Green PR

Connecting with prospects, stakeholders, and investors

If a tree doesn't fall in the woods - but no one communicates it ...does it make a sound?

In today's eco-conscious world, communicating green corporate initiatives is second only to conducting them. Unfortunately, many companies get one or both of these imperatives wrong, and end up paying for it - sometimes dearly.

You can reduce your carbon footprint, become a zero-waste company, and donate generously to green nonprofits. But if your stakeholders don't know about it, you're leaving money on the table.

On the other hand, you can have a PR firm plaster embellished claims of your company's efforts all over the media ...and be slapped with accusations of "greenwashing" and the bad press that follows.

Maybe your brand has a spotless track record, but you're contending with the environmental blunders of competitors.

Can your company afford to channel thousands or even millions into a green CSR campaign, only to have it backfire? Then again, can you afford to conduct your good deeds anonymously? Because that's what's happening when ineffective communication leaves prospects, citizens, and shareholders cold.

The green-PR hurdle: Why initiatives fail

If managing green public relations seems overwhelming, you're not alone. Sustainability and the standards for evaluating it are new terrain for many corporations. Combined with the new face of PR - digitized, open to attack from every corner - this unfamiliarity keeps many companies mum on their eco plans and practices. This is especially true in environmentally challenged industries, where stakeholders' concerns can flare into public opposition overnight.

Even execs who know how vital green PR is are often fuzzy on where to start.

Say your company's added an environmentally oriented product or service. How do you win over a new, eco-savvy audience with standards and expectations different from those of your core market?

And companies with established sustainability programs aren't immune from missteps. Many don't go far enough to understand their eco-conscious stakeholders and critics, or speak their language. As a result, the lines those groups draw between touting valid accomplishments and engaging in greenwashing may seem blurry.

With obstacles like these, even top companies stumble. GM, Sara Lee, Monsanto, even Horizon Organic - all were slammed in recent years for questionable eco-marketing. The fact is, doing green PR right requires a specialized skillset that most businesses lack:

• Concrete knowledge of what green audiences want
• The environmental expertise to give it to them
• The financial expertise to do this economically
• The communication expertise to hone your message

Internal PR departments and even professional public relations firms fail on corporate sustainability because - often blinded by company objectives - they're too focused on the pitch. The environment is an area where spin isn't tolerated, and campaigns that are seen as inauthentic are destined to fail.

But not every company is fumbling eco. Some businesses have seen sales skyrocket from eco-initiatives, with growth rates soaring to fifteen and even twenty times those of the nearest competitor. Not to mention the gains in efficiency, company moral, and overall good karma that come with any solid sustainability work.

What are these industry stars doing right?

The eco-expert solution

The key to fruitful green PR may be teaming up with environmental organizations. In the last decade, businesses have increasingly tapped green specialists for sustainability help, with excellent results.

Green NGOs not only provide companies with needed guidance, they also lend a credibility to corporate campaigns that is otherwise wanting. The Edelman Trust Barometer has long shown that, year after year, NGOs are the most trusted public entities among opinion leaders. And according to its 2010 study, 70% of respondents trust a company more when it partners with an NGO on important social issues.

The reason is simple: when the watchdog endorses you, it's pretty clear you've earned it!

Multinational produce giant Chiquita learned this the hard way. After earning a decades-long reputation for rampant social and environmental exploitation, Chiquita reached out to The Rainforest Alliance for help with their "triple bottom line." The Alliance - which had been one of Chiquita's most vocal critics - identified key changes to help the company run greener and turn public perception around.

Their Better Banana Program was a huge success, garnering positive attention worldwide and boosting morale among company employees as well as contracted farm workers. Chiquita invested $20 million in the campaign over ten years, expecting it to eventually pay off with the improvement in public image. What they didn't expect was to save $100 million in operating costs over the same period.

This kind of triple benefit - environmental, social, and financial - isn't the exception with corporate/NGO sustainability team-ups. When you're working with the right organization, it's the rule.

The right green org can help you to:

• Gauge the opinions, concerns, and attitudes of your main stakeholders
• Evaluate your sustainability program from a public relations perspective
• Identify cost-effective options to improve your campaign
• Craft an environmental message that will appeal to the public
• Identify and tap new green markets
• Leverage eco-efforts with investors
• Teach employees to respond effectively to outside queries
• Improve public perception by conferring credibility
• Report your green CSR efforts

EII helps companies thrive

EII is a pro-business green consulting firm that specializes in the above services. Our high-level environmental, financial, and communication expertise makes us an ideal choice for help with green PR and sustainability overall. And our public works and nonprofit status lend added credibility to the companies that hire us.

Want to learn more? Contact Michael Vari at , or read more about EII.