who judges?” I have some thoughts there. One would be to have a 3 or 5 member panel, elected or appointed, maybe chosen geographically so all areas are represented, have the panel members change once a year, and their responsibility is to vote on issues like these. A prospect can submit their “best case” where they answer a few questions related to the Associations areas of concern. Another option would be to allow a full membership voting period, this could easily be done online with a membership login.
My two cents.
Steve, thanks so much for this thoughtful post. I was hoping you would weigh in on this (and I trust you noticed my acknowledgment of your previous comments in today’s post). My bias also is toward open membership. As I said, I’d say yes to Walmart. And I like the idea of those who are farther along the path rubbing ideas off on those who may be less far along.
The panel is an interesting suggestions, and I like the idea that it would have geographic diversity (not just across the US but from elsewhere).
Maybe there could be a steering committee formed to has some of this administrative stuff out in a virtual conference before the launch.
Some very interesting questions here.
My first thought, and maybe not the most popular one, and I’ll admit to maybe being too short-sided, is do we really want to exclude any potential members, beyond the basic precepts. Obviously and open membership policy where anyone could join would not be workable. But we are a limited few, why exclude to make us more limited. Must we all agree 100% on everything? Rather than saying “let’s meet half way”, if we have people that agree with us on 75-80% of what we care about, isn’t that an ally?
Look at AARP for instance, they have an age requirement. If they suddenly said they were keeping the age requirements, but only for men. Then if they went further and said only men of the right age, west of the Mississippi. Obviously, their numbers would keep shrinking the more they segment.
If this association is really good at what it wants to do, supposing there is an annual meeting/convention and maybe regional gatherings (because things happening in the gulf region where I live (Houston) are different from things happening in California, the midwest or the northeast), networking regionally/locally is essential. If the BP representative came to a gathering where 9 out of 10 people are practicing ethical green policies, and the rep is hearing all these ideas and suggestions, that BP rep will likely do one of two things: either end their membership with the Association, or go back to BP and look at ways to put better ethics into practice.
Having said all of that, you asked “who judges?” I have some thoughts there. One would be to have a 3 or 5 member panel, elected or appointed, maybe chosen geographically so all areas are represented, have the panel members change once a year, and their responsibility is to vote on issues like these. A prospect can submit their “best case” where they answer a few questions related to the Associations areas of concern. Another option would be to allow a full membership voting period, this could easily be done online with a membership login.
My two cents.
Steve, thanks so much for this thoughtful post. I was hoping you would weigh in on this (and I trust you noticed my acknowledgment of your previous comments in today’s post). My bias also is toward open membership. As I said, I’d say yes to Walmart. And I like the idea of those who are farther along the path rubbing ideas off on those who may be less far along.
The panel is an interesting suggestions, and I like the idea that it would have geographic diversity (not just across the US but from elsewhere).
Maybe there could be a steering committee formed to has some of this administrative stuff out in a virtual conference before the launch.