Seventy years ago going green might have meant how much fertilizer to use and when to water your victory garden to our great grandparents. Now it has morphed into a way of life that has very little to do with tomatoes and zucchini. As Kermit mentioned time and time again…”it’s not easy being greenâ€. While it seems that each new generation likes to believe it is inventive and pioneering regarding a cleaner world, in truth most of the “green†thoughts that people promote these days have been well known and understood by the previous generations.
Today’s “green initiative” is a much less complicated concept to individuals than it is in regards to industries. The first thing you need to decide is whether “Going Green” is a trend, a fad, or a necessity within your own unique application. Might be a little of all three to the general public but to your business it might be a much more linear concept with positive or negative side affects.
While the ideas aren’t that new, there new applications and technologies that help refine the concept. What you have to ask yourself as you develop and implement your own unique ideas and strategies is whether Going Green will have the impact that you hope to achieve on today’s society and your business model. Will having a green mindset generate the interest in your product and at the same time have an overall positive affect on the environment? What actually should be “new†and “inventive†is the way you promote your product — and how you present it should express the positives of being green.
Why go green? Is it to change how consumers view your brand? Is it to set your product apart from another brand? Is it to cut costs? This is the first decision that needs to be made before moving forward and adopting a green initiative.
What are your goals? Next decide how your vision affects your goals and your budget. This will have a direct impact on the actions you take and whether it will have an immediate affect or long term.
Know the data. There are many misconceptions on sustainability surrounding what is and is not recyclable, creating waste, affecting our planet and what is actual clean technology. Many newer techniques and materials provide benefits but not without cost or other considerations to the environment. From paper and wood to plastics and metal, each creates unique energy, waste and raw material demands.
Create it. Make your vision come alive with a plan and a budget that allows you to see a return on your investment. Will you lessen your impact on natural resources and its carbon footprint? Promote recycling or the use of recycled materials? Or will you provide packaging that can be reused? The “voice†of your vision needs to be clear for all to hear.
