Reinventing Fire with RMI
I love this new messaging from the Rocky Mountain Institute: Reinventing Fire. Watch this video and check out their web site. What do you think?
A blog about communicating sustainability from someone who has spent a fair amount of time doing it.
I love this new messaging from the Rocky Mountain Institute: Reinventing Fire. Watch this video and check out their web site. What do you think?
I was watching TV the other night (something I don't do very often) and a commercial for the Nissan Leaf came on the screen. It reminded me that I haven't blogged here in a (long) while and this was something I had been meaning to talk about.
Labels: electricity, EVs, Nissan
How can environmentally-conscious people in the Northern plains continue to advance sustainability? Join me at the Plain Green Conference in Sioux Falls, S.D. to find out.
Labels: conference, green, Plain Green, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
How many of the 600-625 advertisements Americans see on the average day have a green message? Unsurprisingly, it depends on the amount of news coverage devoted to green issues and public concern about the environment.
Labels: advertising, climate change, green
The latest report from ecoAmerica is titled "
Labels: climate change, communications, ecoAmerica, Nature Conservancy
Tomorrow, I will chat with people who are looking for organizations that are doing the most innovative communications work on energy, the environment and climate change. They are particularly looking for the groups who have been successful in changing the conversation in ways that get people to take action on these important issues.
Labels: communications, green
If you spend any time following social media in the cleantech world, you’ve almost certainly come across Tor Valenza. That name doesn’t sound familiar? Well, how about his more well-known pseudonym Solar Fred?
A. The short answer is that I was fascinated by solar as a teenager living in New York. I thought it was really cool to light up the city with power from the sun and had my sights on being a solar engineer. Then I took calculus... But solar always stuck with me, and eventually I realized I didn't have to invent solar, but I could use my natural communication talents to help educate people about it. So I took a few courses, started a solar blog, and it's been solar full steam ahead ever since.Q. Why the name "Solar Fred?"
A. Another long story behind this, but in the end, it was a branding and marketing decision. When I started my original blog, "Solar Tor" didn't sound right and I wanted a common and somewhat ironic name that people could relate to. Fred was chosen out of an inside joke, too long to go into here.Q. What is UnThink Solar? What do you do for solar companies?
A. UnThink Solar is very simply a boutique solar marketing and communications company. I develop solar social media strategies, as well as execute some small projects. For larger projects, I partner with other companies who help execute. The more interactive, the better Solar Fred likes it. Strike that. The more bold and interactive, the better I like it.Q. Is social media a good way to promote solar?
A. Not only is social media a good way to promote solar, I really feel it is the most effective way. From blogging to Twitter, to viral videos and other web-related campaigns, social media works because it relies on inspiring people to get so excited about solar that they want to share that information with their friends. People trust friends and peers, not advertisements. That's why social media is an art. It's marketing, but can't be in-your-face. You have to build trust via providing useful information, simply communicated. That formula is ideal for solar, because buyers need a lot of trust to make that big purchase decision.Q. What could solar companies do to market themselves better? What does solar need to do to gain greater public adoption?
A. I write a lot about this on my REWorld.com blog. The main theme I try to get across is not only using social media, but also "Stand out and educate." Also, "Be bold for solar." The first means that solar companies need to be more creative with their marketing, but they also must be sure to have substance behind their words. You can't only pull a stunt. My second slogan (both of these are in my email signature) is encouraging solar companies to be unabashedly courageous with their marketing. Solar has a lot of obstacles, from green washing to climate change deniers and general apathy. Plus, there's a lot of government policy that has to be changed. If marketers are all "bold for solar," then I think the U.S. will adopt solar faster. Very few companies have this courage, but I'm trying to inspire more.Q. Who in the solar industry (besides yourself) does a good job marketing?
A. I don't know the entire industry. It's fairly large and broad. The few that I love are on my radar because I've worked with them in some capacity, so it would probably be too self serving to mention them. That being said, I write about good solar marketers on past REWorld blogposts, so go through those and you'll find plenty of Solar Fred shout-outs. Companies are often "on my list --in a good way." There also those who are my list in a bad way. I try not call them out unless they do something really, really bad for the industry. I'm not going to name them again here.Q. What social media and web sites do you focus the most on and why (i.e. Twitter, REWorld, etc.)?
A. I go where my solar customers are, and that could really be on any platform. Unfortunately, I only have 10 fingers, two hands, and 24 hours. So, the lesson there is that you simply have to choose your social media community (i.e. REWorld, Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook etc.) learn their rules, and start building relationships on those platforms. If you communicate and build relationships well, you'll be successful. Honest.Q. What excites you and/or concerns you about the future of solar?
A. What excites and concerns me are one in the same: We have so much potential for solar in the U.S. and the world. That's both exciting...and a concern. I'm impatient. I want people to get how affordable solar is now with creative financing like solar leases and solar ppas. I want people to get how clean it is, and how safe it is. So, I get excited when people get it and are inspired to get a quote. And I get concerned when the rest of the world doesn't do the same next Tuesday. I want everyone to be a "Solar Fred head" like me, but the reality is that different messages and concerns speak to different people. Therefore, I and other solar marketers simply must be creative, be consistent, and keep putting ourselves out there.Now you know who Solar Fred is. If you want a little more, you can read his full bio here. Who else should I interview for this blog? Leave suggestions in the comments below.
Labels: new media, social media, Solar, twitter
If you're a communicator in the renewable energy industry, you might be interested in a webinar I'm moderating for the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) titled Speaking Out On Renewable Energy: Communications Strategies for the Renewable Energy Industry. The experts joining me on the call are Justin Rolfe-Redding, Doctoral student and Presidential Scholar at the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University and Kathryn Morrison, founder and president of SunStar Strategic.
Labels: ACORE, renewable energy
Glowing coverage of corporate greening initiatives is coming to an end, pens Kate Galbraith in the International Herald Tribune. Galbraith, Energy and environment reporter for the Texas Tribune, writes:
Journalists are a little less wide-eyed, and a little more picky. The cutting-edge coverage today does not typically revolve around the greening of fill-in-the-blank company. Instead, topics like “Who’s not going green?” and “What are the difficulties of going green?” are being seen more frequently...Going green, in other words, became so mainstream that it was no longer big news.Galbraith calls it a "natural evolution" in reporting and my experience in the ethanol industry leads me to concur. As I've said before, journalists' second favorite story goes something like this: "There's this new thing you've never heard of, but it's going to make you healthy, wealthy and wise while saving the economy, the environment and the world." That's often closely followed by their favorite story: "Remember that new thing I told you about? It's actually robbing you blind, making you stupid and ultimately killing you while destroying the economy, the environment and indeed, the world."
Labels: green, NYTimes, public relations
This is a guest post from Beth Buczynski
We are a society caught between two eras: a past dependent on fossil fuels and a future that will rely on renewable forms of energy. Every day new information floods the media about the latest technologies and how they can reduce our dependency on petroleum, coal, and other "dirty" fuels. At the same time, there are critics who claim we're not ready for a switch to renewable energy, and that doing so would be disastrous for our way of life.
As you know, it can often be difficult to sort out fact from fiction when it comes to environmental gossip. That's why WellHome created this striking infographic designed to address some of the common inaccuracies floating around out there and inform readers of the truth:

The infographic has been featured on PlanetSave.com and CarbonDioxideLevels.com. Another infographic explains Cap & Trade.
Beth Buczynski is the founder of EcoSpheric Blog. Beth works with WellHome Energy Audits to educate the public about energy technology, conservation, and policy through creative content. If you're interested in energy-related infographics for your website, please contact bethbot52[at]gmail.com.
Unless you live in the Washington D.C. area, California, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey or Texas, you can't buy a Volt, but that didn't stop Chevy from dropping $3 million bucks (the cost of 75 Volts) on a Superbowl ad. Here it is:
Labels: advertising, Chevy, EVs, Super Bowl, Volt
Environmental PR & Public Affairs is the focus of the February, 2011 issue of O'Dwyer's Magazine. The magazine includes:
Labels: green, Nathan Schock, O'Dwyer's, public affairs, public relations
In his State of the Union Address tonight, President Barrack Obama made a powerful case for investing in clean energy technology. The way he would pay for it is by eliminating taxpayer giveaways for Big Oil. Here's the text:
This is our generation's Sputnik moment. Two years ago, I said that we needed to reach a level of research and development we haven't seen since the height of the Space Race. In a few weeks, I will be sending a budget to Congress that helps us meet that goal. We'll invest in biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet, and create countless new jobs for our people.
Already, we are seeing the promise of renewable energy. Robert and Gary Allen are brothers who run a small Michigan roofing company. After September 11th, they volunteered their best roofers to help repair the Pentagon. But half of their factory went unused, and the recession hit them hard.
Today, with the help of a government loan, that empty space is being used to manufacture solar shingles that are being sold all across the country. In Robert's words, "We reinvented ourselves."
That's what Americans have done for over two hundred years: reinvented ourselves. And to spur on more success stories like the Allen Brothers, we've begun to reinvent our energy policy. We're not just handing out money. We're issuing a challenge. We're telling America's scientists and engineers that if they assemble teams of the best minds in their fields, and focus on the hardest problems in clean energy, we'll fund the Apollo Projects of our time.
At the California Institute of Technology, they're developing a way to turn sunlight and water into fuel for our cars. At Oak Ridge National Laboratory, they're using supercomputers to get a lot more power out of our nuclear facilities. With more research and incentives, we can break our dependence on oil with biofuels, and become the first country to have 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015.
We need to get behind this innovation. And to help pay for it, I'm asking Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies. I don't know if you've noticed, but they're doing just fine on their own. So instead of subsidizing yesterday's energy, let's invest in tomorrow's.
Now, clean energy breakthroughs will only translate into clean energy jobs if businesses know there will be a market for what they're selling. So tonight, I challenge you to join me in setting a new goal: by 2035, 80% of America's electricity will come from clean energy sources. Some folks want wind and solar. Others want nuclear, clean coal, and natural gas. To meet this goal, we will need them all and I urge Democrats and Republicans to work together to make it happen.What do you think? Can it happen?
Labels: alternative energy, cleantech, oil, SOTU
Two new eco-labels came to my attention this week and have me thinking. Could they help drive consumer demand for renewables? (an issue I recently blogged about).
The first is WindMade, the new trustmark launched by Vestas. The concept is fairly straightforward: products that are produced using at least 25 percent wind energy and 25 percent from some other renewable energy source would qualify for the trustmark. The details were laid out in an excellent article for the February issue of Fast Company Magazine.
The second is BioPreferred, a new label from the United States Department of Agriculture that aims to increase the purchase and use of renewable biobased products. As with Windmade the 50 percent threshold comes into play; to qualify as BioPreferred, a product must be at least 51 percent biobased. The label launch was assisted by the green communications pioneers at J. Ottman Consulting as outlined in a blog post.Labels: BioPreferred, ecolabal, Fast Company, USDA, Vestas, wind, WindMade
...that doesn't even care if you believe in climate change.
Labels: climate change, movie