1 Small Biz Green: Growth Building Your Business by Selling & Marketing Green Yalmaz Siddiqui, Director of Environmental Strategy, Office Depot [email protected]
Dec 25, 2015
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Small Biz Green: Growth
Building Your Business by Selling & Marketing Green
Yalmaz Siddiqui, Director of Environmental Strategy, Office Depot
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Green trivial pursuit
What is a green business?
Developing your green marketing strategy
AGENDA: THE GREEN OPPORTUNITY
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Green Trivial Pursuit
What is the approximate size of the green products market in the US?[Natural Marketing Institute, 2010]
a. $80 Billionb. $290 Billion c. $160 Billion
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LOHAS Market size = $290 BillionsLargest segments: Personal Health & Green Building
$20, 7%
$42, 14%
$100, 35%
$117, 41%
$1, 0% $10, 3%
Personal Health
Green Building
Eco-tourism
Alternative Transportation
Natural Lifestyles
Alternative Energy
$ - US consumer spending, billions% - share of total LOHAS market
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Green Trivial Pursuit
What does LOHAS stand for?[Natural Marketing Institute, 2010]
a. Lifestyles of Health & Sustainability
b. Life of Health & Stewardship c. Lifestyle of Health & Stewardship
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Green Trivial Pursuit
In the next 10 years, the Federal Government plans to transition this % of its $500 Billion+ purchasing towards ‘sustainable’ products:
[Executive Order 13514, 2009]
a. 50%b. 75%c. 95%
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EXAMPLE ECONOMIC DRIVER: BUSINESS TO GOVERNMENT OPPORTUNITY: EXECUTIVE ORDER 13514
$500 BILLION PLUS OF FEDERAL SPENDING EXPECTED TO SHIFT TO “SUSTAINABLE ACQUISITION” FROM 2011 TO 2021
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Green Trivial Pursuit
What does LEED stand for?
a. Leadership in Energy Efficient Design
b. Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design
c. Leading Environmental Excellence & Demonstration
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THERE WILL BE APPROXIMATELY 30 BILLION SQUARE FEET OF LEED CERTIFIED BUILDINGS BY 2020
How many Manhattan’s
~5~20~40
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Green Trivial Pursuit (quick bonus)
What is LEEDS?
a. A City in England
b. The term you use if you don’t know what LEED is
c. Both of the above
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• Green businesses operate in ways that help solve, rather than cause, environmental problems. (Green America)
• A sustainable business is an organization that participates in environmentally (friendly) activities to ensure processes, products, and manufacturing activities adequately address environmental concerns while maintaining a profit. (Wikipedia)
Example definitions
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light green green darkgreen
NEW GREEN PERSPECTIVE: THERE ARE ONLY SHADES OF GREEN
meets industry norms
not green/unknown
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MID GREEN:
Incorporates green habits beyond the mainstream; sees business opportunity in green
LIGHT GREEN:
Open to doing simple green things as long as there is no lifestyle shift
DARK GREEN:
Lives the greenest life, perception of green = “activism”
THERE ARE SHADES OF GREEN AMONG CUSTOMERS
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KEY LESSONS: FIND THE CHANNELS, MESSAGES & MEDIUMS THAT RESONATE WITH CUSTOMERS AT DIFFERENT SHADES OF GREEN AND WITH DIFFERENT PERSONAL INTERESTS
HELP CUSTOMERS MOVE UP THE SHADES OF GREEN
CONTINUUM IN WAYS THAT ARE MEANINGFUL TO THEM
REMEMBER DIFFERENT PEOPLE CARE ABOUT
DIFFERENT ISSUES…NOT EVERYONE CARES ABOUT
EVERYTHING
DEVELOP PRODUCTS AND MARKETING APPROACHES
THAT BREAK THROUGH THE CLUTTER
DON’T GREENWASH – CLAIMS HAVE TO HAVE A BASIS
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“Balance environmental issues with primary customer needs or be forever relegated to the green graveyard.”
GreenBiz: Lessons from the Green Graveyard
Lessons from the Green Graveyard
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1. Share your experiences selling green
2. What is your greatest challenge?
3. Share your table’s most well-articulated challenge
CHALLENGES ROUNDTABLE
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1. >getting people’s attention…showing value
2. >chicken and egg
3. >educating customers to make upfront investments
4. >lack of incentives/ length of ROI
5. >getting to right person in leadership
6. >education / getting word out
7. >preparation / awareness of your segments
8. >apathy/education
KEY CHALLENGES SHARED
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Buy Green
Be Green
Sell GreenWhy
Green?Tell
Green
Ensure a Customer-Focused
Assortment
Reduce Long Term
Operating Costs
Grow Sales & IMU in All Channels
Prepare for Emerging Needs and
Risks
Promote & Protect the
Office Depot Brand
OUR ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGY SUPPORTS OUR BUSINESS NEEDS
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Source: Michael Porter
Economic Benefits
Combined Environmental,and Economic
Benefits
Environmental Benefits
What are our CUSTOMERS environmental impacts?What do THEY care about?
Where are they spending? Can we help?
FIRST QUESTION:WHAT DO OUR CUSTOMERS WANT?
WHAT PRODUCTS AND SOLUTIONS
SHOULD WE DEVELOP TO SERVE THEM?
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2004 2005 2006 2007 2008-2010
• 2009-2010 version with “Ends July 2010” sticker avail. at officedepot.com/greenbook
• Virtual Version works with your customer pricing
• Recently we released two Mini Green Books
Example Solutions: Green Book: Contains 2200 of our “greenest products” e.g. recycled products have minimum 30% Post Consumer content.
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Immediate Savings
Savings through Lower
Operating Cost
Hig
he
r Initia
l Co
st
Hig
he
r Initia
l Co
st
Savings through Lower Re-
purchase
Higher Cost Items:[ Save by avoiding waste ]
Same Price per Unit
Examples:
RemanufacturedCartridges
Refurbished items
Water bottle alts.
Many Recycled items
Waste Avoidance
Examples:
CFLs / T5 Lights
Energy-Efficient Technology
Power saving strips
Hybrid Vehicles
Astroturf
Examples:
Microfiber cloths
RechargeableBatteries
Refillable Pens
Reusable products: totes, mugs, plastic shipping containers
Examples:
Many Green Cleaners (concentrated)
Many RecycledProducts
Bulk packs
Greenguard Furniture
Examples:
Recycled copy paper
Compostable dishware
Organic Food
Green Power
EXAMPLE SAVINGS ACROSS PRODUCT CATEGORIES
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Who? Who is your green customer and what do they want from you?
What? Identify your most material environmental impacts Find ways to save money by reducing impacts short/medium/long term Identify your customers priorities Define solutions to help meet those priorities
How? Think about what you want to be able to say in 1 year / 3 years / 5 years Define your Environmental Key Performance Indicators Plan Do, Track, Adjust Report & Celebrate success
10 STEP GREEN PLAN
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1. Perception
2. Perception
3. Pricing needs to be cheaper / address a WIFM
4. Florida
5. Defining green
CHALLENGES
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1. Understand the needs of your target customers
2. Speak the language of your target
3. Make the economic case / not just environmental case
4. Normalize greener behavior
5. Yes lives in the land of no
LESSONS LEARNED
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Binary: Green vs. Not Green One green attribute: recycled Preachy Guilt-Inducing Negative focus: the problem Granola Crunchy Leaves, trees, brown imagery Perfection Transformation Berkeley
Shades of Green Various green attributes Friendly Quietly Educational Positive focus: the solution Crisp and Modern Clean, bright imagery Progress Small Steps Manhattan
SELL GREEN BY RECOGNIZING OLD GREEN VS. NEW GREEN APPROACHES - AND FOCUS ON THE NEW
NEW GREENOLD GREEN
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FOUR MORE EXCELLENT RESOURCES
www.greenbiz.com www.sustainablelifemedia.com
www.environmentalleader.com www.treehugger.com