Book Review: The New Rules of Green Marketing

Green thinking is becoming a standard way of life and business.  From the way we shop to the way we clean, dress and and even make business decisions, consumers and businesses alike are changing the way they view products and services in today’s environment.  Along with that, comes the fact that firms must also change the way they brand and market. 

A Little Bit About the Book and Author

Jacquelyn Ottman has written four books, with over 20 years of green marketing lessons.  Ottman didn’t want to publish an actual paperback book when producing it, but would have preferred a digital book that could be continuously updated.  Her publisher, however, talked her out of it, and she settled for a paperback book with a matte, not glossy cover, written with vegetable-based inks on acid free paper. The books are also transferred by boat.

What You'll Find Inside

The book contains 20 new rules of green marketing, 86 strategies and 155 case examples.  Jacquelyn talks about tips, strategies, case studies and tools, and also the challenges of sustainable branding in the ever changing green atmosphere, and what companies must do to stand out and succeed. 

Green is Mainstream

The rules of marketing are changing; the old landscape showed green products that didn’t work well, were too expensive and were created by a brand that no one ever heard of.  She states that today, 83% of adults can be considered some shade of green and that today’s sustainable products are more than likely to work better than their brown counterparts.  The book also describes how green products and services can be segmented by interests, including:

• Resource Conserver                                           
• Animal Lover
• Health Fanatic                                                
• Outdoor Enthusiast   

She highlights great examples from companies such as Starbucks, Method, Nissan, Timberland and more.

Case Study:  Method

She tells a great story about how Method came about, what they’re doing to in terms of green and also where they are headed.  They have sleek designs aimed at young professionals; green offices including one that is LEED certified and a factory that doesn’t emit a drop of waste-water; they achieve carbon neutrality in all of their manufacturing, office operations and employee travel; they provide three paid employee days off dedicated to spending time volunteering and they use recycled or recyclable materials for their products along with non-toxic and biodegradable ingredients.  Method is making a difference in the green household cleaning industry. 

Innovate for Sustainability

Chapter five was probably my favorite.  She talks about moving beyond eco-design to eco-innovation.  Instead of taking a product and just making it better, companies need to develop entirely new products and services to stay on the edge of the competition.  New products should be able to perform the same function, with less environmental impact. This process can be seen as a chart consisting of three “S” curves.  For example:

• 1^st "S" Curve: Product Redesign - Taking a toothbrush and making it better with less packaging and materials.
• 2^nd "S" Curve: Eco-Innovation - Creating a chewing gum that can clean teeth without the need for a toothbrush.
• 3^rd "S" Curve: Sustainable Technology Development -Instead of cleaning teeth, develop a product, such as a food additive that will prevent plaque from forming on the teeth.

As you move up the S curves, you create products and models with less and less environmental impact.

These examples are provided by Jacquelyn Ottman and can be found in the book.

Food for Thought

There are too many other great tips and stories in this book, that I don’t have enough room to share them all here.  I found the book to be a great read; ‘green’ is changing the way we live our lives and it is not hard for us all to do our part, whether it is taking cloth shopping bags to the store with us instead of using plastic or hanging clothes out on a line to dry as opposed to using the dryer.  Jacquelyn mentions great companies and ideas being put into place, and reminds us that we need to keep in mind that the planet will always be here, it is for us that going green will bring the most benefit. 

Bottom line:  Whether your company is B2B or B2C, offering products or services, the over message is universal.   Clients and consumers are accepting ‘green’ products, services and methods as an expected social responsibility, even if it’s just small steps.  I recommend this book as a great read for gathering ideas to revamp, make small changes or simply for the lessons learned from other company’s experiences.