How to look good green

There are few companies these days that don’t want to be part of the sustainability discussion. They can’t afford not to be at the table. Increasingly, businesses are moving beyond sitting in the right conferences and meeting the right NGOs to finding the courage to get out there and market themselves as green champions. In many ways that’s a positive development, but it can come at a heavy price.

So here’s a rough guide to avoiding the pitfalls of peaking too early when it comes to communicating green prowess.

1. DO check that the environmental movement is as impressed by your initiative as you are. Spend (a lot of) time listening to what the key barometers of opinion, like environmental NGOs, expect of your business, and adjust your practices accordingly, within reason of course. Think about the people the media will call for a counter view when you launch your big green campaign – and make sure they’ve heard about it from you first. It’ll improve the quality of what you’re trying to do, as well as giving you some much-needed independent endorsement when you go public. Sometimes, the best you can hope for is neutrality, but aim for more.

2. DON’T over-claim. Ever. If it’s a small step towards a bigger goal, say just that – don’t give any room for creating the impression you think you’ve done enough if you know you haven’t. Check that one part of your business isn’t in major conflict with the good work you’re talking about in your marketing campaign.

3. DO involve your employees. They are your greatest advocates. Countless companies spend resources telling the outside world how responsible they are, without the people on the shop floor having a clue about the good work going on. If you have thousands of employees, think about the net effect of all those people chatting in the pub about their job and what their company does. You can reach millions through good employee engagement, as well as motivating a work force that expects its bosses to be engaging on issues they read about every day.

4. DON’T be a one-hit wonder. One green campaign will have little lasting influence on reputation if it shrivels away, dies in a drawer and has nothing to follow it. Building green credentials can take years, and the best companies become ever bolder in their goals, and louder in their communications.

5. DO be authentic. There’s nothing that raises eyebrows more in this cynical sustainability world than a corporate affairs suit with green ‘talking points’ in his pocket. Authenticity is the key. If there are challenges in going green, be honest about it. If you think too much is being asked of your company, say so and say why, and explain the gains you think you can achieve for sustainable development. Tell it like it is, not how you think people want to hear it. There’s nothing so refreshing as a transparent, accessible, honest business leader. You may even change the minds of people who disagree with you. Marketing speak won’t work, so be yourself.

6. DON’T forget the power of digital. Communications have moved online. Social media is the new currency. Campaigners are using it effectively; companies should be too. Find compelling content that can mobilise online communities and get traction for your green credentials. Ad spend and press releases are becoming less and less effective as the role of online search takes stories directly to individuals at the touch of a button. It’s very cost effective, too. So be a twitter, not a twit.

7. DO measure success, and use it to secure ever more leadership momentum behind sustainability. Track perceptions of all your key audiences, be they customers, NGO stakeholders, investors, employees or the general public. Successful green marketing reaches all of the above, and in doing so it increases sales.

8. DON’T be nervous. Not everyone is going to stand up and applaud you, and you’ll probably take some hits from those who would rather your business didn’t exist at all. It’s all part of the rough and tumble of the environment movement. Don’t let one misleading attack put you off – after all, if you’ve done your homework you know you’re right, don’t you?

9. DO sit down with journalists and get to know them. Build relationships, don’t bombard them with email proclamations you think they’ll find interesting - they often don’t. Take them for a coffee (or something stronger if you like them), and chew the fat. You’ll find their copy a lot more balanced in your favour if they think you’re actually worth listening to. Tell them things they haven’t heard before. Invite them in to see for themselves how good you are if they don’t believe you. Make friends, not ‘contacts’.

10. DON’T give up. The work is too important for quitters.

Green marketing without designing the politics in advance is like walking into a gas factory whilst toying with a cigarette lighter. You may pull it off, but your chances are low. Get it right, and the rewards are huge. Above all, be transparent and authentic. If you need a training course to be those things, then ignore tip number 10!



Brendan May is Managing Director of Planet 2050.