Boomerang

Whether you credit Katrina, rising gas prices, polar bears drowning in melting glacial waters, or years of persistent work from many dedicated souls, you cannot deny that Green is finally having its day. Al Gore, of course, also gets a huge nod for the huge wake-up call that turned Green from important to imperative in both red and blue states, as well as around the globe. After you watch An Inconvenient Truth, how can you not take the cause seriously? The real challenge of the movie, however, is not sitting through the Powerpoint slides, but the dearth of solutions offered at the conclusion. What role can we each play, beyond recycling and composting, in helping to save the planet?

In a survey conducted by Cohn & Wolfe client Landor Associates and sister company Penn Schoen Berland in 2006, we learned that a disheartening 58% of the population put themselves in the “disinterested” category when it comes to Green issues. We also learned, however, that consumers who do care are willing to switch brands for a cause if price and quality are equal. That said, more than half of the people we surveyed were unable to identify the steps companies are taking towards greener strategies.

It got us thinking: If Green is a competitive advantage, how can we help our clients communicate their strategies?

From there Cohn & Wolfe blossomed (pun intended) with new ideas about the role marketing can and should play in sustainability. Green is no longer about “Give a Hoot! Don’t Pollute!” as it was in the 1970s. Nor is it acceptable for a company to hope that a recycling program will garner enough goodwill that it doesn’t need to address its deeper impact on the environment. It is now a fundamental and critically important business issue that can result in both profit AND a better world.

The result of our thinking, research and hands-on experience is the introduction of CW Greenworx – a new global practice designed to assist clients with external and internal communication strategies around sustainability, alternative energy and environmental strategy.

We are currently at work on the second annual Green Brands Study, and I will wager that the percentage of people who call themselves “disinterested” has dramatically decreased. If you’d like to get the results in April, let us know at greenworx@cohnwolfe.com.

I was recently interviewed by San Francisco City College’s ID.TV for a segment on Green trends in business. Below is a short clip with some of the footage shot for the segment airing next month.