Boomerang

While I’m a relative late-bloomer to the growing trend of city car sharing, I’ve learned that there’s no need to worry about the expense and annoyance of finding parking in the city, paying high insurance premiums, or dealing with rising gas prices at the pump. I’ve experienced the “power of the fob” for myself, there’s no turning back. I’m hooked.  By sharing vehicles between a small and local “social network” of car-sharing members, people can really make a difference in reducing traffic congestion, parking problems, and our dependence on oil - while promoting cleaner air and more open space.

Back in 2001, City CarShare, a Bay Area nonprofit, introduced the city’s first car-sharing program — and others like Flexcar and Zipcar have entered the market since then. It’s pretty much the greenest way you can drive. A U.C. Berkeley study conducted in 2003 showed that each person who joins City CarShare saves nearly 100 gallons of gasoline each year, on average. When you add it all up, the current members of City CarShare in the Bay Area have saved more than 1 million gallons of gas. More recently, City CarShare has begun offering discounted programs to large local organizations like San Francisco City College to further increase its member base.

In my short time with City CarShare, it’s been easy and affordable to get around town to run errands, pick up friends and family at the airport, or conduct business in cities and towns nearby San Francisco. It does take a bit of advance planning to make sure you book the cars you need during certain times of day via the Web - but there are numerous “pods” (parking locations) to choose from, and all you need to do is wave your member “fob” on your keychain at your designated time - and the doors unlock, and off you go. Gas, insurance, pod parking and maintenance are all covered for you.

At $4/hour and 44 cents a mile, it’s really one of the cheapest ways to get around the Bay Area. And better yet, you can feel good knowing that membership in an organization like City CarShare is taking anywhere from 7 to 20 cars off the road for each vehicle they add to their growing fleet — and that’s having a very direct and real impact on the quality of life and environment in the cities that we live in.

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.

When Leonardo DiCaprio (he’s Leo to me and Marty) said that for the first time the Oscars had officially “gone green,” it was hard to believe that he wasn’t referring to the sea of celadon gowns that hit the red carpet last Sunday. 

Really, every other word in Oscar fashion coverage was celadon. That’s because Kate Winslet and Beyoncé wore celadon like it was meant to be worn, as an exquisite porcelain glaze, while poor Melanie Griffith got hammered for wearing it like the color of stale celery a few years back.   

Let’s face it. Green can’t easily be worn by everyone. And next year, skeptics say that green could easily fade to black if Hollywood stops watering the cause. 

I’m going to go with the optimists on this one. Green looked spectacular on Oscar this year. And in fact, organizations like Global Green USA started the greening process several years ago when celebs formed limo carpools and started driving hybrid, fancy, upscale electric cars like the Tesla Roadster. Conspicuous consumption done in a sustainable way… Only in Hollywood!  

So here’s the question for Hollywood’s corporate counterparts: can you wear green and wear it well in all its different shades? And can you find a way to wear it every season in new and innovative ways so that it becomes both a competitive advantage, as well as the right thing to do? 

With the right accessories – some bling, some vintage and perhaps a new twist or two – we think anything is possible.   

 Green is everywhere. Even for the most eager and committed of us, it’s hard to keep up with the information, research, controversy, and opinions that are coming at us like water from a fire hose.

Last night, at the peak of exhaustion from caring for two sick kids, a long day’s work and a spontaneous dinner party, my husband asked, “What happens if we just don’t do green?”

(WHAT?!?! Not do green? Who are you? Are you on drugs? Don’t you care about our children? Are you the devil?)

Somewhat like suggesting that saving money is a bad idea, “not doing green” is not an option in this day and age. It doesn’t mean that I am immediately trading in my car, for example, but it does mean I won’t buy a new car that isn’t a hybrid. I can’t guarantee I’ll reduce the length of my showers, but I am exploring how to convert to solar. And that’s only in my personal time…