Building A Greenwash Crisis Plan
I started writing this post a few weeks ago, inspired by this article, PR Agency Warned Starbucks About Wasteful Water Policy. Like, what were they thinking?
I know, I know, it’s hard to think of everything, but that they pay good money to a PR firm then ignore their advice? Hello? (Check out this post,Starbucks Coffee: How Green Is Their Java? on our sister blog, The Inspired Economist, for the whole story.)
Yes, well, they were busy. Guess they aren’t now…oh wait – free coffee on election day – business is back up!
But seriously, I talk to ecopreneurs everyday. People email me questions, catch me on Twitter or actually (gasp) pay me to give them advice (Yes, I am a marketing consultant and have been for ummm a whole bunch of years.)
Often what I hear from folks is…do you think I, as a green product manufacturer can do xyz (overpackage; make product in China; use plastic…ship my product over 2000 miles away to a customer)? My answer is
- » See also: The BigFoot of Climate Change
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You probably will have to do some things that aren’t green, but try to do as few as possible.
Be honest with your customer’s about the things you don’t do green and tell them why
Be vigilant! Make every one of your employees the “green police”. Set up a feedback system so they can tell you what’s not eco and let them give suggestions on how to fix it.
Get your customers involved. Set up a greenwatch page on your web site. Solicit ideas from your customers.
Continuous Improvement. Keep customers informed about your efforts to continually go greener.
And put together a crisis plan! You can find a basic primer on developing a crisis plan here. What would you do special for a greenwash crisis plan?
Photo Credit: itzafineday at Flickr Under Creative Commons License
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