Time to Inspire

Like many emotionally-charged movements, the current focus on sustainability swelled on a wave of public outcry. In the early-to-mid 2000s, as “green” was becoming chic (again), some brands began touting an environmental message without any real evidence that their policies, processes or products backed up those claims. Consumers cried “greenwash” at companies like Walmart and Ford, which resulted in both positive and negative consequences for this movement.

On the positive side, many (though not all) of the publically scorned organizations learned an early lesson and retreated, only to reappear with a more thoughtful and authentic approach to sustainability.  Likewise, consumers started getting smarter about which brands deserved their hard-earned money by digging into corporate websites, paying closer attention to executive behavior and by sharing actual product experiences both on and offline.

There was also a significant troubling outcome: many brands went into self-imposed Great Green Silence. They simply stopped communicating about their efforts, figuring no talking meant no consumer backlash and no risk.

Take, for example, HP, which was early to understand the business opportunity in sustainability. In 2004, HP set a goal of recycling 1 billion pounds of electronics, toner and ink cartridges, which it achieved by 2007. The company didn’t spend much time or effort letting the public know about this, or any other, accomplishment so when HP won the top spot on Newsweek’s 2009 Annual Green Rankings list, it had to backpedal with angry consumers who believed the recognition was undeserved. HP acknowledged in a corporate blog post that its lack of communication was a mistake and a missed opportunity to bring consumers along on its sustainability journey.

Today, brands are starting to realize the incredible power and benefit of telling their stories -- and that greenmuting can be as dangerous as greenwashing. Those few years of closed lips represent missed opportunity for shared innovation, industry leadership and consumer engagement.

To be sure, communicating a brand’s sustainability story requires traditional skill, combined with knowledge of environmental issues, cultural trends and social innovation. It’s PR and so much more: it’s shaping relevant messages, influencing behavior change and creating trust through actions to create an irresistible brand story.

So if greenwashing is a sure path to consumer outrage and greenmuting puts the brakes on potential, how about we focus on inspiring? It’s time.

Image source: Lifehack