Green Light Means Caution

We are so pleased to have Advisory Board Member, Yahya Henry, sharing his thoughts with us today.  You can find out more about Yahya on the B2S team page.

When I was younger, we played a game called “Green Light” (maybe you have as well). In this game, one person would close their eyes and spin around saying “Red Light, Green Light…Go!” and we’d race ahead to freeze in place before the person announcing stopped talking and opened their eyes. The whole goal was to make it to the end before anyone else.  

“Green Light…Go!”

As I was thinking about what I could write about this month that wasn’t boring or something else technical, “Green Light” came to mind. Our industry’s pursuit to achieve "the standard" in green building is very much that way – “Red Light, Green Light…Go!” Organizations like the USGBC are racing ahead to get "there" before anyone else; some businesses are positioning themselves as the "first" in their markets to embrace energy efficiency and so on. 

More and more reports are finding flaws in LEED accreditation and other rating systems. Energy reduction numbers are proving inaccurate, and there is still an ever-present knowledge gap between perceived and actual benefits of green building and sustainable design. 

“Yellow Light”

Playing a game with a flashing yellow caution light isn’t fun, but it is necessary. In playing a game where we rush to innovate this or that, I believe we really should pace ourselves. Our industry needs to fully understand the pros and cons of the products, certifications and perceived benefits we push onto the public.  

Greenwashing isn’t as obvious to consumers as it is to individuals who are in the business of creating and distributing the product or service. What happens when the next report comes out saying "this" doesn’t actually do "that" after a tenant has moved into a space that will allow for perceived workplace productivity gains, energy savings, or attaching their business name to a green building?

It’s too early to say how this game would play out, but I am erring on the side of caution.

Green Is a Dead Brand

I’ve been wrestling with this post for quite some time. Approaching green branding has unsettled me for a while, but I couldn’t quite articulate why. Then, just a few days ago, James Bedell tweeted a pic of the new Sprite Green – and it hit me what’s wrong with green as a brand. 

Everything.

I may take a certain amount of flack for this post, but I adamantly feel that both the concept and the marketing activity known as “green branding” need serious re-branding. 

Before diving into details, let’s take a step back.

Consider the characteristics of a good, strong brand. It has a clearly defined benefit. It is uniquely differentiated. It has a distinct voice and experience associated with it. It consistently delivers upon its promised benefit to consumers/customers. The great, beloved brands – Apple, Target, Google to name a few – achieve all of the above in spades.

Now consider “green” and all its brand baggage. Here are 4 reasons green branding needs a re-boot:

#1 Green has no clearly defined benefit. First and foremost, the term “green” has been used and mis-used so often, in so many ways, it's lost meaning. Forget greenwashing, the term "green" itself has been white-washed to the point that brand building on green is like branding built on that nebulous benefit called “quality.”

Take Sprite Green, for example. Why is it called “green?” Turns out it’s because the soft drink is produced with an all-natural sweetener (not to mention 5% lemon juice per serving).

So, what is green now? Something made from all-natural products? Something that when used has a positive or neutral effect on the environment? Something produced in a more eco-friendly manner? All of the above?

And to what level of eco-friendliness do brands have to be in order to be considered “green” without being accused of greenwashing? The concepts of "shades of green" personally makes me a little sick to my stomach when you consider the additional brand confusion to an already confusing term, let alone the lack of standardization. Suddenly brands will have to define dark green vs. green vs. lime green? Jump right into the brand nightmare, the water is warm.

#2 People don’t trust green. Because of the effects of greenwashing and continued debate about the imperative to fight climate change and preserving natural resources, 70% of consumers don't think companies are genuine when they talk about how they help the environment and society, according to Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS). How can you build a brand around a message shrouded in doubt and misperception? Which leads us to reason #3…

#3 Green used to suck. Today’s environmentally friendly products, solutions and services have come a long way from what were first brought to market. But sadly, too many people still perceive anything “green” as more expensive, less effective, too complex and requiring too much time to install/implement/etc. The “green” brand experience has been tainted almost beyond repair. Until the market is educated to the contrary, perception will continue to be a very real barrier to adoption…and a huge piece of brand baggage that green needs to check.

#4 Green’s uniqueness has a time limit. As the market becomes more educated and as government legislation/standardization begins to take hold, there will be such demand for environmentally friendly, more efficient and sustainable products/solutions that “green” will become cost of entry for any brand. Consumers want transparency. Employees want transparency. Shareholders want transparency. And all of them want companies to do good and perform exceedingly well. Green will be a major factor in achieving these goals for everyone. So while green holds some facet of competitive advantage now, it will soon become a feature of any good brand, not the primary benefit. 

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So, what is the re-brand for green brands? As is the case for every company or product, brands must be rooted in a tangible benefit to consumers or, in the case of b2b, businesses. Efficiency. Productivity. Cost savings. Ease-of-use. Comfort. Style. PLUS the most excellent benefit that it’s created of materials and by means that have a positive effect for the planet. Strong green brands must be strong brands in and of themselves. In the quest for the triple bottom line, we can’t forget the bottom line.

Green branding is dead. Long live green branding.

Who's Telling the Green Story Right Now?

Remember this ad? A very intelligent sounding woman explained to us the virtues of compact fluorescent light bulbs and not only that-she extolled all of the wonderful things these light bulbs will do for the planet if every Walmart shopper bought just one! If every Walmart shopper used just one per person 11 million cars come off the road! Amazing!

The tough part for all of us in the design/build industry is that we know it's much more complicated in the real world that simply changing a light bulb. If it were that easy to go green we would have done it a long time ago. True intelligent sustainable design is complex and it involves layers of decision making that would never fit into a 30 second spot for Walmart or any other brand.

That's fine, but what we need to remember about sustainability in America is that for most Americans it's major brands like Walmart who are defining what green means. Sadly, it doesn't matter how much thought we've put into our work...as more and more consumers come online and expect their spaces to be more environementally friendly they also expect them to be easier on their wallets as far as cost of energy.

It is imperative that we as a community do not shy away from this. Right now "green" building is associated with higher costs and mixed expectations. We must change our messaging and more importantly our methods to make green=more cost effective, not just because Walmart is telling people it's possible, but because if we are to make a truly scalable impact our solutions must be something any business owner or property manager will want to sign on to. Not a solution only for the affluent companies looking to make a statement. Walmart defines scalabilty...I'm not afraid to take a page out of their book.