Enviro Entrepreneurship

Some companies are making strides to go green while others are completely built around the concept. Terracycle takes the idea of going from garbage to gold to a whole new level.

Keep It Current

Al Gore's user generated TV channel, Current, has experienced steady growth over the last few years. In addition to viewing this through your cable provider, the Current Web site is a popular online destination. Current was extremely active during the election and even constructed a pop up retail store here in Manchester. They also threw a party the night before the NH primary that remains one of the best bar events I've attended here in town.
Tonight at 10pm on Current TV (and Current.com) Kevin Rose, the founder of Digg, will interview Al Gore. All of the questions were submitted through the Web by everyday folks like Joe the Blogger. I'm sure we can expect a number of questions related to how the new administration will prioritize the environment.
Kevin also happens to be the poster child for Web 2.0 which should make for an interesting dialogue. I noticed today that Al joined the popular micro blogging site Twitter so hopefully we'll learn more about what prompted him to make that move. It's only a matter of time before more public figures and celebrities begin to use the service, but I think it's safe to say he's still an early adopter.

Almost Famous

It’s amazing to think we will be naming our next president in less than two days. The process has been extremely long and a number of different issues have taken center stage over the last 20 months. Before the recent collapse of the economy, the price of gas was the hot topic for the candidates to discuss. We were all feeling the pain at the pump and it seemed like our collective conscience was focused on how the next president would deal with this issue. Although the environment and energy independence are still mentioned on the stump, they have clearly taken a back seat. I’ve heard the candidates explain how the two issues are linked, but for some reason these sound bites rarely make the evening news. While many experts believe this could be the key to an economic recovery, it will be interesting to see how energy independence is addressed by the new president.

Beauty and the Beast

Dove ‘Real Beauty’ has been one of the most celebrated ad campaigns in recent times. Last week I met an account exec that worked on the business and she shared some interesting background on how this came to life.

The campaign was supported by a number of viral videos that challenged the way women are portrayed in advertising. Two of the most popular videos were Evolution and Onslaught.

While Dove was recognized for taking this important position, they were not immune to scrutiny. Greenpeace took issue with the fact that a major ingredient in Dove’s product line is palm oil, a substance harvested through mass deforestation. Greenpeace decided to take advantage of the popular Real Beauty videos and created their own campaign to shed light on Dove’s environmental practices. It’s interesting to see a highly regarded campaign undermined by an eco issue.

Bobby Digital

We're all bombarded with advertising in our daily lives and many of us have become immune to the traditional tactics brands have been deploying. Experiential marketing aims to engage the consumer beyond passive messaging and actual get them to interact with something. While this is very effective, it's often a numbers game and you can only touch a limited amount of people. Brands are now creating these experiences by developing Web applications that not only engage the consumer, but often provide some sort of lifehack.

Seventh Generation is a Burlington VT. company that makes eco-friendly household and personal-care products. They recently created an application that helps consumers identify the ingredients in other products. While many companies are claiming to be environmentally friendly, the Seventh Generation Label Reading Guide will help you determine if they really are. Look out for more and more brands to begin creating applications as a way to increase their exposure.

Green.0

I've been checking out a new Web site called AlwaysOn and so far it seems to be a great resource for cutting edge tech news, industry event info, etc. Recently I came across their 2008 GoingGreen 100 list of private companies in 'cleantech.' The overall winner this year is Synthetic Genomics, a company that addresses energy, environmental and human health challenges through the development of sythentic genes. Most of this is way over my head but it's interesting to think about how companies like this may soon influence the mainstream consumer.

GM (Green Mail)

The US Postal Service has partnered with GM to initiate the first commercial use of a fuel cell vehicle in the nation. They're also using advanced diesel, ethanol, electric and other alternatives to power the fleet of vehicles that deliver the mail each day. Interestingly the Postal Service is doing a number of other things to reduce their impact and investing significant dollars to communicate this effort. Is the current administration demanding this effort or is the competition from private delivery services inspiring the need to embrace these practices?

Grass vs. Cash

The history of British Petroleum dates back to a search for oil in Iran that began in 1901. After numerous changes in ownership due to religion, politics and of course money, the company is now the world's third largest global energy company.

As they look to diversify and appear progressive during the days of $4 a gallon gas, they've adopted the tag Beyond Petroleum. While the latest BP ads talk about the need for alternative energy, the recent spots of their competitor Shell focus on a cash back incentive offered to patrons in the form of a scratch card. In many ways the two very different strategies mirror a debate we saw earlier this year when the presidential candidates batted around the idea of a the gas tax holiday. More recently, this debate is taking shape over the notion off-shore driling. With many Americans struggling to make ends meet, we've seen Barack Obama change his rederic and entertain the idea that off-shore drilling may be part of the solution. Given the economic environment we're living in today, short term financial incentives will probably win out. I'm guessing more people are heading over to Shell in search of cash back, rather than choosing BP because they are talking about the environment.

Slim Pickens

T Boone Pickens, the Texas oil tycoon and overall business mogul, recently launched a TV ad promoting the use of alternative energy. Although he supports John McCain in the upcoming election, he doesn't feel either candidate is giving the issue the attention it desrves and now plans to use his clout to "force [a discussion on energy] into the debate."
Pickens has been a controversial figure over the years due to his aggressive business practices and more recently the Swift Boat attack ads on John Kerry that he helped fund. While he continues to promote his natural gas interests, he is also in the process of building the worlds largest wind farm. In the TV spot he claims to have a plan for slashing our dependency on foreign oil that he will roll out in the coming weeks. Like Ross Perot before him, it's always interesting to watch uber wealthy cats like T Boone throw their money around on the national stage.....especially for a worthy cause.

Verde botes de basura

On my recent trip to Spain I was struck by the level of environmental awareness demonstrated throughout Barcelona. One simple investment the city has made is to use garbage cans that have dividers for easy recycling.

I'm guessing the only thing stopping more of these from showing up in America is the cost. With that said, why not offer a sponsorship to offset the costs? I'd add that to my inventory if I were Simon Malls or even a municipality. This would be an easy sale to a corporation looking for a tangible way to show their committment to being verde.

Aqua Man Goes Green

Unfortunately I've pretty much ignored this blog since the week it was created. However, I was inspired by some early morning events to kick things back into gear. Today while taping a podcast I was reminded how important it is to have multiple creative outlets. During a podcast segment called Check It Out (I know.....brilliant name!), we discussed the new cable channel Planet Green.

I'm exited about this channel because it looks like they really understand the likely audience for this type of content - the passive environmentalist. While most of us agree we should be friendlier to the earth, hardcore greenspeak tends to turn off most of the general public. With shows like Wa$ted and Stuff Happens, it looks like they may have found a nice balance. I'm really looking forward to the show Alter Eco with Adrian Grenier from Entourage. Should be interesting to see if he's entertaining in this format..... How many Turtles does it take to screw in an energy efficient light bulb?