An End To Greenwash? Interview With Marcello Manca Of Underwriters Laboratories, “UL Environment”

Marcello Manca, VP & General Manager, UL Environment
Marcello Manca is Vice President & General Manager of UL Environment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Underwriters Laboratories (UL), a global leader in product testing and safety certification for more than a century. UL Environment (ULE) was launched in January 2009, and the organization has more than doubled in size over the past year. Read on for Marcello’s insights into the future of environmental standards setting and claims making.
John Laumer: What is UL Environment and what does it do?
Marcello Manca: UL Environment is an environmental evaluation company which provides independent confirmation of claims, certification to standards, and develops standards to provide transformation to the marketplace.
We are:
• A part of the UL family of companies.
• A local business with global capabilities.
• Interested in helping companies bring products to market.
• A trusted source for environmental information.
Four Strategies for Green Marketing
I attended the State of Green Business Forum 2010 last week in Chicago, organized by Greener World Media. One panel explored the topic of green marketing in the age of transparency and shared many insights.
Panelists:
Amy Hebard, co-founder and chief researcher of Earthsense
Chris Nelson, director of global commercial development for UL Environment
Suzanne Shelton, president and ceo of Shelton Group
No such thing as a green consumer
There are many motivations for purchasing more eco-friendly products, and not all of them involve saving the planet, so it is nearly impossible to create a profile for this consumer group. This varies even more when considering different categories of consumer goods. Some folks may buy energy efficient appliances to save money, while others may pay a premium for natural cosmetics because they are perceived as safer than conventional products. Although perhaps about 7 percent of consumers are motivated by altruism, the majority are motivated because they see the product as better in some way for themselves (such as health, lower energy cost, or safety). In many cases, the green product is the tiebreaker or the cherry on top, thus green consumers must see the product as the same, or better, than the competition.
Despite Recession, Home Depot Keeps on Giving
Last week’s announcement from the Home Depot Foundation suggests that even with sales slumps and layoffs, the nation’s largest retailer of home improvement products still views charitable giving as good business.
The company is expecting lower revenues for 2009 when results are announced in February, and for the third consecutive January is cutting its workforce. Still, the Home Depot Foundation gave $74 million to 5,300 nonprofits last year, according to the recent announcement, an almost 50 percent increase from 2008.
“The Foundation has not been affected by how the broader economic pressures have affected our company,” said Home Depot spokesperson, Paula Drake in an email to Triple Pundit.
In fact, during an economic downturn may be the best time for companies to burnish their reputations through cause marketing campaigns, according to Wendy Liebmann, chief executive at WSL Strategic Retail, a consulting company. In a recent NY Times article, Ms. Liebmann referenced a list of 10 reasons shoppers consider a store their favorite, and supporting “the community or worthwhile causes” came in number 8 on the list. “The key, as we come out of this recession, is that we don’t trust many people anymore,” Ms. Liebmann added, so “retailers feel the need to present themselves as good citizens” to counter that.
Thoughts on Marketing the Climate Change Issue
By Sirid Kellermann
After spending a decade in R&D positions in biotech, I recently parlayed my MBA into a marketing role. This is a bit ironic, considering that not that long ago, I considered marketers to be bottom feeders who find out what makes you tick and then use that information to shove something you don’t want down your throat. But I’m beginning to appreciate that marketing can be about helping connect your company or organization with customers who really do want or need the products or services you provide. It’s a powerful skill that can be transformative – and one that I think could be put to good use outside of the realm of conventional business, as well.
Here’s an example. Recently, NASA released a report titled 2009: Second Warmest Year on Record; End of Warmest Decade. Climate Progress ran the story and included an excerpt of the report in its headline: “In total, average global temperatures have increased by about 0.8°C (1.5°F) since 1880.”
Indigenous Designs Wins Free Range YouTopia Grant
As we reported back in September, the creative agency Free Range Studios–the minds behind viral Internet hits including The Meatrix–opened up its yearly YouTopia grant this year to for-profit companies as well as non-profits. When asked about the shift to allow for-profits to apply for the grant this year, Free Range co-founder Jonah Sachs said the differences between for- and non-profit companies has been getting blurred as for-profit firms begin operating with goals and priorities that have traditionally been seen only in the non-profit realm.
Indigenous Designs is one of those for-profits that has been blurring the for-profit/non-profit line throughout its 15 year history of selling organic, fair trade apparel made by artisans from around the world.
The company announced last week that it won the 2009 YouTopia grant–which provides $15,000 worth of free design and strategy services from Free Range. The winner was selected partly through a crowdsourced model; the studio’s client and fan base were asked to vote on the proposals from grant applicants in order to select the top 10 candidates.
When Green Marketing Goes Wrong: The Chevy Volt Dance
Have you seen the hideous “Chevy Volt Song and Dance” performed at the L.A. Auto Show this year? This is a classic example of green marketing gone wrong. The song is cheesy, the dancers perform an uninspired dance, and the whole spectacle is just plain painful to watch.
What Chevy should have done is take a cue from They Might Be Giants. The band produced one of the most well-made, eco-friendly tunes to date, as well as a high quality animation video to accompany it. The video is adorable and makes viewers feel so cozy watching the driver and puppy trail along the beautiful night landscape.
A song and dance can work well for a product if it engages the emotions of potential customers; it must be done tastefully and attractively. We know that with the right tune and the right image, this type of marketing has the potential to resonate strongly with the masses.
How Twitter Can Make You a More Ethical Holiday Shopper
Like it or not, ‘tis the season for lots (and lots) of holiday shopping.
Wouldn’t it be great if we could harness at least some of that consumerism to help benefit environmental and social causes?
Cause marketing guru Olivia Khalili believes we can.
Earlier this month, Khalili launched iGiveTwice, an online Twitter campaign designed to encourage people to choose gifts that have social or environmental benefits.
After all, stop and think about it for a minute. When you go out shopping, you usually have plenty of choices, right? So, why not choose a gift that is
Seventh Generation Launches the Million Baby Crawl for Toxic Chemical Reform
Take a look at the baby in this video. He’s innocent, adorable, and completely irresistible . . .
At least that’s how Seventh Generation hopes the U.S. Congress sees it.
Seventh Generation, the nation’s leading brand of non-toxic and environmentally-safe household and personal care products, has joined forces with eco-advocate Erin Brockovich and Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families to launch the Million Baby Crawl, a grassroots effort designed to urge Congress to pass stronger regulations regarding the chemicals used in household products.
Currently, synthetic chemicals are regulated by the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA), an outdated law that experts say has utterly failed to keep us safe from substances that cause cancer and a host of other serious illnesses. Under the TSCA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not have the authority to demand the information it needs to evaluate a chemical’s risk, and neither manufacturers nor the agency are required to prove a chemical’s safety before it can be used.
As a result, in the 33 years since the TSCA was enacted, the EPA has required testing on only 200 of the more than 80,000 chemical compounds now in use. Only 200 of 80,000? That’s an astonishingly small 0.25%!
Fortunately, a new proposal to reform the TSCA is in the Congressional pipeline. This new bill will:
Hopenhagen: the Ultimate Cause Marketing Campaign

If you follow environmental issues, chances are you’ve come across the beautiful, inspiring Hopenhagen campaign. The purpose of the campaign is to draw attention to the upcoming United Nations climate change conference COP15, which you can read more about here. Many folks who care deeply about climate change are watching closely with their fingers crossed, hoping that strong commitments will come out of the conference.
For those of us on the ground who care about the outcome of the talks but aren’t involved in politics, there isn’t much to do but watch and worry. And that’s where Hopenhagen comes in. The brain-child of Ogilvy Earth, an international sustainability marketing company, Hopenhagen is the branding of a movement. The purpose of the campaign is to give activists something to do besides watch and worry: we can hope. The power of “hope,” as we learned with the viral “Yes We Can” video during the Obama campaign, is that hope has a way to inspire and motivate people to action in a way that fear never can.
Hopenhagen is not only a play on the city where the talks will take place, but a subtle jibe at the choices we have in the climate crisis. We can cope with climate change by changing our behavior, moving inland and finding alternate habitats for the polar bears, or we can hope that the crisis will move us toward a more sustainable way of living sustainably, with the resources we have available on this planet. There’s a lot of opportunity for innovation there.
EcoUnit Partners with Organic Valley to Supercharge Sustainable Consumer Behavior

How do you effectively shift consumer behavior with minimal cost to you as a business and minimum effort required of consumers? EcoUnit is one company attempting to answer that question.
When we last wrote about them in June, they were testing out ways to reward customers for bringing in their own bags. This earns them EcoUnits, redeemable for anything from store discounts to donations to local eco non profits of choice. As mentioned, the pilot store program was a huge success, a 77 percent increase in reusable bag use in the first two months after launch.
Where are they now?


An Australian company is giving away 30 million compact fluorescent light bulbs to Mexican households in hopes of reaping big rewards in the international carbon credit markets.

I haven’t been blogging too much ’round these parts lately, mostly because I’ve been busy creating the types of videos and films I’m about to feature, but Liberty Mutual’s latest short, “Good Vibrations” made me stop in my tracks so I decided to make the time to share it with all of you. (No need to thank me.)










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