Concise overview of green marketing pitfalls and guidelines for success.

1. Green Marketing
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2. What is Sustainability?
Meeting present needs without
compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.
Triple Bottom Line
 Social, Environmental, Economic
 People, Planet, Profits
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3. Capitalizing on “Green”
If you aren’t talking about it, how
are you going to capitalize on it?
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4. Charting a Course
 Overall business and branding strategy
 Do your customers care about environmental
stewardship?
 Do your business partners care?
 Do your employees care?
 Industry trends
 Competitor trends
 Materiality
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5. Take Inventory
 What are the sustainable aspects of
your business?
Operations
Products and
Supply Chain and
Services
Workplace
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6. Transparency
“Almost all companies are saying that they are environmentally-
friendly, and it’s hard to know who’s telling the truth.”
- Diane MacEachern, author of the Big Green Purse
 Combine story-telling with quantitative
metrics
 Sustainability is a journey, not a destination
 Share the good with the not-so-good
 Third-party certifications
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7. Greenwashing
The act of misleading customers regarding the
environmental practices of a company or the
environmental benefits of a product or service.
– Definition from TerraChoice
“Sins of Greenwashing”
 No proof
 Irrelevance
 Lesser of two evils
 Vagueness
 Hidden trade-offs
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8. Speak Their Language
“Market research shows that women are more likely than men to
choose brands that align with their values – even if it means
paying a little bit more. Socially and environmentally responsible
businesses that extend this halo effect through their marketing
efforts to women stand to gain enormously.”
- Lisa Witter, Fenton Chief Strategy Officer
 Meaningful examples
 Put things in relatable terms
 Make it personal
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9. Engage in a Dialogue
 Listen and act
75% of consumers want the
opportunity to voice their
 Utilize social media opinion to a company about
its social/environmental
practices and products.
 Invite participation – - Cone 2010 Shared
customers, vendors Responsibility Study
and employees
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10. For More Information:
jkolling@thinkpaydirt.com
612.840.5673
www.thinkpaydirt.com