GreenPepper Blog

Earthsense Report Features Surprises

Earlier this week, Earthsense released a report titled the Corporate Reality of Consumer Perceptions, exploring how consumers rate the eco-sensibility of various corporations.  What’s interesting about the report is not who’s ranked on top - Whole Foods, Earthbound Farm and Tom’s of Maine, along with the others who come out best have long been the torch-bearers for the eco movement – but rather the types of companies that consumers see the shine of green on.  Or maybe it’s not so surprising at all.

The report covered companies from 11 industries but the true standout companies came from only three of these industries – consumer packaged goods retailing, consumer packaged goods manufacturing and, oddly, Internet firms, with Google and Yahoo – a Peppercom client – both appearing among the nine standout companies.  Interestingly, Internet firms get a high ranking partially because their product is viewed as having a high “Earthsense.”  There are no natural resources used in creating an Internet search, and no waste product left behind once we are through with it.  However, we know from Michael Blankenship’s previous post that an online search is not without a carbon footprint and may not be so Earth friendly after all.

This is a clear depiction of how perception can shape reality in the green world.  As a result, it is critical that companies are effectively communicating green messages to shape public perception of both the company and its products.  While “greenwashing” and making unsubstantiated or exaggerated green claims is a definite no-no, being truthful and making honest efforts towards sustainability can help companies appear more eco-friendly in the eyes of its consumers.  If they don’t know what you are doing, they won’t see you as a company they support.

Is it any surprise GE is the only company of its type included in the top 35? 

Wal-Mart Experience the Opposite of Green

By Sand Pfaff, GreenPepper

With all of the positive news about Wal-Mart and their greening strategy, I was ready to be “wowed” when I went to their Sacramento store on a recent Friday night.  Instead, I was aghast.  My experience from start to finish was about the furthest thing from green, and I left with the not-so-pleasant feeling that I’d been severely green-washed.  From the filthy dirty parking lot and bathrooms, to the disengaged and surly employees, to the layout of the store, it was a depressing experience at best.

What about all that great work they’re doing to renovate facilities to be more energy efficient?  I heard Charles Zimmerman, Wal-Mart’s VP of Prototype and New Store Format, speak at Opportunity Green in Los Angeles in November 2008,  and was blown away by his plans for building new stores and renovating old ones.  But they’re not connecting those dots to consumers like me who want to see evidence of that progress within the store.

What about the news of their personal sustainability program and how they’re really engaging employees in the green movement?  While I didn’t expect to be greeted with a Whole Foods-like farmers market at the front door, I would expect some indication of how they’re contributing to the health of the environment, their communities and their employees.  For starters, some signage would certainly help - at the registers, on the shopping carts, or even a lapel pin for cashiers that shares their sustainability goal.  Based on what I saw, a personal sustainability program was the furthest thing from the minds of these employees, if they’d even heard about it.

While you may think the average Wal-Mart shopper may not care about this green progress, there are plenty of us who do, and we need to hold Wal-Mart accountable.  If we’re to believe anything we read about them these days, we need to see them practicing what they’re preaching in the stores, and in their parking lots.

The only good news?  I did get the light bulbs I came in for.

The Best Clean Technology Is Coming – Or Is It?

By Ann Barlow, GreenPepper

We are getting closer to an agreement on an economic stimulus package that should create some unprecedented opportunities for this country to invest in new clean technology, emissions reduction and energy conservation.  We should be thrilled.  So why am I nervous?

From what we are hearing, the way the money will get divvied up is in real danger of following the same old pattern.  Whoever has the best connection with the administration and member of Congress, whoever can spend the most money and wield the most power will win.

If this happens, we’ll not only preserve the cynical approach of influence peddling, but worse – much worse – we may rob ourselves of the best solutions.

Our client, Solazyme, is advocating for a better, more honest approach – even as they pay us and our brethren to make sure they are heard in case Washington defaults to its old ways.  CEO Jonathan Wolfson says we’ll achieve far better results if we take a technology-neutral approach, so that rather than pushing biofuels versus ethanol versus wind or solar or whatever, we begin first with what the problem is that we are trying to solve.  Then, we look at all of the companies that say they can help solve this problem and categorize them by development stage.  Then, we give money to those that show the most promise – some that are approaching commercialization stage, some that have a way to go, and some whose technology may be 10 years away but shows real promise.

While I applaud the urgency and attention being paid to these issues after years of neglect, we are now in danger of being in too much of a hurry.