Making your company -- and your brand -- more environmentally friendly can add market share, cut costs and make your CFO very happy. Here's how.

The business world is awash in green. Companies big and small, private and public, that sell products to all markets and audiences are considering how to make their brands, companies and marketing messages appeal to a public increasingly interested in protecting our environment and reducing its collective carbon footprint.
Consumer awareness about sustainability is at an all-time high, based on research by, well, almost everybody. A cadre of sources and personalities, including Al Gore, can be credited for that. But despite an incredibly high awareness level about the problem, few consumers know how to successfully do something about it.
Sure, we're recycling more. And weekly studies tell us that consumers are more likely to buy "green" products and are willing to pay more for them. But consumers and businesses alike still struggle with the idea of both making their day-to-day practices more sustainable, and doing so in a profitable or money-saving way.
Corporate America, in its quest to attract more customers and increase market share, has jumped on the green bandwagon in a big way. Logos have been changed to all-green hues. Green themes have been woven into television storylines. Chief sustainability officer positions have been created, and new corner offices filled.
But despite good intentions, relatively little sustainability work has actually been done. Many highly visible green initiatives are in fact quite time and cost intensive -- such as changing windows, replacing vehicle fleets and making wholesale changes to packaging and product manufacturing practices.
But regardless of the challenges with early attempts to go green, significant market share, cost savings and brand value await companies and brands that increasingly get it right.
The benefits (and pitfalls) of a green brandFor brand marketers, the benefits of "being green" are high on many fronts, inside and outside of the company.
Aligning your green brand's positioning with current and prospective customers can have significant benefits, but it also comes with a slippery slope. If your brand naturally lends itself to a strong green message, and/or you can back up your green message with tangible, measurable results and impact to the environment, you can successfully tap into the social consciousness and demand for green among your customers -- consumer or corporate.
Soap marketers, for example, can tout environmentally friendly ingredients and byproducts. Done right, these messages aren't just trendy positioning statements, but can be core differentiators that tie directly to your brand values.
But this opportunity has a downside as well, particularly for marketers who attempt to leverage green and sustainable messages without credible backup for such messages.
Already, consumer backlash on products and marketers that they think are merely "greenwashing" their stories has been harsh. And consumer and corporate buyers are becoming skeptical of company claims of being green, thereby increasing the stakes for companies to validate, back-up and truly live their pledge to be a more sustainable brand.

Being green can make more greenChallenges aside, being green can have a significant, tangible and immediate impact on your bottom line. This is about more than just positioning and market share; it's about leveraging an authentically green marketing play -- externally and inside your company -- for increased sales, greater customer loyalty and also significant cost reductions for your company's operations.
With the right strategies, this impact can begin immediately and can be a win for several departments across the organization.
Take power management, for example. Did you know that among your office's IT devices, your PC is the single-largest contributor to carbon emissions? The PCs and monitors running across your company account for 40 percent of your company's IT carbon emissions – almost twice that of the next-largest contributor (data centers).
What's worse, nearly two-thirds of the energy our PCs use every day is wasted. Our PCs are working at full speed and full energy when we're not using them, literally most of the time, costing significant wasted dollars and contributing enormously to our carbon footprint. (The average PC, for example, is responsible for 1,000 pounds of CO2 emissions every year.)
Now, let's imagine that your company takes advantage of PC power management software available on the market today -- tools that can reduce your PC energy needs by up to 60 percent, while cutting the associated carbon footprint by as much as 40 percent. That's a solid, measurable and meaningful green strategy.
First of all, that's real money that goes right back to the bottom line. Your CFO is going to be a very happy person.
You can also leverage this green initiative directly in your marketing. It's an easy way to claim an immediate, measurable win on the sustainability front. And if you're a software or computer services company, it's a great way to share the specifics of your PC power management strategy with your customers and prospects, encouraging them to join your lead in cutting energy and carbon footprint impact.
But that's not all.
Your PR team will be able to discuss ongoing updates of the impact of your power management strategy, measuring the cumulative and ongoing impact on saved energy and carbon footprint reduction. They can even translate energy savings into trees saved, barrels of oil not used, cars off the road, etc.
Your HR team will be able to use this news in two ways -- both to improve employee retention and morale, and to help with recruiting. Employees want to know their company is doing something real to positively impact the environment, and potential employees increasingly are caring about corporate sustainability practices in determining where they want to work
Your IT team will appreciate a way to very directly and tangibly participate in the company's overall sustainability efforts, especially with something that could significantly decrease their own operating budget.
Your corporate sustainability team will also love PC power management, as it's a fast, easy and immediate strategy that gives them a quick win among myriad opportunities and projects in front of them
These department-specific benefits represent a solid mix of internal and external marketing benefits, but together they demonstrate just how broadly the right green initiatives can be leveraged to positively impact your brand.

Your green top 10 list for 2008So you're ready to get started. Here are 10 more things you can start doing right away, all in 2008, to create a comprehensive, compelling and results-driven green strategy for your business and brand.
Internally
Recycling: Surprisingly, not very many of us are doing it, and not nearly to the level that we easily could. Office recycling programs now easily tackle not just paper, but also glass, aluminum, cardboard, catalogs, magazines, etc. -- all in the same bin. Think also about how your company recycles office equipment, computer supplies, etc. Much of these tools can be donated or sold to companies and third-world companies that will put them to good use, reducing the need for new equipment manufacturing, which itself creates an incredibly high carbon footprint.
Transportation: Encourage and subsidize more of your employees to use group and public transportation. Rethink whether or not you need that business trip, or if a phone call, WebEx or video conference could suffice.
Power management: Consider implementing a PC power management solution, such as those described above. This can have an immediate impact on not only carbon footprint, but also operating costs.
Office guidelines: Default all printers to duplex printing. Encourage employees to only print what's necessary and to use "soft copies" for everything else. Encourage and reward activities across the company that demonstrate employees "living the green brand." You'll be surprised what unique and compelling green strategies individual employees come up with that can become internal and external sustainability strategies for your business and brand.
Supplier & partner guidelines: Encourage or require your partners and suppliers to maintain certain green-friendly operating standards. Several companies, such as Wal-Mart, are already doing this, and are thereby impacting sustainable practices well beyond their own.Externally
Community engagement & activation: Encourage your customers to be green with you. If you're enacting PC power management solutions within your business, encourage your customers to do the same. Getting them involved and participating with you in your green strategies is an excellent way to build community and create strong bonds between brand and customer.
Community participation: Find ways to actively participate in existing community activities, organizations and other efforts to be green and sustainable, especially efforts that align with your company and brand's core values and brand message. This can be local or national organizations and efforts -- focused on employee participation or widespread customer activation.
Channel choices: Consider the carbon impact of your marketing channels, and how you read, influence and empower your customers. Participating in a trade show, for example, is a carbon footprint-heavy strategy compared to an online-based, community-based activity that likely can achieve the same awareness or demand generation results. And if you're making channel choices based on what's most sustainable, tell your customers and prospects about it. They'll appreciate the motivation behind your choice.
Competitive advantage: If being green is truly a key and possibly new part of your brand message and positioning, lean into it. Make it something that everyone across your organization -- sales, marketing, customer support, etc. -- is reciting as a mantra in their individual engagements with your customers and prospects. Make your green strategy a true competitive advantage.
Endorsements & associations: Partner with Energy Star, buy products from suppliers with strong environmental stories (such as HP for computers and printers), and work with credible speakers, writers and authorities already in the green and sustainable world to align with your brand, endorse your strategy and help tell your story.
Learn more, get involved, live the brand!These pointers, of course, are just the tip of the iceberg. Green opportunities are proliferating and the opportunities for smart brands to get involved at a tangible level and make a significant impact -- for their companies, their bottom lines, their market share and their employees -- is real and very dynamic.
Below are several links to start investigating what other companies are doing, and to spark your own creative juices.
Microsoft has published a strong sustainability white paper detailing its commitment to sustainable business practices. It's a good read, especially for new ideas that might make sense for your company and brand.
Verdiem is one of the leaders in helping large brands and enterprise companies significantly reduce their PC energy usage, costs and carbon footprint. Learn more about them here. You can also learn more about broader opportunities on Green IT.
Check out several well-written green marketing blogs, including Sustainable Marketing, Marketing Green and Green Wombat.
The Climate Savers Computing Initiative is another simple, fast step to help you and your company do its part.
Matt Heinz is senior director of marketing for Verdiem and the author of Matt on Marketing. Matt also recently completed work on two books, Are You Selling Pants, or Selling A Dream? and Move The Mouse & Make Millions.

Comverge: IPO...

Good news. Energy efficiency firm Comverge goes public. Saves businesses energy with smart thermostats. And yes - we see that Money Talks as Carbon Walks...

http://www.news.com/Energy-efficiency-firm-Comverge-jumps-in-IPO/2110-11746_3-6176392.html?tag=html.alert.hed

What Makes a Pound of Carbon Dioxide?

The average American generates about 7.8 tons of carbon dioxide per year powering their homes and driving their cars. That is about the weight of two full-grown elephants and works out to about 47 pounds of CO2 a day ...

for every man, woman and child in the country. How do we do it ... and what is a pound of CO2 anyway? It helps to think of that CO2 as being trapped in a balloon. A one-pound CO2 balloon would be about 2.5 feet wide. Forty-seven such balloons would fill up your living room—every day. How do Americans generate so much CO2? Nearly a third of the carbon dioxide emissions generated in the U.S. come from transportation, and of those emissions nearly two-thirds come from personal automobiles. When combusted, each gallon of gas creates about 25.3 big balloons—or pounds—of carbon dioxide. Here's how it breaks down. A gallon weighs a little over 6 pounds, 85 percent of which is carbon, giving 5.25 pounds of carbon per gallon. Each carbon atom combines with two oxygen atoms from the atmosphere when it burns, adding 14 pounds per gallon, for a total emission of 5.25 + 14 = 19.25 pounds of CO2. Just to produce gasoline from oil creates an additional 6.05 pounds of carbon dioxide, giving 25.3 balloons of CO2 for every gallon. Keeping the lights on Another big chunk of CO2 comes from making the electricity that lights our homes and runs air conditioners, refrigerators and other appliances. Coal-fired power plants, which account for half of all electricity generated in the U.S., release roughly 2 billion tons of CO2 annually while natural gas power plants emit 400 million tons. "The average coal plant emits about twice as much CO2 as a high-efficiency natural gas plant," says Jeffery Greenblatt, Ph.D., a scientist with the Climate and Air Program at Environmental Defense.The pounds of CO2 emitted per kilowatt-hour (one hour's use of one kilowatt of energy) vary depending on the type of fuel your utility uses. Coal-fired power plants emit up to 2.49 lbs/kWh while wind and other renewable energy sources release none. The national average, combining all energy generation methods, is about 1.34 lbs/kWh. A single 75 watt bulb burning for two hours a day generates an average of six pounds, or six big balloons, of carbon dioxide a month. So don't balloon up with CO2—this is weight we can all do without. What you can doTo find out how you can reduce the number of pounds of CO2 that you generate at home, visit www.thegreenguide.com/doc/119/calculator Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs).Turn down your thermostat at night and when no one is home.Improve the insulation in your home by sealing gaps around chimneys, windows and doors. See more energy saving tips at hes.lbl.govSwitch to Energy Star appliances, see www.energystar.gov Purchase green power from non-polluting sources, such as windmills, through your local utility. To find out if green power is available in your area, visit the Department of Energy's green pricing page at www.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/. You can compare the costs and environmental benefits of green power options at www.powerscorecard.org/.If you're considering offsetting your carbon dioxide, see "Shifting Into Neutral." Carbon CalculatorsThe Green Guide's Green Home calculators for household appliances: www.thegreenguide.com/green_home/EPA's "How clean is the electricity I use?" webpage: www.epa.gov/solar/powerprofiler.htmEnvironmental Defense's personal impact calculator: www.fightglobalwarming.com/carboncalculator.cfm

Nat Geo - Your 'CARBON NUMBER'

cool starting point to become aware of your everyday carbon output and how to reduce it. Thanks National Geographic. I love your Planet Earth series. Awesome. Years of work, globally, and now for our viewing pleasure, at our leisure... Anyway, back to carbon footprints:

How to Reduce Your Global Warming Emissions: http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/119/calculator