‘Being Green’….’The Green Wash’…’Green Marketing’…’Thinking Green’…’Go Green’…’A Greener Future’…’Committed to Green’…

There are so many ways we talk about companies ‘being green’ and even more ways in which those companies go about doing it.

So we were interested to read about Greenpeace’s ranking of the most sustainable consumer electronics makers which saw HP knocking Nokia off the top spot.  Rather than considering this the main piece of news however, we were most interested in the fact that so many companies were listed and recognised for their ‘green’ activity at all – and found it very positive.

However, the ‘doing’ bit of ‘being green’ cannot be underestimated…it’s now no longer enough for a company to make an effort and merely keep up but, as with any other competitive initiative, the brands in question have to think about how they can do in a way which positively differentiates them and gives them a unique shade of green which they can claim as a competitive edge.

Giles Lury, chairman here at The Value Engineers, commented on just this on the BBC Technology News website last week:

“‘Being Green’ is now a pre-requisite part of corporate social responsibility, not a ‘nice to have’ for global companies…The challenge for brands is how they can communicate their greener efforts in a way that is different – and better – than the competition.”

So…how is YOUR brand ‘being green’ in a way which gives it a unique shade in the market? We’d love to help you think about this so please dont’ hesitate to get in touch if you’d like to hear more.

India, the world’s biggest democracy, is rapidly becoming the key market to crack for international brands. In a new series of blog posts Anjul Sharma – fluent in Indian culture and languages Hindi, Punjabi & Urdu - looks at the approach to branding in one of the planet’s fastest growing markets.

Having started this blog series by exploring examples of India’s great customer service, it is time to look at another area where India appears just as impressively to be leading the way: innovation. Enter centre stage, the Tata Swach.

Produced by the Tata Group – who gave us the Tata Nano, the world’s cheapest car - this product has been in R&D for 10 years. The Tata Swach is a water purifier that uses ash from rice milling to filter out bacteria and tiny silver particles, thereby killing harmful germs that can lead to diseases like diarrhoea, cholera and typhoid. Given 1 billion people globally are affected by lack of clean drinking water and the nasty diseases that go with it, this is quite a ground breaking innovation: it has a genuine application to a major human problem that knows no geographic boundaries. 

But its real ingeniousness is this: it does not need running water or electricity to work. It doesn’t need bromine, chlorine or iodine either. A water purifier that does the job without components that we in the West would think where essential is a pretty amazing feat I think. What’s more, at less than 1 metre high, it is pretty portable. And at £13.00 or US $21 it is pretty affordable for communities. Its performance capabilities, based on path-breaking nanotechnology, have been tested in the UK and Netherlands as well as India.

Small wonder, then, that on 11 November 2010 the Tata Swach won Gold at the Asian Innovation Awards. Out of 300 entries from 13 countries, an Indian innovation won.  And that’s not all – it also won the global ICIS award for best product innovation. ICIS, a leading global provider of news and information in the chemical and energy sectors, gave the award to the Tata Swach for the best overall innovation as well as best product innovation. The judges applauded Tata for their deeply established and embedded philosophies of social and corporate social responsibility which reflect on how they approach business and innovation.

Now at a personal level, I would be really excited about the next great innovation in hair straighteners to deal with my unruly thick curly hair, in fact, even more excited than the next woman along the line. However, a little part of me thinks I shouldn’t be quite so vain and frivolous. Whilst I respect great innovations in Western markets that lead to new brands, products and services, their impact rarely stretches beyond financials. Why the Tata Swach is so impressive is because this product is both commercially feasible and can have a phenomenally positive global impact.  How many innovations can truly be said to save lives from the shores of Haiti to the flooded plains of Pakistan?

For major global brands, ’Corporate Social Responsibility’ is becoming increasingly important, demanded by many consumers (especially in America and the UK in recent years) who question the morality of big business. It is great to see an Indian company not just creating a convincing CSR policy, but actually living it through the power of thoughtful innovation.

Over the last decade, Marks & Spencer has effectuated one of the most successful brand revitalisations in recent history. Once haunted almost exclusively by grannies and the ghost of St Michael, the last ten years have seen M&S perform a complete 180, appealing more than ever to younger shoppers and those in search of a little more quality. And it’s not just the food – these days it’s not uncommon to see stylish 20- and 30-something young professionals scouring the M&S rails for a vintage-looking tea dress or a sharp suit, improved even further by designer collaborations and deluxe lines.

Of course, a large part of M&S’ new feel has been enhanced by its undoubtedly fantastic ad campaigns over the last few years – from the sumptuous “This is not just…” food porn to the Bond-esque Christmas TV ads and the tongue-in-cheek lingerie billboards. But adverts alone make for a rather empty brand identity – the cleverest thing M&S has done is to make its new brand ethos completely intrinsic and essential to the way the company present themselves and actually work.

Take, for example, their CSR policy: dubbed ‘Plan A’ (“because there is no Plan B”), it places M&S firmly at the forefront of responsible retailing, and thanks to the initiative’s wide-reaching scope and visible implementation (e.g. charging for plastic bags), as well as excellent publicising in-store, customers are now well aware of M&S’ active attitude to Corporate Social Responsibility, and respect them all the more for it.

This week saw M&S roll out a compostable dissolvable chocolate box tray – an incredibly on-trend invention that reinforces the brand’s position as a CSR leader. The tray, which in previous incarnations has been unrecyclable, will now be made of a material called plantic, which can be broken down on a compost heap in 3 weeks, or dissolved in minutes under a running tap. Excessive food packaging has long been a bugbear for many consumers concerned about the environment. With this new solution being rolled out across their chocolate line in time for Christmas (which, lest we forget, tends to be the season of ultimate gluttony and waste), M&S are showing that they truly have their finger on their consumers’ pulse.

Just a great example of how brands can avoid the classic “me-too” trap of CSR, proving to their customers that they take the challenge seriously (and aren’t just going through the motions), marking themselves out as leaders in a trend, and doing their bit for the planet at the same time. Bravo!

• “The crucial ingredient in the success of any brand is its claim to authenticity” – Al Reis and Laura Reis
• “CSR is not a marketing tool.  It is a value which requires belief and commitment” – Anon
• “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it” – Warren Buffet
• “Ethics is the new competitive environment” – Peter Robinson, CEO Mountain Equipment Co-op
• “The future belongs to those who understand that doing more with less is compassionate, prosperous, and enduring, and thus more intelligent, even competitive” – Paul Hawken
• “Always do what is right.  This will gratify some people and astonish the rest” – Mark Twain

Borrowed with pride from all over the place.

“There is a spiritual aspect to our lives – when we give we receive – when a business does something good for somebody, that somebody feels good about them!” (Ben Cohen, Ben & Jerry’s)

“Ethics is the new competitive environment” – Peter Robinson, CEO Mountain Equipment Co-op

“There’s no dividing line between brand management and corporate responsibility” – Ken Peattie

“I want to work for a company that contributes to, and is part of, the community. I want something not just to invest in – I want something to believe in” – Anita Roddick

“Business and the environment: Who Cares, Wins” – Anon