Energy
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Thoughts from the Wind Power Expo
I traveled to the Wind Energy Show in Dallas this week– it was amazing. It was huge, easily one of the largest shows I have attended. Drawing exhibitors from around the world, the show touched every aspect of wind energy, from companies who develop giant wind farms to parts suppliers and manufacturers and even attorneys. You can check out the photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/awea/
A few observations: Continue reading
Music and carbon footprint
I was rea
ding an article about Pearl Jam, and how the band invested $210,000 to plant trees in Washington State to absorb an estimated 7,000 tons of carbon dioxide linked to their 32 stop 2009 tour.
If even the music industry is looking at its carbon footprint and coming up with some creative ways to offset it, I think everyone needs to step up.
Check out the rest of the article.
What are you doing to offset your carbon footprint?
Social gaming on campus saves energy
Eneractivity has developed a social game for college students that schools can use to drive energy savings. Groups can compete against each other as they race around a virtual dorm room to turn off lights and adjust settings, destroy things, and get recharged by pizza. Based on the new energy consciousness the game imparts, Eneractivity estimates colleges with 5,000 students can save about $24,000 a year in energy costs — a 300% ROI. (Does anyone else think it’s ironic that you have to use electricity to play this game?)
Anyway, it sounds fun, so I got to thinking about what I would like to learn from the games I play. For instance, maybe Farmville could teach me how to conserve water and reduce my virtual methane production. And maybe Diner Dash(tm) could teach me how to say ‘no’ to that hamburger, fries and shake. Sweet Tooth 2, you could teach me how much I could save on the family’s dental bills every time I cleared the board of those yummy looking candy pieces. I wish you would.
Find out more about Eneractivity, their mission, and their new game at http://www.eneractivity.com/
Are you a “sustainable” marketer?
How do you define “sustainability” and how do you showcase your efforts within your marketing initiatives … without being perceived as “greenwashing”? 
In the last couple of years, “sustainability” has risen in the ranks as a purchase criteria for food and supplements. People are becoming more conscious of how products are manufactured, how the ingredients in them are sourced, and how they get to the shelves. At the 2010 Focus on the Future, we were treated to a keynote by Dr. Jay Golden, Director of the Sustainability Consortium. This is a group of academics and global businesses who have come together to develop a scientific foundation that will improve consumer product sustainability throughout its lifecycle. The reason? Walmart’s 15-point supplier sustainability assessment, replete with specific dates to comply.
Still Evolving: Sustainability Marketing in the Energy Sector
The ability to market sustainability brings to mind the color grey more than it does the color green. Grey as in grey space. Fuzzy territory. This thought emerged Wednesday at the Chicago BMA Breakfast Roundtable in which CBD’s Lori Colman lead a panel discussion entitled From Green to “Greenwashing” : How B2B Companies are Succeeding (and Failing) at Marketing Sustainability.”
Lev Goldberg, Marketing Director for Constellation NewEnergy, shed light on the areas of uncertainty. As a retail energy provider selling to businesses in all eligible markets, Lev noted that Constellation NewEnergy encounters a broad range of energy conservation and sustainability visions developed by corporations. “Most companies have set goals for sustainability, but they don’t know how to go about accomplishing them,” said Lev. “They don’t know what they are looking for. And they don’t have a plan.” Lev went on to mention that this lack of clear understanding about solutions keeps corporations from proactively asking about sustainable energy products. Instead, energy sustainability messages are driving most of the market interest. Constellation NewEnergy is helping to overcome this barrier by producing a series of environmentally-focused collateral pieces that provides companies with a list of ways they can help companies meet sustainability needs.
