Marketing BEEP

The Top Green Companies in the U.S.

If you want to shop at green stores, you may not have to look any farther than your own grocery store. Trader Joe’s, Publix, Whole Foods, Wegmans and MOMs have all made the list of the top 35 companies that are greenest. These companies are also the best investments and are the most recommended by shoppers across the U.S.

A new report from GreenBiz.com entitled “The Corporate Reality of Consumer Perceptions” revealed the list. The report was written by marketing firm Earthsense, which conducted an Eco-Insights Survey, polling more than 30,000 people. The survey tried to figure out how green people perceive familiar companies to be. Results were ranked according to: how sustainable the company’s operations are; how green the products on the shelves are (or how green the products produced are); the potential of the company being a good investment; and how likely a person is to recommend that company to friends or family.

Not Just Supermarkets
Of course, grocery stores and supermarkets weren’t the only companies that made the list. Many green consumer packaged goods companies made the list, including Tom’s of Maine, Green Mountain Coffee, Kashi and Burt’s Bees among others.

The authors of the report, Amy Hebard and Wendy Cobrda, said on GreenBiz radio that the probable reason these brands scored high is because shoppers have a personal relationship with them and as a result feel like they know the companies more, including their “green” quotient.

Then again, other companies that are giants, namely Google and Yahoo!, aren’t exactly close to consumers, but have effectively communicated their green initiatives to the public. Both companies are also helping their customers become more green.

You can download the full report at GreenBiz.com.

The Top 35 Green Companies, by Earthsense
Amazon
Apple
Benjamin Moore
Burt‘s Bees
Discovery
Earthbound Farm
E & J Gallo
Fresh & Easy
General Electric
Google
Green Mountain Coffee
Hain Celestial Group
H. E. Butt
Hess
Kashi
Kraft
Lowe‘s
Method
Microsoft
MOM‘s
Odwalla
Peet‘s
Publix
Sinclair Oil
Stonyfield Farm
Target
Tesla
Tom‘s of Maine
Trader Joe‘s
United Natural Foods
Wal-Mart
Walt Disney
Wegmans
Whole Foods
Yahoo

Microsoft Gets Double Recognition
In addition to making it on the Top 35 list from Earthsense, Microsoft is receiving the first U.S. sustainable events management certification. Microsoft’s Convergence 2009 event, set to take place in New Orleans March 10-13, will hopefully complete the events management certification standard BS 8901:2007, a British standard developed specifically for the events industry.

The standard details three phases of event management – planning, implementation, and check and review – and requires companies to address a broad range of environmental issues at each phase. The standard applies to events such as large-scale conferences to events as small as business meetings.

Economic Forecast is Gray, but Consumers Still See Green

Even though times are tough, consumers are still thinking about the environment when they go to the store. According to a report by consumer behavior specialists The Hartman Group, Sustainability: The Rise of Consumer Responsibility, more than 75% of consumers “consider environment and social aspects at times in making purchase decisions and one-third are willing to pay more for that benefit.”

“During these tough economic times, sustainable products create that ‘sweet spot’ that make consumers more optimistic about the choices they are making,” said Alison Worthington, Hartman Group Managing Director of Sustainability. “In many ways, the term sustainability has become synonymous with responsibility for consumers or just ‘doing the right thing’.”

The online survey consisted of 1,856 respondents September 19 – 24, 2008, at the onset of the recession.

Consumers Consider Themselves Green, but Many Can’t Name a Green Product
According to the report, 88% of consumers consider themselves to partake in sustainable behaviors. About 37% of consumers believe that their purchase decisions matter as much as their votes (45%). Only 56% were familiar with the term “sustainability” up from 54% in 2007.

But despite these great numbers, only 25% of consumers could actually name a sustainable product. Worthington noted that this lack of knowledge is a great opportunity for companies to get their messages out. 

A Green Reputation is Key
According to the 2009 National Green Buying survey by Green Seal and EnviroMedia Social Marketing, half of consumers are buying just as many green products now as they did before the recession started. When asked what influenced their green purchasing decisions, 21% said a product’s reputation mattered most, followed by word of mouth (19%) and brand loyalty (15%).

About one in three said that they don’t know how to tell if the ad claims of a product being green are true, while one in 10 people said that trust green product claims no matter what.

To find out the truth in the advertising, 24% said they read packaging to understand the green claims and 17% research online or look at studies.

Marketers Must Focus on Educating Consumers and Branding
These two studies show that consumers want to jump on the green bandwagon, and in fact, many have one foot in. Consumers want to learn more about being green, and marketing that focuses on educating customers, whether on product packaging or on company Web sites, will likely win more customers. If a customer feels that the company is teaching something about being green to them, the customer will be more apt to buy.

Marketers must also focus on green branding and getting the word out to foster a green reputation. In these hard times, loyalty to green brands could be just what keeps your company from going in the red.

3 Easy Ways to Green Your Marketing

Greening your marketing can be as easy or complicated as you want to make it.

For those that are looking for easy ways to green marketing practices, here are some suggestions.

Check Your Mailing Lists
By checking your mailing lists for duplicates or undeliverable addresses, you save paper and postage. One of Trekk Cross-Media’s bloggers, MJ Anderson, made a good point on the company’s blog, illustrating the need for checking mailing lists.

“Today I received a direct mailer at work that on the surface was funny, but after some thought was pretty sad….In today’s case, the direct mail piece was intended to tell me about the company’s new “environmentally responsible” policy on paper and soy based inks. Sounds like a great idea, right? I thought so, too, until I realized that not only did I receive this mailer, but six other people in my small office received the same mailer. Most of the recipients are not in a position to procure, use, or influence the purchase of printing services. The piece in question was a pretty elaborate envelope and well-designed brochure, letter and insert.

. . . I find it very ironic that a company interested in making an environmental statement as a marketing ploy would not take the time to check and verify its list before sending out an expensive mailing.

Not only does the printing company waste paper and postage, but it also looks hypocritical in my opinion, for trying to save the planet by sending out 6 pieces of the same paper to individuals who work in the same building."

Action Plans:

• Make your initial communication by email and then only send something in the mail as a follow-up to those that expressed an interest.
• Check your mailing list for duplicate addresses. If you’re sending direct mail to the president, CFO, marketing director and other notables, pick the top person who might actually read your direct mail piece and have the power to take action. Only send the piece to that person.

Not only will this help save the environment, but your company will save money and you’ll trim down your mailing list to the best prospects!

Talk to Your Printer About Green Choices
Commercial printers are increasingly becoming green, but in all actuality, only a small percentage have actually implemented green processes and materials.

Kodak researched how printers lie on the “green curve,” meaning how green are printers now and how green do they plan on getting? The results: 

• 20% have no plans for environmental sustainability
• 30% have investigated it, but not started any initiatives
• 35% have not yet achieved any environmental certifications, but they have programs underway
• 15% have environmental sustainability programs in place, including certifications

As a marketer or business owner, this means you only have 15% of printers to choose from if you want to truly go green.

Action Plan: Ask about your printing company’s green certifications and what kind of sustainable practices are already in place, not are planned to be in place. And if your printer doesn’t even have a plan, you can easily find a greener printer who is at least working toward being green. Every bit of recycled paper helps.

Attend the Printing for a Sustainable Future Conference 

Just learning about green initiatives and what printers can do to become green can help you understand how to green your print marketing solutions. The conference will be held March 16-18 in Indianapolis.

Topics include developing sustainable management systems and understanding green paper choices and eco-friendly inks. If you don’t know the green terminology, there’s a session on that too.

Action Plan: Take in as much info as you can, and use that info to pick inks and papers, and ultimately, a printer who cares about the environment as much as you do. Ask questions to learn what steps you can take in your business plan to green your marketing.