Sign up now to have "Eco-Advantage Strategies" delivered fresh to your inbox!

March 5, 2008 A Guide for Sustainable Business Innovators Home | Climate News & Ideas | Connections | Events | About

Products That Suddenly Get Heat for Environmental Impact - Is Yours Next? Sometimes the perception of a product as good or bad for you can switch fast. Take what's happening to bottled water. Who knows if all the hoopla is really driving down sales, but it hasn't been a great brand moment for bottled water companies. What was once a convenient way to stay hydrated (who knew we had so much trouble getting through a business meeting without water?), is now a sign of wastefulness. Which products get the bad rap is not always logical or driven by real data - ok, it's almost never driven by real footprint analysis. I mean, really, while it is plainly a silly use of resources when tap water quality is so high, how much of your overall footprint comes from using water bottles? So there's some danger now in focusing on the small issues. Carrying around a plastic or steel bottle is not a big nuisance; but it is enough of a change in lifestyle to make you feel like you did your part...when driving less would dwarf the impact of the bottles. There's also some risk for business in getting drawn into the wrong battle...but you may not have a choice. That said, companies can do their part to answer legitimate questions about resource use. We'll see below what companies like Coke are doing about it. A great article in Fast Company last year reviewed the pros and cons of the bottled water business. It's not as straightforward as it would seem - it never is. But the article concluded with one important thought: "Bottled water is not a sin, but it is a choice." This is an important insight. Consumers and other critical stakeholders will make choices that will seem like sudden shifts against you or your products. I'd worry about a few big groups: "the public" and consumers, business customers, and of course the government (we look at an example in each below). But what can you do about new pressures? How can you prepare? A few suggestions: Know your footprint better than the critics. Know where you have a legitimate problem and where the criticism is not quite right, where your product is actually better than most alternatives, or even explore when your product is the best solution (e.g., water bottles are pretty good in disaster relief). Listen to customers about their concerns. Expect zero tolerance on some issues (such as lead in toys). At times, do a "mea culpa." The first toy company to say, "Yes, there's a lead problem, and yes, we're fixing it" wins major points." Deal with major footprint issues through redesign and attention to end-of-life (Coke is taking these on). Be prepared to invest to avoid these problems. Innovate and develop a path away from dangerous or "useless" products to an alternative - eat your own lunch before someone else does. Negative attention, deserved or not, can come fast. So stay nimble, know your business, and begin the transition away from those products or ingredients that are never going to come back into everyone's good graces. ~Andrew Winston, Founder, Winston Eco-Strategies, Co-author, Green to Gold (Read his "Eco-Advantage" blog here.) Comments or questions? Join Andrew and other readers online at the Eco-Strategies Forum. Case #1: The Public Turns on You All the big bottled water companies - Coke, Pepsi, and Nestle - are feeling the heat. As usual, the big iconic brands get hit the hardest and Coke has been getting ready. So while the big guys have redesigned bottles to reduce plastic use, Coke has been the most aggressive across its portfolio, redesigning its glass and plastic cola bottles and announcing massive investments in recycling (here and here). Since glass bottles may be next up in public backlash, and waste is always hot, all of these activities blunt criticism, get ahead of problems, and create real value for the company. Case #2: Your Business Customers Turn on You If you sell to big customer-facing brands, especially the big retailers, you're getting some tough questions now about some products. Retailers are taking a pretty hard line on lead in toys, as they should. PVC plastic is on the run, with Target announcing cuts in products and packaging and Sears and Kmart following suit. We may still use PVC in some plastics, like pipes buried in the ground or behind walls, but PVC in everyday products is going away, propelled by big brands trying to green up their shelves. These big business customers are also phasing out somewhat more innocuous problem products like plastic bags - Wal-Mart and IKEA are two of the biggest to tackle the issue. The greening of the supply chain is getting more aggressive. Case #3: The Government Turns on You The most obvious group to decide a product isn't good for you is the government - with often severe impacts on business. Cars are under attack, with taxes on big vehicles in France, government websites with information and green rankings in the U.S. and in the U.K., and even an EU-wide mandate in the works to force a health warning in all car ads (echoing the history of cigarette advertising). Here in the U.S., we've had an interesting, quiet revolution targeting a seemingly harmless product, the light bulb. The last energy bill got so much attention about raising car fuel efficiency (something I'm convinced was going to happen through market forces anyway). But the bill also effectively ended the 120-year reign of incandescent light bulbs. New standards will phase them out, starting in 2012, by setting new energy-use standards that the incandescents can't meet. GE has begun the phase out already, shuttering plants in the old technology. Lucky for GE, it has a big business in the replacement tech, compact fluorescents. What happens if you only make the product that's being eliminated? We want to hear from you! Post your comments or questions and we'll feature the best of them here. Forward to a Friend! SB'08 Plans Taking Shape! A flurry of activity is taking place behind the scenes as plans take shape for SB'08, June 2-5 at the Hyatt Regency, Monterey. Check in for a sneak peek, and save money by registering today! Eco-Advantage Salon Tour! Andrew's Eco-Advantage Salon Tour is coming to a city near you. Watch here for information on our next locations, dates, and participants. New to SLM Sustainable Business Newsletters? Check out these other targeted topics and keep yourself up to speed on how to drive value through sustainable innovation throughout your organization. Find Peers and Partners If you haven't already joined the fastest growing online sustainable business community, create a profile now and start connecting. Books & Media Buy This Book! "No executive can afford to ignore the green wave sweeping the business world. [Co-authors] Esty and Winston show how to make sustainability a core element of strategy-and profit from it." -Chad Holliday, CEO, DuPont Advertise on SLM! Become a Sustainable Life Media advertiser or sponsor and reach thousands of business leaders looking for product or service solutions to help them build their sustainability story. Click here to learn more. Have a story you want told? Send it to us! Solution Providers

Sustainable Life Media is home for business professionals looking to build new value and competitive advantage by innovating more sustainable processes, practices and products. We bring you top stories related to the what, who and how of environmental and social innovation, and help you connect with thought leaders, peers, partners and solutions providers that can help you quickly reach your goals. This work is licensed under a CreativeCommons License. Copyright Sustainable Life Media Inc. 2008

Home | Terms of Use | Privacy | Unsubscribe | Contact | How We Can Help | Partners