March 21, 2008 - Cleaning equipment supplier Ecolab is putting some marketing muscle behind the new green certification program for its Blue Coral brand of commercial carwash products, Modern Car Care reports. The company's vehicle care division is heavily promoting the Blue Coral Beyond Green program among consumers because, according to one executive, "no matter how great a technology may be, if you don’t tell [end users] about it, it doesn’t have value [for the business]."

Beyond Green certification indicates that a car-cleaning product contains no harmful chemicals and meets all local environmental compliance standards. “Over the past several months, Ecolab Vehicle Care has focused its research and development resources on one goal: to ensure every carwash product...is sustainable and meets or exceeds regulatory compliance standards in every corner of North America,” says Gaetan Lambiase, VP of Ecolab’s vehicle care business.

Ecolab will be working closely with carwash operators to educate consumers on the environmental benefits of Beyond Green-certified products and the facilities that use them, according to Lambiase. “By speaking directly to the environmental concerns that our carwash customers are expressing through their wallets every day, Blue Coral Beyond Green will resonate with consumers and cause a shift in the purchase decisions many of them make.”

In fact, redefining consumer expectations for environmental performance in the car care industry - and therefore setting Ecolab's offerings apart from the pack - is a key goal of the program, according to John Rolando, VP of corporate technology, services, and emerging businesses. “Our industry is trailing others on sustainability," Rolando says, "so we are drawing a line in the sand and defining what it means for a wash to be sustainable."