A pioneer in the field of experiential branding and culture building, Janine James has brought success to some of the worlds most influential brands. In this exclusive interview, she explains why the concept of innovation should be given pride of place in any green branding effort.

SLM: Janine, you founded The Moderns back in 1992, long before "green" had entered the mainstream as a hot branding commodity. What was your inspiration? Did you have any idea the sustainability marketing space would grow so quickly?

Janine: I created The Moderns from a multi-disciplinary vantage point. The firm brings together strategists, designers, architects, economists, social anthropologists, historians, and scientists all working on the same problem. We call it idea circle methodology: our core creative team takes a problem-solving approach to delivering strategic branding messages across all media. Depending on the project, we may also draw on the expertise of a stable of outside specialists in a range of disciplines.

I drew my inspiration for this model from a six-week trip I took to India, where I really felt the power of interconnectedness in nature , and its comparative lack in human culture. Society doesnt always see the big picture, how certain resource management practices have far-reaching impacts on the natural world, for example. Not surprisingly, most companies dont look at sustainability as interconnected to all aspects of their operations and corporate culture, either.

I realized that I had to stop seeing certain activities as green. That as long as sustainability is kept in a separate category it will be marginalized. Instead, we have to shift the paradigm from sustainability toward innovation. Its innovation that keeps a business viable and, in this day and age, innovation necessarily includes environmental concerns. So we have to start looking at what were doing as innovation and connect that to brand strategy.

SLM: How do you go about building or refining a company's sustainable branding story? If a new corporate client walked into your office tomorrow, what three things would you look at to help focus that client's green message?

Janine: Rather than three individual steps toward brand positioning, Id say there are three overlapping questions that need to be answered:

1. What does innovation mean to you? We're not developing a sustainable strategy were developing an innovation strategy. What does innovation mean in the context of your companys corporate culture? How do we define our innovation model?
2. What is your intention? Many companies so wrapped up in the details of this or that green initiative (a recycling program, for example.) that their efforts they lack a larger context. What do exactly you want to accomplish? Be sincere and humble about where you are today compared to your intended position, and create a sense of excitement in pursuing that goal.
3. What is your single brand message? Now that green is so popular, I see a lot of companies that have two core competencies: their mainstream branding message and their green message. You need to pull all green initiatives under one united brand umbrella. Green should be just one aspect of the corporate brand.

SLM: You've helped to craft sustainability branding strategies for some pretty big corporate names, including American Express and BASF. Are there any challenges or barriers these companies face that mid-size companies do not, either in focusing their green message or getting it across to consumers? Any advantages?

Janine: I'd say the number one concern that all large companies share is liability mitigation. They're afraid that if they say theyll be greener, it gives the impression they had been polluting before. Or if they set green goals, theyre just giving potential critics an opening if they fail to meet them.

That's why innovation is a better model , it takes a lot of that liability out of the equation. Flooring manufacturer Shaw Industries, for example, is investing in a lot of brilliant environmental initiatives, from investing in closed-loop recycling to removing PVC from their carpet backing. But they don't trumpet their green credentials. Rather, they pursue these initiatives under a larger innovation umbrella. Their end goal isn't let's be green , it's let's be the most innovative, competitive brand on the globe. Sustainable initiatives are only one kind of innovation that will help get you there. Don't limit the conversation, weave green into the fabric of your culture: "This is why we're in business." With the right focus and positioning you gain credibility , and mitigate liability across the board.

SLM: How do you measure the success of a new branding push? Are these benchmarks any different for sustainability branding than they might be for a more traditional approach?

Janine: It's a catch-22: You cant track your progress without metrics, but an over-reliance on metrics can actually work against you, inhibiting fresh thinking and the confidence to try new things. Also, a lot of these sustainability efforts weren't even on the map a couple years ago. When you innovate, it takes a while to get traction and measure in a meaningful way. A year or two isn't enough when you're talking about a paradigm shift.

That said, customer loyalty is a good measure. MilliCare, for example, looked really smart for realizing indoor air quality would be an issue for consumers. The company soon became the go-to vendor for consumers looking to enter the green building arena, because they had the knowledge and the credibility. You can learn from metrics , as long as you're harvesting the knowledge back into innovation.

SLM: As a frequent speaker at colleges and universities, you have the opportunity to meet with budding sustainable innovators and entrepreneurs all over the country. How do these future MBAs and green designers see themselves taking part in the (increasingly mainstream) green market? What kinds of questions do they ask you, and what advice do you have for them?

Janine: Interacting with students is so inspiring and rewarding. There are so many committed to this approach! Academic specialization does sometimes make it difficult to see the big picture, however. A lot of students see environmentalism as recycling, or materials management. I try to get them to look it as an innovation paradigm it affects everything you do as a designer, for example. And I caution MBAs against looking at green as an add-on. Instead, I suggest they view it as an opportunity to really redefine a category, to remain viable and globally competitive as a business. It's not the fear approach, it's the opportunity approach.

SLM: At SB07 you'll be discussing your work for the award-winning repositioning of MilliCare, whose goal is to own the "healthy, sustainable, clean" space in the commercial cleaning marketplace. Why do you think this particular branding story has gained such cross-sector recognition?

Janine: LEED-CI [the green certification program for commercial interiors] is getting so much play now, it was only a matter of time before products started meeting the market need. But MilliCare didnt sell its environmentally friendly cleaning products as a sustainability story. Rather, it sought to redefine "clean" as a lifestyle and corporate brand. The move elevated building maintenance to a whole new category, and it's going to hit the home market in no time.