2009 Corporate Philanthropy Awards

Yesterday morning, I attended the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal's 2009 Corporate Philanthropy Awards with more than 300 people gathered to honor the region's top 50 corporate givers. Applied Materials was the top philanthropist, giving $4.99 million in a top ten that gave over $30 million. According to James MacGregor, publisher at the Business Journal, "While giving overall declined by about 4% among the top companies on the list, the breakdown between those who increased what they contributed and those who were forced to cut back was about even." He also pointed out that this is only the second nationwide decline in charitable giving since 1956. Not a bad record for big business, especially in this Great Recession.

What struck me, as I watched the community relations, corporate social responsibility, sustainability and HR executivesm and a few CEOs as well, accept their awards, is the kindness and deep concern I heard from each one. They compete with each other for the title of biggest giver and, following host James MacGregor's instructions, in crafting the best 10-word acceptance speech. How gratifying to watch over 50 companies be recognized for staying engaged in community work at a time when budget cuts and donation declines at non profits are met by increased need.

My favorite quotes from the morning give me hope:

"We are science focused but community based." Amgen

"Money is a lot like manure, it's best when you spread it around." Deloitte

"When people are safe and happy, our communities and businesses thrive." NetApp

"Companies are social institutions and need to behave that way." Agilent

"Non-profits are our best bet and at eBay, we bet to win." eBay

"We're still Ma Bell, you're still community, and we're still family." AT&T

"It's not a question of if, but of how much more can we do?" Cisco

"Because we can, because we should, because we all must." Microsoft

"It's up to us to make a difference." West Marine

I agree with Laurie Fried, chief sustainability officer of West Marine, that is is up to us -- business -- to make a difference. All of the facts, figures, research, opinions and news coverage tell us that people are looking for leadership and integrity from business in dealing with environmental and social challenges. And businesses are stepping up. Some are giving more donations and increasing philanthropy. Others are giving employees time off to participate in community activities. Still others are increasing their in kind donations as a way of filling the need gap.

I will be learning more about what companies are doing in a regional study for the Entrepreneurs Foundation and Silicon Valley Community Foundation that I am conducting with JonesPR. We will measure corporate citizenship, philanthropy and community engagement alongside sustainability and/or environmental efforts. We will benchmark current levels and assess what companies are doing to meet social challenges. Look for regular updates here as we review early survey results, interview local CSR leaders and gather the heart stories that lie behind corporate decisions to give back.

Dashboards and Meters: the Next Blinking 12:00?

We are bombarded with data, visuals, advertisements, tweets, updates and videos, so do we really need our products to beep, change colors, add leaves or update graphs? Especially since many people never use all of the functionality built into most products or, worse yet, simply discard the product when its complication oversteps its usefulness?

Recent product design is incorporating dashboards and metering capabilities as consumer features. Prius, Honda, Google Smart Meter, and even Mint.com are examples of products that incorporate a feedback mechanism into the product itself. ‘Hypermiling’ is the term for how to wring every last drop of efficiency from hybrid automobiles and can be found on sites like CleanMGP. While these dashboards provide a clear and powerful way to display data, they introduce a set of design challenges that must integrate social science strategies in order to be most effective.

In the same way that compelling stories can change behaviors, dashboards can do the same, if they are designed from the outset to generate behaviors that add up to a larger benefit.

I interviewed Marc Rettig, CEO of Fit Associates and social ethnographer, for his thoughts on dashboards, and he had several recommendations that help to frame the design and communication challenge: -

- Displaying information does not equal “feedback.” Just because you show it doesn’t mean people see it, understand it, know how it correlates with their behavior, or feel motivated to adjust their behavior. 


- It isn’t always obvious what to measure: people will adjust their behavior according to the feedback they receive. If you’re measuring the wrong thing, their behavior change may have less impact or even the wrong impact. 


- It isn’t always obvious how to measure: sometimes getting the data you need to provide good feedback is tough. Bodymedia, for example, carefully researched where they could put sensors on people’s bodies so they could get accurate data while people were active, without making them uncomfortable. 


- It isn’t always obvious how to communicate the feedback: “kilowatt hours?” “tons of CO2?” Who knows what these things mean? “100 calories?” It’s up to the dashboard to help people map the feedback to their behavior. Otherwise you’re only giving them a meaningless gimmick, uninteresting after the novelty wears off because they see no connection to their lives.

- The social possibilities are relatively unexplored: how interesting might it be when we can roll up say, household and institutional energy consumption to the level of neighborhoods, cities, regions, states, nations? Would a competitive spirit set in if this were visible to everyone in the same way? Will that help us introduce new language into the conversation about change?

- For product design, there is a tension between this idea and the need for simplicity. We face an epidemic of complexity in our products, and it is making people nuts. This keeps coming up in our household studies. A dashboard could very easily be Yet Another Damn Display, yet another gadget. Increasing product cost, increasing frustration levels, and delivering little or no value. In two years there will be six of the damn things in my life, all using different visual language, controls, and metrics, and none of them talking to each other.

When we say “simplicity” we're not just talking about too many features in each product -- it's systemic complexity. We’re to the point where even if your product has just one light and one button, it’s coming in to a home that’s over laden with lights and buttons and displays. Your product can be loved if it brings relief to that situation. If it adds without bringing relief, it better deliver significant authentic value. 
 


Dashboards and meters can create real change when they are simple and tied to a narrative of results that the consumer understands -- how every action tracked benefits me, and we.

Image source: Fotolia_16704656_XS
Image Credit: (c) Olaru Radian-Alexandru

Blog post also appears at Sustainable Minds

An Early Look at Sustainability Business Trends for 2010

Conversation and debate around the environment, ethical consumerism, corporate social responsibility and sustainability are changing fast. In just the past year, sustainability is no longer being questioned as a passing fad; it has been validated as a key business driver. PricewaterhouseCoopers has issued a report detailing how companies that report their sustainability efforts get better returns on their assets than companies who do not.

Let’s look at a few other key findings:
40% of consumers bought because they liked the social or political values of the company…Nearly half of Americans in our poll said protecting the environment should be given priority over economic growth … and this comes in the midst of a recession.” (Time, Sept 21,2009)

More than half—62%—of online posts discuss various solutions to environmental issues. This is a shift from 18 months ago when people were still spending much of their time discussing sustainability by debating whether or not the environmental crisis was real. Consumers in the blogosphere group discuss sustainability solutions into two categories: broad social, organizational, and political change; and incremental personal change.” (JD Power & Associates, Sept. 2008)

Despite taking tough economic hits, at least two-thirds of the U.S. adults who took the survey and have been green buyers in the past said their green purchasing has been stable during the first half of this year. For many, it even increased.” (Earthsense, Sept., 2009)

This research, and my experience with both large corporations undergoing massive change and early stage innovators who are creating ways to capitalize on the power of the market to generate public benefit, set up three trends I see emerging for next year.

Be, Not Buy
There is a push among consumers for a less throw away economy to one where sustainability is real and counts. Key trend watchers are pointing to the earliest signs that we are shifting to a world where things will no longer be the dominant modality, but experiences will drive our cultural norms. We will see more attention paid to quality and less purchasing of goods that have a designed-obsolesce. Technology designers, take note.

Show Me How I am Part of We
The growing proliferation of dashboards (Prius, Honda, GoogleSmartMeter) and labels are creating an expectation by consumers that the can see – from the moment of purchase throughout the entire use cycle – how their activities add up to something bigger than themselves. The zeitgeist of the moment is inclusivity and the power of the individual to change the world. This is the year of enlightened self-interest. Once unleashed, people not only expect to make a change, but watch it happen in real time. What consumers are seeking is a way for the products and, increasingly services and experiences, to add to their efforts to change themselves and bring their lives into alignment with their social and ecological values.

Narratives as Transparency
Radical transparency and zero waste pressures by consumers and governments are creating a Babel of labels, a cacophony of metrics and measures. But what do all these facts and figures mean? How do consumers, purchasers, suppliers, legislators, reporters, and others make sense of this data? It will take clear communications and the constant updating, contextualizing and story telling that a complex world requires.

2010 promises to be an exciting year for sustainable brands.

During President Obama's speech to Congress last night, he spoke eloquently, reminding us that caring for others is a deeply rooted American value.

"That large-heartedness -- that concern and regard for the plight of others -- is not a partisan feeling. It's not a Republican or a Democratic feeling. It, too, is part of the American character -- our ability to stand in other people's shoes; a recognition that we are all in this together, and when fortune turns against one of us, others are there to lend a helping hand; a belief that in this country, hard work and responsibility should be rewarded by some measure of security and fair play; and an acknowledgment that sometimes government has to step in to help deliver on that promise."

More and more economists, business schools, corporations and NGOs are exploring how concern for others and the planet can be integrated into profit margins and market share growth. In seems to me that many of our elected officials are slow to recognize that a growing number of citizens are willing to accept their responsibility to care for others, and want our institutions -- government and businesses -- to be constructed and operated in support of that value.

The Center for Partnership Studies (full transparency, they are a client) is hard at work creating the programs and information people need to examine how we look differently at assumptions in our current economic structure. Based upon the scholarship and work of Riane Eisler (The Real Wealth of Nations), they are working to create an understanding and implementation of a "Full Spectrum Economy." A full spectrum economy is a six-sector economy instead of the three sector model we recognize and put energy/resources into: the market, government and illegal trade.

The three new sectors that are vital in an understanding of a true economy are the household (where optimal human development starts), the unpaid volunteer sector (where relationships are enabled throughout the community) and the natural sector (where caring for the planet employs thousands for restoration and long-term sustainability). The premise is that we must track, monitor, support, nurture and integrate these sectors into a full spectrum economy if we are going to deliberately and successfully build lives that are prosperous and have meaning.

President Obama's call to an ethic of caring, as an integral component of the American character, begins the work of building a true wealth for this nation.

The Power of Buycotting

Consumers and advocates have embraced a new found power -- show up, be vocal, cast a vote, boycott a company. But there is a growing interest in a new type of activism, buycotting, that merits a closer look. A clear example is Carrot Mob. Developed under the Virgance wing, Carrotmob is a method of activism that leverages consumer power to make the most socially-responsible business practices also the most profitable choices. The opposite of a boycott, buycotts are organized efforts to deliberately buy from companies whose efforts to improve their business practices, tackle social problems, reduce environmental impacts, are rewarded by customer purchase. While Carrotmob designs and deploys a single day of buying, more and more people are looking for ways to tangibly support the businesses doing good in the world.

Can marketers create this kind of activism?

I don't think so.

The beauty of buycotting is that it works best when it is random, grassroots, amorphous (Carrotmob's business model notwithstanding) and tied to a growing awareness that we "vote" with our wallet. If you begin with the assumption that all of marketing is designed to encourage customers to buy, then buycotting is a natural outgrowth of that. What I like about the activity, as an activist consumer rather than a marketing/communications professional -- is that it helps me continue to be conscious about where I spend my money.

Buycotting expands an individual's point of view. Old marketing and advertising paradigms connected products and services to values and emotions that were individualistic. How does this product make ME feel? What does this product say about ME? How much value do I get if I buy this thing?

The beauty of buycotting is that the underlying assumption is from the WE point of view. How does buying this product tell a company that they are doing better as a global citizen? When I buy this product, am I part of a bigger effort to improve the planet or society? The changes that companies are making are incremental, to be sure, but buycotting is one way that a consumer's has of participating in that incremental change.

The Rise of the Phoenix Economy

Volans , whose tagline is "The Business of Social Innovation," offers a tantalizing view of a new economy using an powerful icon. Forget the bear and the bull, what's coming is the Phoenix.

“A new economic order is rising from the ashes—and a new generation of innovators, entrepreneurs and investors is accelerating the changes essential for delivering scalable sustainable solutions to the world.”

For those whose business model involves changing the world, take a look at the web site and download the Phoenix Economy report. John Elkington, former SustainAbility founder is a Volans founder. They have written an incredibly rich report, presenting examples and rationales for an economic theory that attempts to map this emerging social innovation business sector.

In my experience, there are few resources for those in the social innovation sector who are trying to rationalize their valuation, forecast success, and establish authentic metrics. This report is a good compendium of fifty corporations and organizations who are beginning to document success and get real traction. It's a thought-provoking assemblage of business models, new company formations, statistics and interviews with those on the forefront of a new economy.

Monitor Institute has issued a similar report, Investing for Social & Environmental Impact, that makes a strong case for the emerging financial market. According to the report,

"Evidence suggests that many thousands of people and institutions around the globe believe our era needs new type of investing. They are already experimenting with it, and many of them continue even in the midst of a financial and credit crisis. That’s why the idea of using profit-seeking investment to generate social and environmental good is moving from a periphery of activist investors to the core of mainstream financial institutions. No one can know for sure how much money has been invested or is seeking investment that generates both social and environmental value as well as financial return. But a good guess is that the total size of the market could be as big as $500 billion within the next decade."

Both groups make the case for an emerging economic sector that will feature not only strong (and responsible) financial returns but a business sector that matches such returns with purpose, people and the planet. What's compelling about both is the rigor that is used to size and set market parameters. It's a part of the momentum at corporations, business schools, legislative bodies, and NGOs to reinvent what success looks like when business takes a broader role in the world.

Can we make goodness a game?

There is an interesting trend afoot these days. As I set about developing a messaging platform and launch strategy for my client, Boom Boom Revolution, I became aware of a whole world of new games that give people a way to practice random acts of kindness -- using cards, coins, and online tracking.

From Kind Acts and RandomKindActs to the Boom Boom Revolution, entrepreneurs are taking their passion for changing the world and creating an interesting new product category. What struck me about each of them is the blend of altruism and fun that pervades each offering, in very unique and different ways. You can be a social revolutionary or part of a coin-spiracy. You can play or be inspired. But the goal for each is to connect in the real world and then watch that connection ripple out in the world, using an online community.

We are seeing this trend over and over again, the integration of real and virtual lives, communities and activities. As technology visionary and proclaimed long-term thinker, Kevin Kelly, correctly stated a few years ago: "online culture is the culture." We are just now seeing how that is playing out in the convergence of two macro trends: online as culture and goodness as game.

According to Trendwatchers, they see Random Acts of Kindness as a major sub trend in their claim that the overarching global theme for 2009 is “Generosity“ They cite several business programs that randomly give individuals a gift, a nice surprise or an intriguing idea:

• "Leading Chinese e-tailer DangDang gives back to its customers—and encourages their vigilant attention to the site—by randomly assigning one hour a day as “Lucky Time” in which all purchases made within that hour are free of charge. (Tip of the hat to PSFK.com.)

• Wings is a credit card brand owned by Akbank, one of Turkey's largest banks. The card is targeted at frequent travelers, who earn miles as they shop at member restaurants and shops. Wings recently partnered with five upscale restaurants in Istanbul—Ulus 29, Hakkasan, Gilt, Topaz and Beymen Brasserie—to offer a random selection of lucky Wings members a pleasant surprise. After having dinner at one of the restaurants and paying with their Wings card, the customer is notified that Wings will foot the bill.

• Northern-Irish fashion brand ARK (short for Acts of Random Kindness) sells a line of logo-emblazoned shirts for men and women. They ask that each time a customer wears one, they do something kind for someone else – whether it be buying someone a coffee or giving up their seat on the bus. In addition to spreading random acts of kindness, ARK's shirts will no doubt also prove to be conversation starters, providing wearers with status stories to share with family and friends.”

How will this play out? I believe that we will continue to see goodness and kindness emerge as key themes for individuals, businesses and organizations. Of course, it goes without saying that authenticity and no gimmickry are the watchwords here. It's more than just jumping on this bandwagon, but creating experiences where being generous and kind are enough. They aren't a means to an end but the end game itself.

When authentic goodness is present, people will be draw in, the word will spread, the community will expand. And along the way, free coffees and kind words will be tracked, thank you letters and words of gratitude traded.

Sounds like fun to me!

Join Me at Sustainable Brands 09

This is the third year I’ve attended Sustainable Brands and, once again, I am looking forward to being among “my people.” In 2007 in New Orleans, I attended the inaugural Sustainable Brands conference and discovered a vibrant community of communicators whose purpose matched my own. I spent three amazing days listening to, talking with, and being inspired by marketing and communications professionals – at some of the biggest brands in the world – talk passionately about their efforts to transform business.

In just ten days I will attend Sustainable Brands 09 in Monterey, this time as an advisor, speaker and PR counselor. Once again, I am confident that I will learn, be challenged, and create connections to the innovators and stalwarts of sustainability. More than 750 of us will gather to share best practices, insights and trends in order to re-imagine products, services and business models so that we can build a sustainable world.

If you're designing, building, analyzing or dreaming innovations in sustainability, SB’09 is the place to be. Join colleagues from Dell, Clorox, Coke, Frog, HP, Interbrand, Steelcase, Frito Lay Sun Chips, Johnson & Johnson, Gap, Starbucks, NASA and many more.

I'll be presenting a breakout session on PR and Transparency, along with Annie Longsworth of Cohn & Wolfe, reviewing media trends with a panel of journalists on Tuesday June 2nd.

Please consider joining me in Monterey. Register now by logging on to www.regonline.com/sb09.

Economy Looks Mixed at Sustainable Industries Forum in San Francisco

I spent yesterday morning at the Sustainable Industries Economic Forum with an inspiring and amazing group of sustainability innovators, beginning with the self-described “radical industrialist,” Ray Anderson, founder and chairman of Interface Global. He came with a clear message for the group of over 500 -- the economic benefits of true sustainability are real, tangible and the truest purpose a business must pursue. I’ve heard Ray speak before and, as always, I leave feeling optimistic and knowing I’ve been educated by one of the smartest business minds today. All this great information is delivered with the most appealing southern drawl and sprinkled with colloquialisms that are somehow comforting. I believe Ray when he says, “if we can do it, anybody can. If anybody can, then it follows that everybody can.”

After Ray’s concise presentation on the various ways in which his petrochemical flooring company in Georgia transformed from a “brown company to a green one,” the Sustainable Industries Economic Forum continued with a discussion between Bob Davis, CEO of Sentilla, Laura Rodormer, division manager of green construction at Swinerton Management & Consulting and Anup Jacob, founding partner of the Virgin Green Fund. Moderated by Gil Friend (FROM?), the panel discussed various ways in which the current economic realities are affecting the building industry, its transparency and tracking, as well as investment decisions.

Government support around the world is the single greatest economic impact on private equity investing decisions, according to Anup Jacob. If early stage companies view government subsidies as integral to their business strategies, they are likely to leave pitch meetings empty-handed. “We see more than three firms a day right now, ”Jacob said. “We are looking for business opportunities that don’t rely on government subsidies.”

Green building has been hit hard by what will be known as The Great Recession, but many are looking at to government intervention as the one bright spot in the current economy. As local and regional governments begin mandating green construction and retrofitting and federal programs will fund such efforts, Laura Rodormer sees the signs of an uptick.

Transparency about the data center is Bob Davis’ key issue as he advises companies in sustainability tracking programs. “When we look at operations and facilities, energy management issues are staggering and overshadow any other concern,” he noted. “Data centers are buildings’ ‘black boxes.’ Only 70 percent of energy that enters a data center actually gets to computers.”

The consensus of the speakers is that progress is being made, innovation is accelerating and the need for change in increasing. Perhaps Ray Anderson said it best, “the status quo is a powerful opiate, so extra commitment and courage are required.”

Kindness and Goodness Inspiration

“Do all the good you can
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”
- John Wesley

Junk Email Pollutes

According to a recent post in Environmental Leader on the energy effects of spam email, we have proof from MacAfee that there is more than just the massive irritation that such emails cause, but a real world effect. What is it about those emails that makes my blood boil? Is is the predatory nature of the copy? the attempt to dupe some unsuspecting reader? the use of hard-luck stories to mislead and engage when the world is full of too many real stories of lost fortunes?

And now we learn that these emails are contributing to the accumulated GHG. "The average GHG emission associated with a single spam message is 0.3 grams of CO2, or the same as driving three feet (one meter. However, when multiplied by the yearly volume of spam, it is equivalent to driving around the earth 1.6 million times."

Thank you MacAfee for the report and giving us all another reason to eliminate spam email. Let's try to stop it at the source rather than at the end point and develop a solution that finds the culprits and prosecutes/deploys laws already on the books.

Launching Your Product Begins with Great Design

It might be presumptuous for me to talk about great design when my area of expertise is public relations and branding. But I can assure you that launching any product into the marketplace has two basic requirements – a deep understanding of the market/customer needs and a beautifully intuitive response to that need. Right now, I am working with a new company that perfectly demonstrates the value of great design for a shifting market. It begins with a little known fact about electricity usage: 22 percent of all electrical power generated in the world is used for lighting. A quarter of that power is used for exterior lighting, which costs $3.2 billion per year in the U.S. alone.

There’s a market need that can be met with beautiful design. Enter world-renowned sculptor Tom Joyce, and Qnuru is born. Tom Joyce is an artist, designer and blacksmith who forges sculpture, architectural ironwork and public art for projects throughout the United States. For over 30 years he has freely shared his design concepts and working knowledge in lectures presented in Europe, Africa, the US and Canada. His work is in many public collections and has been exhibited in numerous museums internationally including the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, the Detroit and Minneapolis Institutes of Art, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, the Boston Museum of Fine Art, the Museum for Kunsthandwerk in Frankfurt, the Museum of Applied Arts in Moscow, and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.

He founded Qnuru with venture accelerator Noribachi because, “We all see that we have a problem in our world and in some ways we’re all implicated. As the creator of functional objects, I have a unique opportunity to express a new realm, to showcase solar technology in a more aesthetically compelling way. This is about toolmakers’ problem-solving.”

Qnuru is a revolutionary solar lighting firm that integrates sophisticated, contemporary lighting design with advanced solar technologies and control systems to create lighting for commercial and residential installations. What Joyce has done is design solar landscape lighting with natural materials, utilizes proprietary, custom-designed power control system, so that the resulting products are completely untethered to the power grid.

When developing the launch strategy for Qnuru, we looked at the various influencers that would be interested in such a solution and the breadth of the horizon becomes quite significant because great design has tapped into the universal need for lighting at night with a broad human response to beauty. Environmental, green, electricity, design, landscape, architecture, sculpture, lighting, homes, public spaces -- all of these industries will be affected by Joyce’s innovation and are interested in how untethered lighting can be deployed to meet the market’s growing need for illumination.

(Photo credit: Nick Merrick-Hedrick Blessing)

Boomers Rebuilding their Lives as Sustainable

According to a recent report from Natural Marketing Institute, Boomers are feeling the effects of the rec(depr)esssion most keenly and are making life changes that respond to a belief that the downturn will be deeper and longer than experts are saying.

A search for meaning and strong desire to contribute are driving the changes Boomers are making in their lives, according to the research. I see this in my own life and the research mirrors my reality. We are indeed buying fewer things, but making sure that what we buy is of value and will last.

According to NMI, "Four out of five Boomers believe that they have made a positive contribution to society, while a similar number state that balancing home and work life is important in their lives today." We are looking to give back, live smaller and more sustainably and take up our part in solving the crushing problems facing our world and societies today. We are making life and purchase choices based upon a deeper set of criteria. There are certainly many of us whose actions will, once again, set the momentum for cultural norms. It's gratifying to see that so many Boomers are looking for sustainability, meaning and balance.

This is the great opportunity we find in the midst of such turmoil and it is interesting to see how many people are responding with hope, a sense of belonging, and a drive to participate in making things better. While we watch our largest institutions crumble, we are hopeful and energized. Amazing.

Do we really need all this stuff?

As sustainable design takes hold, there is increased focus on life cycle issues and growing demand that design become a change agent for transforming cultural and business systems. Daniel Pink’s book, A Whole New Mind, does a brilliant job of explaining how design has become one of the six senses that will thrive in the new world.

But it seems to me, and recent research bears this out, that the first question a designer must ask is, do we need this?

I was chatting the other day with a technology analyst seeking to understand how sustainability will impact the Web 2.0 start-up mentality prevalent in Silicon Valley. My response was to suggest that the first question to ask any entrepreneur or inventor, does this heal or hurt the world? Because when you can marry a beautifully-designed, innovative device or service that ALSO adds to the quality of life, then the market will respond favorably. Rethinking our approach might mean not making that new thing you were thinking of making!

The proof that this trend is real comes from a disparate set of indicators:

• In March 2009, the Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) released its annual trends report for 2009 and the overarching theme is “Recalibration.” The report details consumer attitudes and their attempts to reengineer their lives to reflect "comfort, safety, sustainability and moderation."

• Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue upon whom Meryl Streep’s character in “The Devil Wear Prada,” was reportedly based, had this to say in an article in the Wall Street Journal, “…to be honest there's been too much product, too much copy-catting, and, probably too much consumerism. I think a sense of clarity, a sense of leveling off and a sense of reality is needed.” When the diva of fashion is suggesting that less is more and quality is the new fashion dictum, something is happening.

• As I have covered in a previous posting, The Story of Stuff is a remarkable 20-minute video, written and produced by Annie Leonard, that describes how manufacturing and production, seen as a linear process, must be recast as a interdependent cycle. Her premise, that we cannot keep using third world assets and people to provide cheap goods is clearly communicated. It’s interesting to see how this has translated into a movement – in just three months, the audience for The Story of Stuff doubled to 5.5 million views.

• Numerous trend watchers and researchers have studied this emerging mindset. Benjamin Barber, author of Consumed, declares that selling and buying unnecessary stuff is unsustainable. Retail stores are closing, planned expansion of locations have been halted. Retail sales are off.

• The rec(depr)ession is a reaction to an over-heated, over-spending, over-consuming culture. People are shifting toward “under consumption” -- the slow food movement, cocooning as entertaining, localvores, farmers markets, greening of everything, ecological fashion, and others.

Now we know that we don’t need – or want – all this stuff.

(Also published as an Industry Blog at Sustainable Minds)

Leveraging Universal Themes to Build Loyalists

“I belong.”
“What I do matters.”
“In spite of it all, I am hopeful.”

As our massive institutions stumble and crumble before our very eyes, we are seeing the emergence of new themes that permeate discussions online, in line at Starbucks, on the airwaves and inside our heads. These themes can be guides for product designers and communicators when solidifying plans for the next 12-18 months.

According to Trendwatching.com, there is an increasing requirement that generosity become a dominant driver in both business and social interactions and institutions. Every media outlet reports on massive citizen uproar and consumer rejection of the greed that has pervaded previously trusted companies. Everyone is looking for institutions that are true, that give back, that will be part of the solution. Mix that with the fast-growing online community of individuals who collaborate, donate, spread the word and raise the alarm and you have a powerful new market force. They know their power and they are wielding it, at the voting booth, in online causes, through viral video and even in winning Super Bowl ads.

Tom Watson’s new book, CauseWired, does a great job of delineating the movement of the hyper-engaged. He concentrates on the explosive growth of deeply connected activists who are changing how non-profits and grass root movements work. There are implications for businesses and products here as well. According to Watson, “there is simply no separation between real and virtual…. This new sector relies on open access to information … and an insistence on transparency.”

There are three basic steps for companies seeking to make authentic connections between their companies/products and target customers

Step One: Go back to the beginning and re-commit to the company or product’s initial purpose. Not its market promise or best feature but the highest customer benefit. There is the key to how to connect authentically. Is your product designed to support individual health? Make life easier? Save time or energy? Dig below the surface to get at the underlying value -- compassion, justice, courage, respect, humanity, empowerment, integrity, holism, broader good, responsibility, excellence.

Step Two: Look out into the broader world context and seek organizations, groups, causes, or programs that are targeting the same core value. There are bound to be ways that your product or company can participate in these efforts. I am not necessarily talking about donating a portion of the proceeds, although that might be helpful. Rather, I suggest that you apposition your company or product in the context of a greater purpose. Recently, I spoke with a company that is designing an in–home water filtration system. They have also designed a backpack version for third world countries which they will donate, one for one, for every home system they sell. Same product design, two very different environments, but they’re gaining greater leverage by serving a greater good.

Step Three: Get the word out online. Bloggers, online news sites, cause groups, Twitter, Flickr, and the proliferation of new social media sites are key to building community for your effort. You’ll find that a great deal of positive altruistic energy is focused online today.

And bear this in mind: products, marketing campaigns, company announcements must authentically reflect the principles, meaning, and purpose inside companies. Those that have neither a core ethos, nor the courage to claim it, will fail in the new world that is rapidly being created out of the shambles of this one. Align with your customers in co-creating a world that is built on belonging, doing and hope.


Reprinted from Sustainable Minds Industry Experts
(photo credit: Sergio Hayashi - Fotolia.com)

Boom Boom Cards for Random Acts of Kindness Day

Today is Random Acts of Kindness Day, at least that's what several web sites have said, as I look all over for evidence that kindness and goodness are growing. Full disclosure, Boom Boom cards and the Boom Boom Revolution are a client. Let's face it, a social innovation company that has the audacious intention to transform the world one purposeful act at a time, is a perfect fit for a communications agency that seeks to inspire goodness in a sustainable world!

But all that aside, I play the Boom Boom cards because they are a terrific way to reach out and connect with the people whose presence in our lives often goes unnoticed or unappreciated.

Mary Beth Campbell is the kind of visionary we need in the world. She just launched Boom Boom Revolution, empowering people to be intentionally altruistic every day, with a deck of dynamic, motivational action cards and an interactive online network. The Boom Boom cards encourage people to reach out to each other with the spirit of generosity--thanking a mentor, buying a stranger a cup of coffee, picking up litter, offering genuine compliments or holding the door open for others--all actions that are then played forward.

The online social networking component builds community with comments, shared experiences, a global tracking map, video and photo posts and, very soon, the ability to donate a portion of the cards to a designated charity.

“Like a boomerang, we believe that whatever thoughts, actions and words you put out into the world will eventually find their way back to you, but not before covering a lot of ground a long the way,” Mary Beth says. “The quickest and simplest way to communicate that karmic notion is by saying, ‘Boom Boom!’ You get back what you give.”

Join their Facebook group
Track them on twitter, @boomboomcards.com
Or buy the cards and join the revolution!

What I Have Learned So Far

A poem by Mary Oliver

Meditation is old and honorable, so why should I
not sit, every morning of my life, on the hillside,
looking into the shining world? Because, properly
attended to, delight, as well as havoc, is suggestion.
Can one be passionate about the just, the
ideal, the sublime, and the holy, and yet commit
to no labor in its cause? I don't think so.

All summations have a beginning, all effect has a
story, all kindness begins with the sown seed.
Thought buds toward radiance. The gospel of
light is the crossroads of -- indolence, or action.

Be ignited, or be gone.

Cooperate and Compete

A pioneer in sustainability, the late environmental scientist Donella Meadows, founded the Sustainability Institute and has written some of the most prescient thinking on how this great transformation will -- and must -- happen.

We are moving from a competitive world to a collaborative community. We are beginning to recognize the we, every person and every country, are inextricably intertwined with the planet and competing for perceived scarce resources is not really how nature works.

Here's some of what she wrote:
"The Earth says, compete, yes, but keep your competition in bounds. Take only what you need. Leave your competition enough to live. Whenever possible, don't compete, cooperate. Pollinate each other, build firm structures that lift smaller species to the light. Pass around the nutrients."

I am amazed at her gift for simplifying complex concepts into language that is accessible and inspirational.

As we look ahead at redesigning everything, nature and its laws are our guides. From the precepts of biomimicry in product design (can we develop structural material as strong as spider web?) to the systems thinking required to re- engineer our economic system advocated in Slow Money by Woody Tasch, a nature-based capitalism and economy are the most sustainable and realistic.

Creating New Corporations

The economic reality that everyone is now facing is the necessary dismantling of a flawed system that allowed for the egregious over-valuation of houses, bundled mortgages, re-financed debt portfolios. Now is the time for us to build a new reality, one based upon a new ethos of good economics and the new politics of optimism.

This will require alternatives to current corporate structures. I just finished reading a wonderful paper submitted by Susan Mac Cormac, a partner at Morrison | Foerster, entitled "The Emergence of New Corporate Forms," submitted at the 2007 Summit on the Future of the Corporation. Her premise is that the rigid divisions between for-profit and non-profit will no longer work in the new economy because companies and organizations are waking up to need and benefit of combined prosperity/social missions endeavors.

I couldn't agree more.

An example given, of the new Minnesota Socially Responsible Corporation, describes legislation that allows companies to create a corporate structure that integrates "financial success and social responsibility." This bill, introduced in 2007, is another indication that many disciplines and industries, including legal, taxes, corporate designations like B Corporation, and sustainable brands, are all participating in a new reality that is more than a fad, a trend.

Companies -- whether early stage or established -- that adopt a sustainability focus and match economic prosperity/shareholder value with social responsibility and environmental nurturing will be at the forefront of the new Good Economy.

A sustainability focus helps companies give customers better products that can lead to a better life. When all of us are stretched thin and trying to absorb the reality of our failing systems, the time is right for companies to join the effort by acknowledging their responsibility and opportunity.

What business wouldn't want to create a more profitable and innovative enterprise, all while building stronger relationships with customers, employees, communities and even shareholders?

That's the Good Economy we can all nurture, grow and celebrate.

Leaders Are Showing Up

My dinner conversation last night following the close of Sustainable Brands International with Bob Isherwood, former Saatchi & Saatchi creative director responsible for the Prius launch campaign, Annie Longsworth of Cohn & Wolfe, and Steve Cook, former Samsung CMO, was a delightful exploration of how to take our years of experience and talent to accelerate the integration of a new, good mindset deeply into corporations.

We all agreed that the rapid change we are watching is driven by a rising social consciousness while entire industries are falling down.

Everywhere are serendipitous moments of the right people meeting and creating change, new leaders stepping up and seizing the moments in front of them to get involved. It will also take a new way of collaborating that incorporates levels of complexity heretofore unseen, something Steve is committed to sorting out for his clients. Communication will be an integral part of the strategic development of such complex community building, as Annie sees it, and must be a factor in accelerating the transformation we need in so many businesses.

Bob’s details about his Alaskan water purification project, highlighted in his keynote that morning, were amazing. He and his wife are helping bring a system to a small village that must melt ice in order to secure drinking and washing water. First, to realize that clean water is a real problem in an area that is essentially covered in frozen water was a revelation to me. But the challenges facing Bob and his team are daunting – village politics, cultural traditions, bureaucratic inertia.

His anecdote of one day’s journey from a morning conference room to an evening dining room is nothing short of magical. In twleve short hours he interacted with an intractable politico, used a 13 month old issue of the Muckluck Times to learn about a new NGO director, gained assistance from a helpful receptionist, and ended the day in a private dinner with the very health, water and tribe affairs leaders who can now align with Bob to create a large scale solution.

I admire his constant willingness to walk through each door that opened in front of him that day.

Your Brand of Good

My presentation yesterday at Sustainable Brands International, “Uncovering Your Unique Brand of Good,” (created in collaboration with Cheryl Heller of Heller Communications Design) gave me a change to meet marketing professionals and sustainability executives who are looking for an authentic way to recreate brands. The old promises that companies could make – quality, price, breadth of line – these old “religions” that businesses were built on are no longer enough. By themselves, they’re not sustainable. So, if it’s not going to any one of these previously acceptable purposes, what will make you matter is the question we explored.

First, take stock of where you really are and an honest measure of what is truly sustainable inside operation in accessible clear way. Be clear about the challenges, recognizing that, per Peter Senge, “the tension of where you are and where you want to go gives you the energy to get to where you need to be.”

Good brands today are created, communicated, supported and transformed by the shared efforts of agencies, CMOs and every stakeholder inside and outside the company. Such a web of influence, communication and collaboration are the hallmark of sustainable brands.

To create a good brand, the head of business must now be connected to the heart of those in the business. Companies are filed with good people making smart decisions that benefit stakeholders other than investors. Supply decisions that honor local communities, smart packaging that reduces waste, product design with end of life strategy happen everyday inside companies.

Founding stories and company lore are other areas that can be mined for the rich texture inside a good brand. We have the business story, find the human story and link that to the good actions today – these are the ingredients for a sustainable company’s brand.

Today’s definition of brand promise -- The commitment that a business makes to each of the people who interact with it. It’s a promise that defines what is unique about the company, and what people will get for their money and their time, whether they are a customer, partner, investor or employee.

Four step process to finding your own brand of goodness
1. Dig deep – into your own company legacy
2. Cast wide – into the current world market for relevance
3. Weave systems – that link operational silos
4. Tell stories – to create loyalists

Wisdom

wisdom

I just watched an amazing short film by Andrew Zuckerman. The project, a film and a book as well as the web site, is created as a archive of the spoken word of our elders. From Archbishop Tutu to Graham Nash, from Frank Gehry to Madeline Albright, this is a remarkable a gathering of advice, insights, admonitions to guide us as we navigate our way through these challenging times. I am grateful to these elders and their willingness to pause and reflect on what they know for sure --and then to share it.

Creating your own brand of goodness

Five questions hold the key to authentic sustainable brands. They seem simple enough, but digging deep into a company’s mission and values gives us what we need to develop and drive a sustainability strategy that is rooted in reality while aspiring to goodness.

When we get together for our breakout session "Creating Your Own Brand of Goodness" at SBi on Thursday, 4:00pm, we will take two attendees and conduct a live assessment and brand analysis, using a market-proven process.

Companies are full of transformational moments and people who put goodness first as part of their business strategy. Connecting these to market imperatives, product innovation, business realities and stakeholders is the way to create and communicate an authentic, purposeful brand.

Interested in having your company featured at our Uncovering Your Unique Brand of Good session?

Just email me the answers to these questions….

• What is your company mission?
• What are the company’s core values?
• What products/services are you selling?
• What markets are you serving?
• What are you doing about sustainability?

We'll choose the most interesting case to work with in our session!

Sandy Skees, Communications 4 Good: sandy@communications4good.com OR
Cheryl Heller, Heller Communications Design:
cheller@hellercd.com

Green for All

My first introduction to Van Jones was at a Pachamama Alliance Awakening the Dreamer Symposium a year ago. Watching a video interview of him, hearing his commitment to social justice AND the environment changed my point of view and shaped the language I use to frame and understand sustainability. His organization, Green for All is a remarkable grassroots organization that has already linked its future to the world we all can now see taking shape.

One program that I am particularly interested in is ShoreBank's campaign. After watching the world's biggest (and "best!?!") banks implode, I have begun thinking there must be a different solution. Here's a way to try a different, more locally focused and sustainable solution.

ShoreBank will make a $25 donation to Green For All for each person that funds a ShoreBankDirect Online High Yield Savings Account through the end of November. Here's what Green for All says:

At Green For All, we know that the extraordinary task of building an inclusive green economy will require a broad and powerful range of allies and partners. Our elected leaders and the public sector, climate change and social justice activists, venture capitalists and businesses, and many more will have roles to play in this transformation from a pollution-based economy to an economy that it is good for both people and the planet.

ShoreBank has a lead on all of us when it comes to a sustainability story -- they have been protecting the environment, building community and providing a social and financial return on investment for over 35 years. The bank’s motto is "Let’s Change the World," and they make loans that strengthen communities and preserve the environment.

Business' Purpose Must be Sustainable

Professor Vogel of the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business states in a recent Forbes.com article that corporate social responsibility does not ensure that a business will be more profitable. He states that, in spite of the clamor for business to make CSR a business imperative, the data suggests that such attention to the environment and humanity does not mean greater profits.

Ray Anderson of InterFace makes a compelling response in his recent post at Sustainable Life Media when he suggests that Milton Friedman was wrong. I have believed this for some time now. The current economic crisis is a natural and logical consequence to the untrammeled risk and excess we have experienced. It is the necessary dismantling of a flawed system and the beginning to creating a new way of doing business -- with a higher purpose,

Ray describes how the two are intertwined:

"How about concern for the common good as a higher purpose? How does the common good relate to sustainability? The answer is, in countless ways. A big, profitable factory that spews toxic chemicals into the biosphere is pretty much the same as a big profitable investment bank that spews toxic mortgages into the global financial community. Each of them can show a healthy balance sheet for a while, but the bill always comes due in the end."

The question of our times was framed by Buckminster Fuller more than 25 years ago, "How do we make the world work for 100% of humanity in the shortest possible time through spontaneous cooperation without ecological damage or disadvantage to anyone?"

The answer is sustainability. Not "green" anything. Not corporate social responsibility.

Sustainability.