2008 December | Eco-Conscious Pioneers

In a previous article we looked at the outcome of neglect when it comes to eco-consciousness. Examples like General Motors or Ford Motor Company come to mind. The reputation of a company as a measure or important factor for its success will be an important aspect of the economy in the 21st century.

At the same time the bottom line for any activity is people. What people do or do not do, what they stand for and what actions they take makes all the difference. That’s why it is important to take a look at your eco-reputation.

To start out I feel it is important to get a clear understanding what the term “reputation’ actually means. Here is a summary from references on the internet, in dictionaries and other public sources:

Reputation is the opinion of the public toward a person, a group of people, or an organization. It is an important factor in many fields, such as education, business, online communities or social status.

Reputation is known to be an ever-present, spontaneous and highly efficient mechanism of social control in societies. It is a subject of study in social, management and technological sciences. Its influence ranges from competitive settings, like markets, to cooperative ones, like firms, organizations, institutions and communities.

Furthermore, reputation acts on different levels. At the individual level, it concerns groups, communities, collectives and abstract social entities (such as firms, corporations, organizations, countries, cultures and even civilizations). It affects phenomena of different scale, from everyday life to relationships between nations. Reputation is a fundamental instrument of social order.

These definitions don’t just apply to the work reputation, but also to eco-reputation. You have one, your company has one, your school, college, university, has one. Corporation receive one from the public, and even regions and countries have eco-reputations.

In the recent past, cases have been pound where the overall reputation of an entity is different than its eco-reputation. A good example would the country of China. It is known and has the reputation of being communist, almost dictatorial, controlling, and mainly interested in economic growth. Many media outlets and politicians have pointed out that China is adding a new coal power plant to its electric network every week.

Politically, economically, and environmentally, China has the reputation of being strict, ambitious, and willing to neglect the impact on climate. When you dig a little deeper you will find out that international organizations actually give China a pretty good eco-reputation – and rightfully so.

With the beginning of the year 2008, China has become the largest producer of solar and wind energy products, not just for export, but also for installation in their own country. What most people don’t know about their eco-reputation is that they pollute the climate with the equivalent of about 5 tons per person while the US is putting about 20 tons per person into the atmosphere every year. China is very strict about this and tried to reduce the amounts further with a top down policy and alternative energy initiatives.

You can see how the reputation of a country and the eco-reputation can be significantly different. How does this apply to you?

Well, in a similar way as you need to build your reputation for any other aspect of life. If you want to be seen as dependable, the only way to gain that reputation is by following through on your promises. When you take this premise and convert it to your eco-reputation, you gain dependability by actually acting on the eco-friendly issue dear to your heart. If you ask your friends, co-workers, and family members to separate recyclable items form non-recycle ones, you need to be the role model and do it all the time, especially when they can see it, both at work and at home.

If you want to improve your reputation from wasteful to conserving, you cut down on all the things not really necessary to achieve a goal. The same is true for your eco-reputation. To achieve the reputation as an eco-conserver, you collect your organic matter and use it as part of your compost. You buy organic products because you know that they are packaged in recyclable containers or offered without packaging. You also read most of what you need online or in emails, rather than printing everything, and you don’t through advertisements and other paper products into the trash can but collect them and get them back into the production process.

Even for management and leadership, you want to walk the talk to gain your eco-reputation. That doesn’t just mean that you point out all the things mentioned above, but you encourage your team members to look for ways to develop or improve products, production and services with savings and positive outcomes for nature in mind. That builds the bridge to the eco-reputation of your company, your schools, your region, and your country.

Most important, you need to take action. Some things are obvious and others might need a little push. The free Eco-Action Plan we have developed will help you build your eco-reputation and encourage others to follow your lead.

Your eco-reputation is very similar to a first impression. Someone once said: You can never redo a first impression. If your first impression is the one of a great eco-reputation, you will be well on your path to success. Just don’t forget what Peter Drucker once said: “It takes many people easily years, if not decades to build a good (eco-) reputation, and it only takes seconds or one foolish act to ruin it.”

Don’t let that happen to you and spend some time thinking about the steps you can take to build your eco-reputation. It will set you apart and .prime you to be at the forefront of the people needed to succeed in the new green economies and societies of the 21st century.

In the last few years we have all become more aware of the growing wave of eco-friendly products, eco-friendly initiatives, and claims by politicians of all backgrounds that alternative energy production is what they want to promote in the future.

As early as 10 years ago the US government and the politician running campaigns for election promised to become more eco-friendly. At the same time we saw that individuals who actually wanted to reduce pollution, protect animals or protested against behaviors of companies were painted as extremists with no knowledge of capital markets, technological solutions, and the need to keep the market going while new technologies were developed.

The US government decided to put more than $1 Billion (with a B) Dollars into additional research and development. That’s a number that sounds great on first glance, especially since nobody can really imagine how much money 1 Billion really is. When you realize that the largest oil companies received about 50 Billion in tax cuts and savings in the same time period, it becomes clear that we didn’t really had an eco-friendly environment.

While all this data is publicly available and you might have heard or read about it in the news, you might ask yourself why you should care?

Normally it’s not nice to answer a question with another question. Before I answer your questions, let me put some supporting questions in front of you:

Do you work in a company that could benefit from a ‘greener’, eco-friendly reputation?
Do you have a job that could be eliminated if competitors gain market share because they have a better eco-reputation?

When you purchase products and services in your private life, do you try to get the best value and balance between organic, eco-friendly origins and price?

When you think about it, the answer to your questions why you should care is that fact that the reputation your employer has impacts your livelihood directly.

When you wonder what happens if a company jeopardizes its eco-reputation, a good – or horrible example – depending how you look at it, is the auto industry.

There have been thousands of articles about the success of Toyota and the Prius hybrid car. The idea Toyota realized was the need to come up with new, more fuel efficient technologies to establish a vehicle on the global market. Mainly customers in Europe were craving for a vehicle in a modern appearance with low fuel consumption. In Japan, new technology was always of interest, and in the US it appeared enough eco-conscious individuals, especially along the West Coast would be buyers.

The technology was supported by massive marketing campaigns and for the first few years the sales were slow, the cost high, and profits nowhere to be seen. As oil prices kept increasing, the fuel efficiency of the Prius got more and more attention. Then it benefited form the exhaust regulations, favoring a vehicle that runs partially on electrical power.

Long story short, not only the Prius became an icon of eco-friendliness, but the Toyota brand assimilated this reputation as well. Even though the large majority of all vehicles sold by this Japanese manufacture are non-hybrid vehicles, the new reputation has been successfully established.

Do I hear you say again: “So what?”

Well, the economy and oil prices in 2008 didn’t help, but the brand with the best eco-reputation weathers the current storm much better than all other brands. While GM, Ford and Chrysler report almost monthly that they reduce the workforce by another couple thousand workers and close factories, Toyota has risen to become the largest car manufacturer on the globe.

At the end of October 2008, the representatives of the big three US car makers had this to say when releasing their quarterly results:

“We just released the worst sales numbers in the last 25 years. If you adjust for population growth, this is probably the worst industry sales month in the post-WWII era.” (Mark LaNeve, head of GM sales and marketing)

This is a sobering result of neglecting the signs of demand for eco-friendly vehicles for many many years.

What are you saying? Did I just hear: “Well, that’s the car industry. That’s an old industry anyway. They are connected with oil anyway”

Yes, you are right, but that is not the real reason. Eco-negligence is the real reason that can lead to enormous reductions, and in some cases elimination, form the market place.

I don’t think anybody will reject wind energy as one of the new, modern industries. Same for solar or geo-thermal. All these alternative energy producing methods and the companies that offer their products and services in these markets are considered as modern. What has eco-negligence done to them?

Look who are the world leaders to get a better idea:

o Nuclear power plants: Toshiba (Japan)
o Bio-Gas: Schmack (Germany)
o Wind Energy: Vestas (Denmark)

It’s not a matter of industry, length of time in business, or the technology applied. It’s all a matter of paying attention and avoiding eco-negligence. The green, eco-conscious revolution will not be stopped anymore. Now the questions becomes, how far are you in your life. To the same extent you want to explore how far your company is developed along the eco-developments and initiatives, or if eco-negligence is still the order of the day.

If so, you want to keep an eye out for our coming eco-action plan that will allow you to take practical steps in the right direction.

Don’t jeopardize all your hard work, your ambitions and your dreams through eco-negligence. Get ready, at work and at home, to take action and create a better, more modern and successful environment.

Axel Meierhoefer