I am compelled to raise a voice and declare that we do not need a new color to describe sustainability. Doing so is an absurd exercise designed to fabricate a new marketing tag line and does nothing to communicate the value of sustainability to consumers and businesses.
Recent taglines regarding the “new colors of green” include:
“Blue is the New Green”, The New York Times. November 20, 2008
“Yellow is the New Green”, The New York Times. February 27, 2009
“Black is the New Green”, Financial Times. February 28, 2009
I will go further and recommend we jettison the words “green” and “eco” as more than ever we need to move ahead and embed sustainability into private and public sector enterprises as quickly as possible. We do not have time to waste.
We need to describe sustainability in terms of the value it creates not by adding a tag line. This is the only way that consumers, customers and businesses will understand the benefits sustainability can bring. Sustainability adds business value by increasing revenue, increasing brand value, managing risk and reducing operating costs. Simple business concepts in the language of business.
Sustainability programs are alive and well during the recession. Examples include the GE’s ecomagination and Wal-Mart initiatives. Both of these companies are realizing value from embedding sustainability practices into operations and through new products. Neither of these companies have confused consumers or businesses by calling their programs “blue” or “green.”
Consumers are confused enough by green claims and wary of greenwashing – what will we have now, perhaps “blue washing?”
We need to ensure that sustainability goes mainstream as quickly as possible and is embedded into businesses and public policy. It will never be embedded if it is viewed as something extra. It will always be viewed as something extra if it is tagged as green, blue or another color ginned up as a marketing exercise.
We need to reach the point where sustainability performance is built into all products, all business models and services.
Let’s get on with the work at hand and lose the cute taglines.
go green save green…
America is shifting to a \”green culture\” where all 300 million citizens are embracing the fact that environmental responsibility is everyone\’s responsibility. To help, you can sign up to receive EPA\’s new consumer newsletter, GO GREEN! This…
Trackback by go green save green — April 3, 2009 @ 12:43 am