Not long ago company president Dennis Salazar wrote an excellent article entitled Is There a Disconnect In Your Green Business?, which appeared on GreenBiz.com. In the article, Dennis makes several important points about the difficulties large companies encounter in converting green business initiatives into action. I highly recommend this article to business leaders – with it’s in-the-trenches perspective, it is quite illuminating.

Many fear that our economy, which is plunging into deep recession, will work against the interest of a greener business environment. The main concern is that economic necessity will cause companies to limit or eliminate green initiatives due to cost and time constraints. In times like this, the argument goes, companies hunker down and resist any sort of change.

My own view is much the opposite. The business world is ultimately in the business of sales. Because of that, any company’s policies, products, branding, and marketing reflect the values of its customers. These days, what do people value? Seems to me -

• The credit orgy is over. We have to live within our means.
• Think global, buy local. We have to do whatever we can to look out for our neighbor.

Big as the green movement is, value shifts like the two I mention are even bigger. And both of them are very much in sync with a sustainable approach to doing business. Think in terms of sustainable packaging. Fast food chains that eliminate excess packaging will fare better than ones that don’t. Grocers that put bulk packaged products on the shelf will sell more than ones that don’t. Why? Because more and more, people see value in thrift, conservation of resources, balance, and practicality.

Up to about a year ago, the sustainability movement was running against the cultural tide of materialism and general excess. Today, the tide has shifted. A company that pushes its green initiatives will find that its ship has come in.

We spend a lot of time talking and writing about eco-consistency from a marketing and customer relations perspective, especially in how it relates to secondary packaging. We are convinced that boxes, tape and other packaging materials say something about our green commitment and that it should be consistent with our products and green messaging. Simply put, “walk the walk’.

A different type of eco-consistency also merits discussion and that is making sure our companies and all the people within them are receiving and sending the same green message the same way.

Ideally, whether our customers speak with the CEO or the order picker and packer in the warehouse, the customer gets the same green message from both. The customer should realize that sustainability is not a company promotion or event; sustainability is a culture that permeates the entire organization.

This idealistic and worthwhile goal is not always the reality, even at some of the greenest companies in America. This is the subject of an article I wrote that was just posted on GreenBiz.com and I hope you will take the time to read it and comment on it.

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