Page 316 - The Green Building Bottom Line The Real Cost of Sustainable Building

294 CHAPTER 10

communications strategy for internal branding purposes. Sections three
and four consider the broader marketing and public relations needs of a
green development company as it begins to construct (and create expert-
ise in) green projects. Section five looks at the actual costs of such a
multi-year marketing strategy. The chapter concludes with projections
regarding the future challenges of green marketing.

Setting the Green Stage

The market for green building and smart development is growing—some would say it
is even reaching a tipping point. And it doesn’t start or end with green building. You
can’t pick up a newspaper or buy a cup of coffee or a gallon of gas without being bom-
barded with the evidence of climate change. While skepticism and misinformation
typified the early days of the green movement, today there is much more consensus
around the idea that green is good.
Trend information confirms that consumers are looking for companies to take the
lead. Consider, for example, a June 2007 survey by The Climate Group. In this study,
consumers reported that they wanted companies to address climate change, but few
were able to identify a single brand taking the lead on the issue. The top five U.S.
brands perceived to be “green” included General Electric, Toyota, BP, Ford, and
Honda. (These were, admittedly, companies touting their green-ness in national tele-
vision advertising.)
About two-thirds of respondents thought companies should play a bigger role in
tackling climate change and said they make purchasing decisions based on that senti-
ment. Researchers divided this consumer group into three “tribes”: the concerned but
pessimistic “campaigners” (27 percent), the feel-good “optimists” (17 percent), and the
“seen-to-be-green” followers (9 percent). Interestingly, The Climate Group’s research
also shows a gap between what these consumers expected companies to be doing about
climate change and what they perceived companies to actually be doing. In the U.K.,
for example, 69 percent of respondents drew a blank when asked to name climate-
friendly companies; the percentage was slightly higher in the U.S., at 74 percent.
And yes, the skeptics still have a say. Of respondents who do not consider climate
to be a factor in making purchasing decisions, the report drew a distinction between
the “unwilling” (12 percent), who are accepting of the issue but not prepared to act,
and the “rejecters” (16 percent), who confidently reject the issue and feel informed
enough to do so.
The Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) also sheds light on current consumer atti-
tudes with its annual “Top Ten Trends” research into the LOHAS (lifestyles of health
and sustainability) marketplace. According to NMI research in late 2007, consumers