TerraChoice Environmental Marketing recently released its EcoMarkets 2008 Summary Report to the public and the results have to be shared. Here is a sneak-peek at some of the findings:

·         Over $78 billion of purchasing power is represented in this study and the majority of survey respondents control at least half of their organization’s total procurement budget.

·         Sixty-eight percent (68%) of North American organizations increased their green purchasing in the past 12 months and 91% of purchasers believe they will become more active green purchasers over the next two years. 

·         An overwhelming majority of survey respondents (72%) believe eco-labels contribute to better purchasing decisions. 

·         Purchasers identified the eco-labels they rely on most frequently to help make purchasing decisions. Results show that Energy Star (60%) and EcoLogo (27%) are the most frequently-used eco-labels.
 


The purpose of the EcoMarkets 2008 Summary Report is to inform our clients, partners and public audiences about the attitudes and practices of North American buyers towards environmentally preferable purchasing. The report is a public summary of research conducted in 2007 and 2008 in partnership with the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation and with the Responsible Purchasing Network – a project of the Center for a New American Dream.

To get a free copy of the EcoMarkets 2008 Summary Report, email Melissa Peneycad at ecomarkets@terrachoice.com.

From cancer-causing chemicals in hair dyes to hormone disruptors in some types of plastic water bottles, we’ve all heard about the toxic chemicals found in some of our everyday healthcare products.

Recent issues of both Women’s Health and Men’s Health covered the health impacts of environmental issues.  In a special Green Guide section found in the August 2008 issue of Men’s Health, TerraChoice was asked to give readers advice on navigating around often misleading green language on packaging such as “all natural”, “CFC-free”, “organic” and “made from recycled materials.” The May 2008 issue of Women’s Health covered TerraChoice’s 2007 study on the Six Sins of Greenwashing in which most of the consumer products surveyed were found to be making false or misleading claims about their “earth-wise” benefits.

When in doubt, look for evidence that a product meets credible environmental standards across the entire lifecycle of the product, from manufacture to disposal, such as EcoLogo and Green Seal.

Residents in Laval, Quebec, and its surrounding area got a pleasant surprise recently when they received the latest copy of their Yellow Pages™ directory. The directory includes the new ecoFinder section, which aims to bring together green buyers and sellers.

Yellow Pages Group (YPG) launched this pilot project in response to the growing trend in responsible consumption and to a recent survey demonstrating a high level of interest among Quebec residents for this type of reference tool. The purpose of the new ecoFinder section is to promote businesses that offer environmentally-preferable products or services or who have leading environmental operational practices.

Annie Marsolais, Director of Corporate Communications for YPG expresses the mission of the ecoFinder section: “we want to provide consumers with the most accurate resource to make informed purchasing decisions that contribute to environmental sustainability.”

TerraChoice helped develop the screening criteria used by YPG to identify companies that qualified for the ecoFinder section. The criteria included existing third-party certifications such as EcoLogo and Energy Star®.

Of the 40 categories identified for the ecoFinder section, here is a sampling of what you can expect to find: Ecotourism, Landscaping Products & Services, and Clothing, Footwear & Fashion Accessories. Businesses that were selected within these categories offer the following: sustainable hostelling practices, organic farming methods, greener products, and more.

If you’re a Canadian resident living in York or Ottawa, Ontario; Burnaby, New Westminster or Vancouver, British-Columbia; or Montreal, Quebec, keep your eye out for the ecoFinder section in your local Yellow Pages™ directory over the next few months.

And as the people at YPG like to remind us, don’t forget to recycle your old Yellow Pages™ directory.

Clean Edge and Co-op America recently released a report that suggests solar power could reach one-tenth of the U.S. energy supply by the year 2025, as posted on GreenBiz.com.

The Utility Solar Assessment (USA) Study finds that in order to truly increase solar power usage in the U.S., utilities will be required to play a more active role. Utilities are asked to take advantage of solar power, especially during peak periods when grid congestion is high, and to develop new business models to adapt to these new market realities. 

The report identifies solar companies and regulators and policy makers as other key stakeholders in delivering solar energy. Solar energy companies are tasked with streamlining processes such as installation and making technology more user-friendly. Regulators and policy makers are told they must make significant, long-term investments as well as production tax credits for solar and other renewable energies.

Here at TerraChoice, our science team is reviewing the EcoLogo criteria for renewable, low-impact electricity, which includes solar, wind, water, biomass and biogas-fueled systems. We’re also looking into geothermal as well as tidal and ocean energies as additions to this list. 

GreenBiz.com also remarks on how solar power is quickly becoming a cost-effective alternative to fossil fuel-based energy sources. That certainly peaked our interest. Download the USA Study from SolarCatalyst.org and stay tuned for more EcoLogo renewable, low-impact electricity news and for information on how to participate in this category’s review process.

When we, at TerraChoice, released the report called The Six Sins of Greenwashingä last year, we never could have imagined the response it would receive. We soon became aware that the world was watching. And possibly even more significant was a distinct rumbling arising from the coverage that was streaming in. It appears our Six Sins study hit a nerve and was sparking dialogue about a growing skepticism around “green” products.

For those of you not familiar with our Six Sins report, we recently conducted an in-store survey of product-specific environmental claims found on 1,018 products from six North American retailers. A staggering number of more than 99 per cent of products surveyed were found to be sporting deceptive “green” marketing claims. We found patterns that helped us classify these false or misleading marketing claims into six categories (click here to view the report).

Since its release, GreenBiz.com has reported that the Six Sins study was one of the major environmental stories of 2007. Online coverage was astounding and radio and television was quick to follow. The global reach has been observed in articles published in India, Australia and across North America.People around the world are buzzing about products on the “green” market. This heightened interest in the environment has revealed consumer skepticism and savvy around environmental marketing claims. If left unchecked, this kind of distrust of environmental marketing claims has the potential to hurt the planet and the market share for truly environmentally preferable products. TerraChoice’s President and CEO Scott McDougall has termed this trend the “Seventh Lesson of the Six Sins.” Read more about the warnings issued from this seventh lesson in our latest issue of EcoMarketer and stay tuned for advice on honest and effective eco-marketing.

As temperatures gradually rise around the globe, some countries are leading the way in finding sustainable business solutions to help tackle the climate crisis.

Leaders from the government, corporate and not-for-profit sectors met in Canberra, Australia, this past May for the 9^th annual National Business Leaders Forum on Sustainable Development to talk about recent accomplishments and developments in green biz. The Honourable Kevin Rudd MP, Prime Minister of Australia, gave the keynote address at the Forum, where the aim was to accelerate uptake of sustainable practices and facilitate partnerships in this endeavour. (Notable speakers from previous forums include former Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Al Gore and renowned primatologist Jane Goodall.)  A keynote speaker at this year’s forum, President and Chief Executive Officer of TerraChoice Environmental Marketing Scott McDougall spoke about the threats “greenwashing” poses to business and environmental policy, but also about the opportunities this presents to marketers. 

“If greenwashing goes unmitigated, this will be a great loss for business and the planet,” says Scott. “There are, however, significant informative and honest environmental claims that marketers can use to continue building great relationships with consumers.”

To read more about the National Business Leaders Form, visit www.nblf.com.au, and click here for tips on how to avoid “greenwashing.”

Part of being an effective environmental marketing agency is conducting ongoing, meaningful, primary research. Once a year TerraChoice surveys a wide sample of procurement professionals for an EcoMarkets report to determine the state of green purchasing and analyze year-over-year trends. The full EcoMarkets 2008 report is due out in June, but a few of the conclusions are available now. Here’s some of what TerraChoice found out in 2008:

• 31% of respondents indicated that at least 40% of spending is ‘green’ influenced
• 25% of organizations surveyed have formal green purchasing policies - up from 22% in 2007
• 72% of purchasers surveyed feel that ecolabels help purchasing decisions
• The single biggest factor that respondents said would facilitate more green purchasing is more training and education on how to buy eco-friendly products and services

This year’s EcoMarkets study surveyed 336 procurement professionals, with roughly half located in the US and half located in Canada. Stay tuned for the full report, which will appear on the Responsible Purchasing site. In the meantime, TerraChoice and the Responsible Purchasing Network hosted a webcast on May 28th with more of the study results discussed. A webcast video is available.

If you’re a procurement professional interested in participating in future studies, please contact the TerraChoice EcoLogo Procurement Think Tank at thinktank@ecologo.org.

The Greenwash Brigade hit the nail on the head recently with their commentary on a public radio interview with Seventh Generation’s Jeffrey Hollender. Namely: it’s extremely hard for consumers to uncover greenwashing on their own. If you’re knowledgeable on environmental issues, you can make reasonable guesses about when a marketing claim may be suspect. But trying to get specific environmental information about a product is exceedingly difficult.

First, there are so many things that go into whether a product should be considered environmentally friendly. How was it manufactured? How is it packaged? How was it transported? Is it recyclable?

Second, it’s difficult to find a credible source with information on a product’s environmental impact. Who is documenting this stuff? Are they trustworthy?

Interestingly, the topic fits well into a discussion TerraChoice’s Scot Case had with the Federal Trade Commission recently. The FTC is revamping its Environmental Marketing Claims Guidelines and is currently hearing testimony from experts as they deliberate. Scot was on a panel regarding the need for FTC guidance and made one critical recommendation. Since consumers are demanding proof of green claims, companies should be required to provide it – either with data and evidence on their websites or through third-party certification.

In others words, consumers shouldn’t be stuck with the burden of research. Companies should help make the information consumers need easily available.

Note: For your listening pleasure, there’s a recorded webcast from the FTC event mentioned above.

OfficeMax had some really cool news out last week. The green-savvy retailer has partnered with the award-winning, green start-up company TerraCycle. OfficeMax is launching the partnership with seven TerraCycle products including a line of EcoLogo-certified, TerraCycle Natural Cleaners. Besides being plant-based, non-toxic and biodegradable, these cleaners are packaged directly in used soda bottles! Talk about innovative recycling.

TerraCycle has a storied if still-short history in bringing eco-friendly products to market. The company, founded by 25-year-old Tom Szaky started out with worm poop plant food, making it big with distribution through WalMart and The Home Depot in 2005.

Meanwhile OfficeMax is one of several retailers on a quest to become one of the greenest big-box stores around. And as more and more retailers fight for top green honors, certifications from accredited ecolabelers like EcoLogo grow increasingly important for retail suppliers. TerraCycle certainly makes for tough supplier competition.

Last week the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive (OFEE) published its latest report on the efforts of federal agencies to adopt more environmentally-friendly practices. The report comes out every two years and covers a wide range of environmental impact areas. Among the findings: by the end of fiscal year 2006, “most of the largest [federal] purchasing agencies, as well as many of the other executive agencies, had developed or were developing comprehensive integrated green purchasing programs.” That’s great news because it means governmental organizations should drive growth in green manufacturing. Earlier this year I referenced the Department of Defense’s green procurement policy and the associated financial incentive for the DOD’s suppliers to offer green products. Clearly financial incentives to go green have expanded significantly across the government sector.

The OFEE also went beyond tracking the purchasing plans of federal agencies in its report and attempted to measure where implementations of new green purchasing policies have been successful. For example, federal agencies are now actively seeking computer products that reduce standby power. It is estimated that bringing power consumption down on standby mode could save taxpayers more than $400 million in annual energy costs over the next six years, and should save enough equivalent energy to power 630,000 homes for one year.

Other examples of success include an increase in the number of biobased products (cleaning products, solvents, etc.) being used and tested by federal agencies, and the fact that the IRS prints all annual income tax forms on recycled content paper.

All in all, there is more green purchasing going on. And more green purchasing means more money in the green supply chain.