Another Side of Green
Green just isn’t what it used to be.
The meaning of “Green” has changed, and many marketers hoping to leverage the “eco-friendliness” of a product or service into sales need to evaluate their strategy. In fact, the time for this model may have already passed, much as various marketing pundits said it would. Today, a highly visible green theme simply doesn’t have the feel-good cache or urgency it once had.
Dennis Salazar, of Salazar Packaging, writing in Environmental Leader believes this is a realistic, but not necessarily pessimistic, perspective with two primary groups involved: those committed to sustainability and passionate about environmental issues, and the vast majority who simply do not care enough to consider environmental issues when purchasing packaged goods. At the other end of the spectrum—or maybe the supply chain—are the manufacturers that make and ship products.
Two Words: Cost Reduction
Some industries and companies originally embraced sustainability because it looked like a great way to increase sales and market share. However temporarily, they were able to claim a certain “greenness,” which worked to attract some new customers. Of course, some of these customers later departed, frustrated by overstated claims of eco-friendliness and in many cases significantly higher prices. Even eco-consciousness has a threshold of pain in consumers’ pocketbooks.
But in taking a closer look at what they had been doing, companies realized that sustainability could actually reduce costs, yielding real benefits with minimal effort. Such source reduction, although a common way to reduce packaging costs, had not been done with an eye to sustainability. Green practices, often based on common sense, reduced waste, facilitated recycling and encouraged use of raw materials with recycled content. Companies could see the bottom line results, whether or not environmentally-conscious consumers were voting with their wallets. While this may be disappointing from an environmentally altruistic perspective, the end results are generally positive gains in sustainability that we see noted on the labels and packaging of an increasing range of products.
Beyond Green
Salazar notes that the greener, more eco-friendly materials his company urges customers to use often solve problems that have nothing to do with the environment or anything “green” related. For example, companies recognize the savings and improved customer satisfaction when shipment damage is reduced from 12 percent to under 1 percent. That this can be done with greener materials may be a plus, but the real motivator is solving the damage reduction problem.
Salazar also points to branding. When a new graphic design printed on 100 percent recycled content corrugated board with eco-friendly, water-based inks enhances a customer’s branding there is a benefit for the customer—and a nod to the environmental advantage. Better branding can still be green.
Meanwhile, another customer may complain of rising shipping costs, which are tightly tied to the cost of fuel. With these costs typically based on weight and package dimensions, a stronger, lighter weight, smaller container results in lower shipping costs.
The other side of green is not that companies are indifferent to environmental issues. In fact, many have meaningful sustainability initiatives. However, the corporate focus is, as it should be, on sales and profits, not climate change or other environmental concerns. That “being green” provides an advantage in sales, branding, cost savings and shipping is important, and it is gradually becoming business as usual. It’s proof that both packaging companies and their customers can still make a big difference by doing the little things the right way.
