MONTEREY, Calif., June 3, 2008 – Sustainable Brands ’08 (SB’08), the only event that addresses how to leverage all aspects of sustainability as a driver of brand value, opened today by focusing on the companies, insights and strategies that will lead sustainable change in the 21st century.

Sustainable Brands ’08 gathered more than 550 brand leaders from 37 states and 10 countries; participating companies include Best Buy, Boeing, Clorox, Dial/Heckle, Dupont, Gap Inc., General Mills, HP, Nestle-Purina, Nordstrom, Seventh Generation, Pepsi-Cola, Panasonic, Payless Shoes, Procter & Gamble, Redbull, SAP, Steelcase, SC Johnson, Yahoo and an unprecedented list of other new and established organizations. Sustainable Brands ’08’s 75+ speakers delivered current content via three distinct program categories: Brand Drivers, Brand Outside and Brand Inside.

News happens at Sustainable Brands, and announcements made today by sustainability innovators include:

• BBMG presented new findings from its Conscious Consumer Report along with actionable insights for marketers at SB’08, including data that America’s consumers are increasingly looking for brands that deliver a triple value proposition of practical, social and tribal benefits.
• Bauer’s Intelligent Transportation presented their green transportation initiative which includes increased use of hybrid vehicles in the fleet, use of bio-diesel vehicles and a corporate shuttle program for companies such as Google, VMware and Yahoo.
• California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) unveiled an overview of the Department's activities that include Green Chemistry, toxics in packaging, Lead in Children Jewelry, Environmental Sting Operations, and the California Take It Back! Partnership for electronic and universal waste.
• Doubleday debuted THE NECESSARY REVOLUTION: How Individuals and Organizations Are Working Together to Create a Sustainable World (Doubleday; June 10, 2008; $29.95; 432 pages) by Peter Senge, Bryan Smith, Nina Kruschwitz, Joe Laur and Sara Schley, a book about the end of The Industrial Age Bubble.
• Earthsense debuted Sustainability Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for over 350 companies as a part of their Eco-Insights semi-annual survey, reflecting the opinions of 30,000 U.S. consumers on eco-friendly corporate and product efforts, ranging from apparel to wineries for both manufacturers and retailers of consumable and durable products.
• Greenopolis, the first interactive green site to bring together – in one place – individuals, communities, environmental organizations, schools, universities, foundations and corporations and provide a collaborative venue for incremental environmental change premiered at the conference and will be officially launching later this month.
• Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants presented the findings from Kimpton EarthCare business case. Kimpton’s commitment to environmental responsibility is the cornerstone of its Kimpton CARES social responsibility outreach.
• Lulan Artisans, a unique collaboration between the Charleston, S.C.-based architect/consulting designers Laura Guido-Clark and Michael Koch, and a group of gifted artisans located throughout five Asian countries, will reveal early green building results.
• LUNAR announced the development of its LUNAR Elements, an internal initiative that’s an extension of LUNAR’s design and engineering teams dedicated to sustainability in design.
• Medis Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ: MDTL) introduced the Medis 24/7 Fuel Cell Power Pack, the world’s first commercially available fuel cell for handheld products such as cell phones and smartphones. Small, lightweight and convenient, the Medis 24-7 is an environmentally friendly, cost effective way to keep you powered anytime, anywhere.
• The MindClick Group, Inc. presented research titled “Consumers and Business: Crossing the Green Chasm.” The presentation gives insight on how consumers hold business, government and themselves equally responsible for fixing the problem of global warming.
• Stratavist, a thought leadership consultancy, unveiled its proprietary Strategic Trust CompassSM, made possible through funding by imc², and operating as a separate entity headed by marketing industry veteran, Bill Scheller.
• Sustainable Minds introduced a software suite for ecologically sustainable product design using life cycle assessment in a collaborative workspace. First-to-market, on-demand service gives organizations powerful sustainability knowledge and tools for rapid, iterative assessment of greener product concepts in early stages of design.
• SustainLane, the fast-growing online consumer media company in the green and healthy lifestyles space, announced that the company’s green ad # of premium publishers pushed past an important milestone by surpassing 100M monthly page views.
• VerTerra introduced commercial availability of its line of biodegradable and disposable dinnerware collection.
• WPP agencies Landor Associates, Cohn & Wolfe, and Penn, Schoen, Berland introduced new ImagePower Green Brands data, including the key finding that consumer concern for the environment has taken a back seat to the economy and rising energy prices.