When I ride my bike, I wear a helmet. Not out of habit – I never wore one as a child – and certainly not to make a fashion statement. Let’s be honest, unless you’re in the Tour de France, helmets make adults look dorky. I do it because I want my kids to wear theirs and I think I need to model the desired behavior.
Apparently, I’m in the minority. Riding around the neighborhood with my son last night, we kept meeting these families where the kids are wearing helmets, but not the parents. I wonder how long it will take for the kids to decide they’re old enough to risk traumatic brain injury like Mom and Dad.
Mixed messages like this are a killer of progress, and I’m afraid I see similar incongruity in the actions of companies pursuing sustainability.
I was handed a great example during a discussion with two executives of a company that sells sustainably produced coated papers. We were discussing challenges they face when trying to convert customers to green solutions.
Most were typical – misperceptions that green paper is more expensive and that purchasing agents are resistant to change. One, however, stood out.
They had a prospect that was committing itself to becoming more sustainable and green paper seemed to be the perfect way for them to convey this message. The only problem? The company’s designers didn’t like how the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification watermark looked, so they wouldn’t source the green paper!
No wonder the recent G&S Sense & Sustainability Study™ found consumers and Fortune 1000 executives skeptical about the commitment of corporate America to sustainability. Unless every department and supplier is making decisions that reflect dedication to sustainability, “going green” appears to be an option, not a business imperative.
Everyone needs to model the desired behavior. Even if it means risking helmet hair or the intrusion of a sustainable certification symbol on your brochure design.
(Guest contributor Ron Loch is a senior vice president at Gibbs & Soell Public Relations. He leads the firm’s Greentech & Sustainability Practice, collaborating with G&S colleagues specializing in advanced manufacturing and energy, agribusiness and food, consumer lifestyle and building solutions, professional services, and technology and general science.)