Eco-Entrepreneur Beth Zonis Helping Clients Market the “Clean” Economy

Cross-posted from The Green Suits:

Eco-Marketing, LLC provides top-notch marketing solutions to companies in the "clean" economy. Beth Zonis is Eco Marketing's founder and principal. Logo h/t Eco Marketing, LLC.

One of the great joys of leading The Green Suits, LLC is that, every day, I get to meet many fascinating and successful eco-entrepreneurs.

One of my new friends is Boston’s Beth Zonis. Beth is founder and principal of Eco Marketing LLC, a company which provides top-notch marketing solutions to companies in the “clean” economy. From the company website:

“[We] can help tell your story. That includes researching and analyzing your market and your competition, articulating your strengths from your clients’ perspective, and communicating with your stakeholders. Our approach is to develop the strategy up front and then move quickly to action and results. For each client engagement, Eco Marketing assembles a customized team of experienced professionals with relevant business and technical expertise.

We can help you…
• Expand into new markets and grow within existing markets
• Get the word out about what you do
• Strengthen your partnerships and garner community support
• Shorten your sales cycle and increase your win rate

The importance of the marketing strategies provided by Eco Marketing LLC cannot be overstated; when executed, they help companies in the clean tech space scale up and become very successful.

For more information, check out Eco Marketing LLC’s website, HERE.

Noted Green Business & Marketing Authority Reviews ‘Tailoring the Green Suit’

Cross-posted from The Green Suits:

I am a long-time admirer of Anne Michaelsen, green marketer and author of The Green Inkwell. Anne is a leading advocate of the new green economy.

Now, Anne has penned a review of Tailoring the Green Suit: Empowering Yourself for an Executive Career in the New Green Economy.

From the book review:

While I’m not currently in the market for a Green job (I’ve created my own, thank you), I do like to keep tabs on every aspect of the Green economy. The demand for Green jobs has certainly caught my attention. So when Green business executive recruiter Dan Smolen announced the publication of his new book, Tailoring the Green Suit: Empowering Yourself for an Executive Career in the New Green Economy, you can bet I perused it with interest.

Check out the full book review, here.

Will This Be Green Marketing’s Breakout Year?

Cross-posted from The Green Suits:

Environmental Leader has partnered with MediaBuyerPlanner to study Green Marketing to determine if it is ephemeral (or here to stay).

Based on the study’s key findings, it looks like Green Marketing has got legs. Specifically:

• 82% of respondents indicated they expect to spend more on green marketing in the future. Among manufacturers, that number is significantly higher. At least half, if not more, of respondents plan to engage in online marketing efforts in the future.
• 28% of marketers themselves think green marketing is more effective than other marketing messages, compared to 6% of marketers who think it is less effective. Management is even more optimistic, with 46% of them indicating a belief that green marketing is more efficacious. Just 23% of those in operations think green marketing is more effective.
• Companies with smaller marketing budgets tend to spend more on green marketing. Firms with a marketing budget of under $250,000 spend just over 26% on green marketing, while those with budgets of more than $50 million spend 6% on green marketing.

The most popular medium for green marketing was the Internet, with

• 74.2% of respondents having spent money online, followed by
• Print (49.8%
• Direct (40%)
• Outdoor (7%)
• Radio and TV (7%)
• Mobile (6%)

• 29% of marketers with budgets between $10 million and $50 million, and 25% of those with budgets of more than $50 million, used outdoor, compared to 7.3% for all marketers.

About half of companies reported that they are consciously taking steps to become more green. The most popular actions are:

• Conserving energy in operations, at 59%
• Changing products to reflect greener values (such as changing ingredients, packaging or intended use), at 54%

• And, nearly half of respondents said the decision-makers at their companies hold green marketing in high regard, compared to just 15% who hold it in low regard. Companies with decision-makers who have a low regard for green marketing tend to be those with the larger marketing budgets between $10 million and $50 million per year, where more than a quarter indicated that their decision-makers held green marketing in low regard. Smaller companies, concludes the report, may believe green marketing to be more effective than larger companies do.

More green marketing will translate to more consumer spending via green marketing channels. More consumer spending via green channels likely means larger green marketing budgets. And we hope that larger green marketing budgets will lead to a big spike in green marketing executive hiring.

One would hope. So, let’s all keep a good thought!

Holiday Greetings

Cross-posted to dansmolen.com and thegreensuits.com:

Greetings from the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. where, over the past weekend, the Godzilla of snowstorms (a.k.a. Snowzilla) dumped a record 23 inches of the white stuff on the ground.

While the three days of public school preceding the Christmas break have been cancelled, life is returning to normal.

Mail delivery has resumed. Ample supplies of bread, milk, and toilet paper have returned to the shelves of area supermarkets. And as you can see, there is great joy in the land; the conditions for sledding are truly amazing!

So, how ’bout that global warming?

2009 is a year that most of us would prefer to forget. The job market is still in the tank, and may remain that way for awhile. The official unemployment rate is currently at 10 percent, but really, somewhere between 17 and 20 percent of the nation is “between jobs.”

There is a lot of shared misery. And it takes a lot for us to keep smiles on our faces as we wonder, “will this nightmare ever end?”

Personally, I believe 2010 will be our turnaround year. While the pace of the recovery may seem too slow for most, I do believe that there will be considerable improvement in the overall economy and our fortunes.

Already, there are positive signs: ambitious executives have decided to follow their dreams and become entrepreneurs. Men and women – who suffered downsizing earlier in the year – are using their time (and their nest eggs) wisely to refine their business strategies and marketing plans, and craft unique value propositions that they hope will turn their dreams of running profitable businesses into reality. I am pleased that many are looking to make it big in the green spaces (renewable energy, greentech, cleantech, and other verdant areas), or by helping conventional companies embrace the triple-bottom-line.

Entrepreneurs are key to turning around the economy and creating millions of new green jobs.

Yes, things are about to get better.

During the First Quarter of 2010, my new book – Tailoring the Green Suit: Empowering Yourself for an Executive Career in the New Green Economy - will be published. Currently, the manuscript is in editing and the dust cover is being designed. I am so pleased by the “buzz” this book has created; many of you have written to ask when and where the hardcover and e-book versions may be purchased. Those details are to be determined; however, Sturdy Roots Blog and the new The Green Suits website will provide all the details.

As you and your family gather for the holidays, please recognize that things are going to get better. Resolve that 2010 will be your breakout year – the year that you set the wheels in motion to start that great green business executive career you’ve long wanted.

If you have snow on the ground (like we do here in the Metropolitan D.C. area) then enjoy this highly unusual but wonderful White Christmas season.

Then, let’s all rock in 2010: it is going to be an amazing – and verdant - new year!

Peace.

New Product Offsets Mobile Phone ‘Carbon-Footprints’

Cross-posted from SturdyRoots.com

It is not something most of us think about: our mobile phones and their contribution to global warming.

iPhones, Crackberries, and PDAs don’t produce emissions like motor vehicles and thankfully they don’t have smokestacks.

But when they get plugged in for a re-charge, they draw electricity which more often than not comes from coal-fired power plants.

I feel all sooty just thinking about it…

Now, a new product allows mobile phone users to mitigate their devices’ impact on global warming. And it’s available just in time for the holidays!

Renewable Choice Energy has introduced GREEN YOUR PHONE, a product that provides a novel and easy way to carbon-offset mobile phones.

From the website:

Burning fossil fuels to create electricity causes air pollution and contributes to climate change. To live in harmony with nature, we need to find new sustainable solutions to enjoy our modern lifestyles with less impact on the environment. That’s why Renewable Choice has teamed up with Best Buy to offer the GREEN YOUR PHONE product which provides consumers with a simple and effective way to address the impact their mobile phones have on the environment.

A $10 GREEN YOUR PHONE card covers roughly 500 kilowatt-hours of energy production , that is the amount of energy required to power two “typical” mobile phones over a two-year period.

But wait. There’s more!

Check out the GREEN YOUR PHONE viral video:

With the holidays fast-approaching, GREEN YOUR PHONE helps reward your staff while reducing their mobile phones’ impact on the planet. Plus, it makes a great green stocking-stuffer!

In The News: UK Supermarket Company’s ‘Plan BEE’ to Save Honeybees

Cross-posted to Sturdy Roots Blog:

Our friends at Sustainable Life Media are reporting on The Cooperative Group’s efforts to curb the decline of honeybee populations in the United Kingdom.

From SLM’s reporting:

Plan BEE is put together as a 10-point plan which includes:

1. Temporary prohibition on the use of neonicotinoid-based pesticides on own-brand fresh produce;
2. £150,000 for research on honeybees, farming, pesticides and gene-diversity;
3. 3-year trial of a new wildflower seed mix that will be planted alongside crops on their farms across the UK;
4. Calling on beekeepers to establish hives on all Co-operative Farms in the UK;
5. Engage three-million members in a campaign to protect and nurture the bee population in the UK, with advice and tips featuring on their website;
6. Members were invited to attend 40 nationwide previews of The Vanishing of the Bees in February 2009 (distribution begins in October), in addition to two documentary productions;
7. Partnership with RSPB’s ‘Homes for Wildlife’ team and empower members to garden in ways that are honeybee-friendly;
8. Over 300,000 packets of wildflower seed mix have been made available to Co-operative members and the public free of charge;
9. Bee boxes are being sourced and made available to The Co-operative members at discounted prices. To date 700 bee boxes have been purchased;
10. Support of amateur beekeeping programs through projects and training.

The Cooperative Group’s campaign includes this video: We don’t often consider how critically-important the honeybee is to world food production. The Cooperative Group recognizes the importance of stemming the decline of the honeybee in the UK.

We hope food growers in other countries follow their lead, because nothing is greener than saving the black and yellow.

2012: Subaru May Intro Hybrids in U.S. Market

Cross-posted at Sturdy Roots Blog:

As a long-time Subie, I’m thrilled by this news. Excerpted from AutoBlogGreen:

Subaru will license and adapt Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive system to its current drivetrains, which has proved difficult and, apparently, time consuming (Autoblog first reported on Subaru’s hybrid plans back in 2005).

However, with this week’s new CAFE announcement that requires automakers’ products to average 35.5 mpg by 2016 – with Japan and Europe likely to follow suit – Subaru seems to finally be ready to make good on its promise – seven years later.

Subaru has won recognition and praise for recycling almost all of the waste generated at its Lafayette, Indiana final-assembly plant, a facility built alongside a thriving wildlife refuge. The company already sells Partial-Zero Emissions (PZEV) versions of its Outback and Forester models.

National Geographic Publishes Greendex Green Consumer Study; U.S. Ranks Lowest Among Nations Studied

Cross-posted to Sturdy Roots Blog:

National Geographic has published results of Greendex 2009, a new study tracking worldwide consumer choice and the environment.

Among the findings, this one: since 2008, 13 out of 14 countries including Brazil, China, India, and South Korea have increased their environmentally-friendly consumer behavior while the U.S., Canada and Japan rank lowest and the nations with the least amount of improvement.

Overall, consumers made great strides with recycling and by reducing energy consumption in the home by moderating thermostats and using energy-efficient appliances.

Some good news: Greendex scores are up from 2008 and the reasons are not the result of the global economic downturn, alone. Consumers are more-conscious of how their consumption affects the environment; however, the study does suggest that product manufacturers and marketers have to do more to improve their sustainable practices and make more green environmentally-friendly products and packaging. That way, consumers will make more environmentally-friendly consumer purchase decisions.

Certainly since last year, there is more sustainability happening at the workplace. But more could be done.

Encourage your team members to think creatively about increasing the amount and sophistication of sustainable practices. And to make sure your team practices what it preaches, include sustainability among their Management by Objective (MBO) work-performance measures.

Grossman Marketing Wins Green Business Award

Our friends at Grossman Marketing Group have won a green business award from Boston Business Journal. The award will be presented at this year’s Green Business Summit, scheduled for Friday, May 15, at the Sheraton Boston Hotel.

The company was included in the award’s “innovation” category in recognition for its trailblazing work in the green marketing and sustainability space.

Grossman Marketing Group is a full-service provider of marketing communications materials and promotional products to customers in fields as varied as biotechnology, law, financial services, and the arts, and is known for environmentally-sound marketing solutions: envelopes made from green-e certified wind power; window patch envelopes made from a biodegradable, corn-based polymer; sustainable papers for stationery and collateral; and an extensive line of promotional products made from recycled materials.

Our heartiest congratulations go out to everyone at Grossman Marketing Group, especially company president Steve Grossman and the head of its Green Marketing Practice Ben Grossman.

The DMA’s “Green 15″ Environmental Program Wins Award

The Direct Marketing Association (The DMA) announced that its “Green 15 Standards & Environmental Action Program” has won the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) 2009 Associations Advance America (AAA) Award in a national competition sponsored by ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership in Washington, DC.

From the news release:

The prestigious AAA Awards program recognizes associations that propel America forward with innovative projects in education; skills training; standards-setting; business and social innovation; knowledge creation; citizenship; and community service. In receiving this esteemed award, The DMA is one of only 21 other organizations to receive an Award of Excellence, and is now automatically included in the running to receive a Summit Award, ASAE & The Center’s top recognition for association programs.

The DMA is the leading global trade association of businesses and nonprofit organizations using and supporting multichannel direct marketing tools and techniques.