Going Green: What Does it REALLY Mean?

"Going Green" is the latest marketing buzzword. Airlines, car companies, retailers, restaurants, bars — even churches and stadiums are incorporating environmental responsibility to their marketing programs. More often than not, that’s a good thing. But what does it really mean? 

There's another term associated with going green. It's called greenwashing. It’s when a business or organization claims to be “green” through advertising and marketing, but aren't -- it’s just making green claims to sell more stuff.

Smart businesses are finding out that doing right by the environment actually does increase profitability in many cases. With so many easy ways for businesses to reduce their environmental impact or improve their products and processes, it’s a real head-scratcher when they don’t. It’s even worse when they don’t make changes and claim to be a green company just to push their agenda. 

Consumers are Starting to Get it . . . .

According to Gallup, 85% of U.S. consumers are willing to switch loyalty to support greening companies, and globally 50% of consumers are willing to pay more for goods and services and trust companies that have implemented 'green' programs -- and actually provide proof.

It makes going green competitive

Because businesses can talk about ‘going green,’ but no one really knows what they are doing specifically. That makes it easy for some companies to not do much.

When companies are more transparent, and that information becomes easily available and in one consistent format, consumers can make smarter decisions about which brands and products to support. And, subsequently, that puts a lot of pressure on environmentally inactive corporations and businesses to make a change. It makes going green competitive.

Consumers do have the power to influence the way the world does business. Change will happen when consumers demand that the companies they buy from mix in a little green where the bottom-line has always been about red or black.

Change will happen when companies can't afford not to.

But the bottom line, as consumers, we don’t have enough knowledge readily available to help make meaningful choices. So, we’re skeptical and, at times, confused. Until NOW!

Alternatives Eco-Profiles are a simple way for every company and organization to communicate and share what they do environmentally in one consistent format. No more confusion about what 'green' means. Call 406-871-6282