Milk: It does a globe good

I like it when I get to show examples of companies / industries who "get it right" when it comes to green communications. One recent example is the dairy industry. This is not an industry that you would think of as green. After all, their product comes from cows that produce a lot of methane and manure.

But some of their recent announcements show exactly how an industry can show that its adapting to a more environmentally-conscious world.

First of note is their recent sustainability summit where they announced plans to explore:

Milk processing technologies that use less energy, a carbon credit trading system that optimizes returns for reductions, using best practices and energy-calculating tools to reduce emissions and energy use, expanding the use of methane digesters to create energy, reducing the cost and emissions from cooling and refrigeration, and creating low-cost and low-carbon packaging.

Industry press release is available here (PDF).

Then, came the announcement of a more environmentally-friendly milk jug which was reported on everyone from green blogs like Treehugger as well as large mainstream media outlets like the New York Times and the CBS Evening News, which you can view here:



True, some of the press coverage focused on consumer dislike of the new packaging. But, the strong environmental case made for the new jug should easily overcome these few objections. What are the benefits? For a recap, visit Sustainable is Good or read one of the many press hits it generated. The message to the consumer in all of those hits is that the dairy industry is working to make milk production, transportation and consumption more sustainable.

Are you twittering?

Even though I haven't been blogging much lately, I have been twittering. So if you're missing the posts here at Greenway Communique, be sure to check out my Twitter page. Or just read the updates on the right column of this blog.

Speaking of Twitter, I came across this video about how PR pros are using Twitter on MyRaganTV. Check it out and let me know what you think...tool or toy?

Green language still growing up

Although more and more companies are talking green, they're still feeling their way into the new language. They're still growing up.

Take one recent corporate publication I picked up. The publication included the following statement:

In the spirit of our continued commitment to being good stewards of the environment, we are proud to produce this publication using 100 percent recycled paper and eco-friendly soy-based ink.

First, all credit to the company for making the environmentally-friendly choice. The trees that were spared by that decision don't care how the company talks about it. They just care that they did it.

However, the purpose of this blog is not to encourage companies to make the right decision. It's to help them communicate their right choice in the proper manner. The preceding statement is not the right communication, but it's representative of companies (and their agencies) who are still learning to talk about an issue of increasing importance to their constituents.

The important part of the communication is the second part of the sentence, which simply communicates the choice. Saying "In the Spirit of our continued commitment to being good stewards of the environment" before the facts is not only unnecessary, but it also makes the company sound like it made the choice with ulterior motives.

What if that same company made a $100,000 donation to a local soup kitchen and reported it in a corporate publication like this: In the spirit of this company's generosity to the local community, we are proud to make a contribution in the sum of $100,000 to the local soup kitchen. No company would say that because the bit about generosity doesn't need to be said. It's implicit in the action. Let me suggest this small change to the company statement listed at the top:

This publication is printed on 100 percent recycled paper using soy-based ink.

Nothing more needs to be said.

ED Launches new climate security ad

How's this for "hard hitting?"



This ad from the Environmental Defense Fund starts running tomorrow.

I'm not dead yet

Please accept my apologies for the light posting over the past few weeks. If you want to know what's been keeping my busy, just check out my company blog and the PRN blog.

I've still been posting lots of interesting articles and thoughts if you're actually missing my blog posts.

Going green is good PR

As I've blogged before, greening your business can be good for your reputation. Another business that just discovered this is one of my favorite local restaurants: Sanaa's Gourmet Mediterranean. Getting certified by the Green Restaurant Association landed them some coverage on the local news. Here's the piece:



With the number of green claims rapidly proliferating, third party certification like this is virtually a must. Sanna's prominently displays the certification logo on their front door and web site, as well they should.

By the way, if you ever go there I highly recommend the spinach and walnut fatayer and the mezza sampler. Although everything is good so you can't go wrong.

Watch Big Ideas on Hulu

I've been playing around on hulu this weekend (okay, I've mostly been watching The Simpsons) and I came across the series Big Ideas for a Small Planet. I've watched a few episodes on the Sundance Channel and found them pretty enlightening. Anyway, hulu posted one episode and several clips. Check out the episode, Power, which talks about renewable energy:



BTW, I love hulu and I'm thinking of getting rid of my TV.

Dell posts green strategy video on DellVlog

Dell posted a video of their green strategy on their DellVlog. The video is of Tod Arbogast, Dell's Director of Sustainable Business, giving a presentation entitled "Going Green in the Connected Era" to the FSB Conference.

In the video, Arbogast said "We're committed to being the greenest technology company on the planet." Here's the video:

Wal-Mart and the greening of public relations

There is a fascinating special section in the Wall Street Journal today entitled ECO:nomics: Creating Environmental Capital (subscription). The section came from their conference held a few days ago under the same title.

Everything I've read in the section is fascinating, but the interview with H. Lee Scott Jr. of Wal-Mart By Alan Murray of the Wall Street Journal contained this little gem right at the end:

MR. MURRAY: When you launched this program several years ago, Wal-Mart at the time was getting some extraordinarily bad public relations. Today, if you look at the way Wal-Mart has been written about over the course of the past year, these green initiatives have generated enormously good public relations. Some people would say that's why you're doing it. This is all about public relations.

MR. SCOTT: You just need to work with our people. These things are real. The differences we are making are real. We face a number of challenges, and part of the challenges we face are related to the fact that we have probably the largest, most highly financed campaign against us in the history of business. Part of the issues we face are because we are not as good as we should be.

We sat down and we said 10 years from now what will the people in the company wish we had done, such as we wish that the prior generation in management might have done? And the thing that stuck was that this world is going to become more and more sensitive to environmental sustainability. Whether it's three years from now or five years or 10 or 15, ultimately society is going to hold you accountable for whether or not you participated appropriately and the role you played in advancing this area of environmental sustainability.

Here's a video excerpts from the interview:

It's something I've talked about before, but Wal-Mart has seen an almost unbelievable jump in public perception due to their leadership on green issues. That opportunity is out there for every company...until the government forces it on them.

Subaru wins green ad award for "Values"

The IAG Automotive Advertising Awards were announced this past week and for the first time they included "The Green Award." That award went to Subaru for "Values"



The spot won out over the other two finalists Honda Civic Hybrid - Trashed:



...and Chevrolet - I Want (couldn't locate this ad online). Hat tip to Sustainable Life Media. What do you think of the ads? Which one do you like better?

Does your mission inspire?

So your company has a mission statement. It describes what you do and why. But, does it inspire people and make them want to follow?

I was watching a presentation that Alex Steffen of Worldchanging gave at TED. Almost four minutes into the video, he describes his organization's mission thusly: Worldchanging, you might think of as being a bit of a news service for the unimaginable future.

A news service for the unimaginable future. I love it! Where do I sign up? It was enough for me to grab the RSS feed!

BTW, his presentation on sustainability was quite entertaining. Here it is:

Know your continent for pitching success

In a recent post, I talked about the importance of familiarizing yourself with a journalist before your pitch and how blogs can can offer that opportunity. But, simply researching a journalist through their blog is not enough, especially since a blog is often their personal opinion and anything they write for the dead-tree edition has to get through an editor. You have to add the editor and the publication to your research list.

But if you're planning a big event with multiple targets, your research needs to focus on an even more macro level than the publication: the continent. That's the conclusion I reached after reading a very interesting piece from Edelman's Mark Grundy.

Mark led global outreach for the announcement of Masdar, a $15bn dollar “zero-carbon, waste-free, car-free” city in Abu Dhabi, UAE. He saw great disparity in coverage between the U.S. and the rest of the world, despite devoting equal resources (archived release). According to Mark, the news got top-tier coverage all over the world, but little in the U.S.

It's interesting that someone would openly discuss a pitch that didn't achieve the desired results as a public learning opportunity, but that's apparently what Mark is doing. And I take my hat off to him for it. The piece is listed as Part 1 and he is promising to follow it up with his opinion on why this disparity exists. I'll be paying attention.

Can green sell vacuums?

An interesting video from Reuters shows how one company is touting the green aspects of their vacuums.



What do you think? Can green be used to sell a vacuum? The approach was apparently good enough to get this coverage from Reuters.

NY Times blogger explains climate coverage

One of the things I love about tracking blogs of mainstream media journalists is that you can learn so much more about them, what they're interested in and how they think about and cover their beat. It's a rule that's been forgotten somewhat in the digital age where mass email has become a standard pitch, but you really should get to know your targets before you pitch them.

An excellent recent example of this is Andrew Revkin of the New York Times who blogs at Dot Earth. When a popular green blogger criticized Revkin's coverage of a climate skeptic conference, Revkin took to his blog to explain how he covers climate change with not one, but two thoughtful posts. The posts have garnered 174 and 85 comments, many of which are equally thoughtful and several of which he responded to.

If you're ever going to pitch Revkin on something related to the changing climate, you should really read these posts. While you're at it, add his RSS feed to your list. It's almost always worth the read.

Sustainability is Good PR

Fast Company is out with the annual Fast 50, their list of the 50 most innovative companies, and sustainability is featured prominently among the group. And it's not just eco-companies like Method (16), Ausra and Aurup (20, 23), Herman Miller (26), Whole Foods (36).

Several companies who made the list have high-profile sustainability programs. You can start at the top of the with Google. The search giant has made high-profile forays into sustainability and the magazine even includes an interview with their Green energy czar. Others in that vein include GE (4), News Corp (12), Wal-Mart (32), and Toyota (39).

And then there is Timberland. The company made the top half of the list at #21 and here's what Fast Company said about their presence on the list:

Unfortunately, it's been a tough business year for Timberland, with revenues and profits down and restructuring claiming some stores. But the company's efforts to save the world--by greening its products, reducing its environmental impact, pushing its workers to volunteer--are still going strong.

In other words, they're only there because of their sustainability efforts. Looks like operating in a sustainable manner can be good for your reputation.