Business Going Green

In my time at LOHAS I have been to a lot of green events. A few years ago there were only a handful of events to choose from and it was a bit of a close circle. However now it seems that green and sustainably oriented events are popping up everywhere. How does one know which are solid and which are just flashes in the pan? I am putting together my travel schedule and like you have to be selective as to where to put my energy and travel budget.

Here is a list of events I have either been to or have heard about that make my list and are organized by month:

September

The International Ecotourism Conference (Sept 8-10 Portland, OR)
The event for the ecoutourism industry that brings a global attendee base.  Eventhough the ecotourism industry is a small section of the overall tourism industry, it is an excellent place to learn what is happening in the space and who’s who. I have not been to this event and have always wanted to and this year is my chance. I look forward to it. Yours truly will be speaking on the future of sustainability trends and the ROI of green travel. Should be fun!

Opportunity Green  (Sept 22-24th Los Angeles Center Studios, CA) – This is their 3rd event and is very green business and design oriented. The speakers are primarily big business with some cutting edge entrepreneurs in the mix. Design conversations range from buildings to automobiles to fashion and the blend of people here is good. The event is really the only national oriented event I know of in LA that is green oriented and it has the LA look and feel. I feel you need to come to this event with a bit of a strategic game plan and set up some meetings to make the most of this event. You can also hear some interesting speakers and chat them up at the cocktail receptions and meals which are quite nice.

West Coast Green (Sept 30-Oct 2nd, San Francisco, CA)
The green building conference for the west coast featuring speakers such as Bill McDonough and an exhibit area of 300. I have not been to the event but I hear great things and if you are in the green building and design market you should go to this or Greenbuild (see below). 

October

Green Spa Network (Oct 3-7, Avon CO)
The Green Spa Network has come from those in the spa industry that are seeking to reclaim the world of wellness from the clutches of pampering and luxury. GSN is a membership organization and looking to get those in the spa world to recognize sustainable product creation and spa properties. This will be their second year convening and are still in infancy but are moving fast and furious to make headway into the spa world. Those in the spa world who truly want to engage green practices should definitely attend this event. 

SoCap (Oct 4-6th, San Francisco, CA)
Honestly, I have not been to SoCap yet and am looking forward to my inauguration to the event this year. I have only heard good things about this event. It appears to have a Silicon Valley type vibe from those that attend from its free form programming and type of people who are there. A great event for start ups and investors looking to match values in socially responsible businesses.

Expo East (Oct 13-16th Boston, MA) 
These are great to get a pulse of the natural products industry. Expo East in the fall is on the east coast (hence the name) and is much smaller than the mega sized Expo West held in the spring (and in Anaheim)  I like Expo East because it is smaller and you can walk the floor without the onslaught of people that Expo West has. You can have conversations in depth at Expo East that are a bit more challenging at West.  Typically the executive teams are at the shows the first few days so if you want to meet top brass you need to schedule meetings or come by booths at the beginning of the shows.  There is also no need to buy meals as only a quick stroll through the exhibit spaces can fill a stomach. Be careful about trying everything you see as sometimes food mixing may not agree with you. I found that out the hard way. Urp!

Bioneers (Oct 14-18 San Rafael, CA)
Bioneers is the gathering of what seems like all the activists, free spirits and dark greenies of California who want to learn about ecology, social justice and indigenous wisdom. It is a public/consumer event so expect to encounter some interesting characters. The general speakers are quite remarkable as they come from all over the globe and the audience can get pretty fired up on issues. They do talk about some of the more difficult issues society faces but I really like this event because the speakers challenge us to question things and help understand some of the issues people don't see in conventional media. If you can't get to the main event there are a few locations that have smaller gatherings and live video feeds into the larger event but they do not capture the energy and the other activities that happen there. As you walk through the crowded parking lot try counting how many hybrids you see or the bumper sticker slogans that have some activist slogan. I don't know which is the larger of the two.

Green Biz Innovation Forum (Oct 19-20th San Francisco, CA)
I have not been to this event but anything that Joel Makeower and his Greener World Media team does I back. They always seem to have the ability to get top speakers and relevant content that makes the event special. I have heard great things from those that have attended and really like the format.  Joel always seems to be on the cutting edge of what’s what in the green business world.

Social Venture Network (Oct 21-24th, Long Branch, NJ)
SVN is a membership organization and has an open door conference in the fall and a members only event in the spring. The members are successful social entrepreneurs such as Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry’s, Jeffrey Hollander of Seventh Generation and Priya Haji of World of Good. I really like this event as it brings a lot of good and experienced minds together. The matra of this event is bonding and there are men’s and women’s circle meetings to promote this. Expect a lot of hugs and soul sharing which is a good thing to do for us all. Because of the intimacy some of the members feel among peers and get heated in conversations they feel important to them that I see more often here than other events. It is refreshing  especially after seeing many other events that stick to the talking heads format.  The event provides plenty of times to have conversations with members and provide opportunities for mentorship for start ups. Some of these conversations have resulted in future board members and even investment for startups. 

Greenfestivals (Oct 23-24th DC / Nov 6-7 San Francisco, CA)
The Green America Green Festivals as some of the most well attended green consumer events I have attended. Each has a very local focus for the vendors but make sure you go to the speaker sessions because they have outstanding speakers from all over to come and grace the audience with their perspectives. Big hitters such as Deepak Chopra, Dr. Weil, Paul Stamets and a few other TED talk types present and you cant beat the ticket price for a front row seat. I have not been to the DC Greenfest and hear that each of the events reflect the vibe and culture of each city. The SF Greenfest rocks and is packed with all kinds of great booths and events. If you go get ready to be emersed in the dark green side of San Fran - free hugs, poetry, dreadlock and all. Green America is not doing their Green Business Conference this year that typically is right before their San Francisco Greenfest. Instead they have developed a green business pavilion within the San Fran Greenfest that will have business oriented talks. If you have not been to a Greenfestival I highly recommend them as they embody a variety of aspects that LOHAS does – organics, alternative therapies, personal development and social justice elements.

Net Impact (Oct 28-30th, Ann Arbor, MI)
Another event I have heard great things about but have never attended. It is primarily focused on CSR and brings together students and large corporations to openly discuss issues. It is also a great recruiting ground for companies seeking new green talent from recent graduates. The event brings together over 2500 people and has workshops and discussion groups to get down and dirty on complex issues. Their keynote speakers are solid with Majora Carter, Jeffery Hollander and Bill McDonough.

SRI In the Rockies (Nov 18-21 San Antonio, TX)
Anyone who is a financial planner or interested in socially responsible investment nitty gritty must put this event on their calendar. This is a blend of financial jargon and social justice and clean tech orientation. About 800 people attend the event from all over the world and is typically in a mountain setting. Being in San Antonio this year is a stretch.  it is a packed schedule for the most part but they do make time for long networking hikes and excursions . I have seen speakers ranging from Jane Goodall and David Bornstein to Calvert and Domini fund managers at the event. It is a great place to understand how to unravel the complexities of financial issues and know what mutual funds are actually doing as they relate to socially responsible investing. They throw a great evening party and many are not afraid to show off their dance moves.
 
Greenbuild (Nov 17-19th Chicago, IL)
The mother of green building products and originated from the USGBC this is the event for anyone interested or involved in the green building sector. The exhibit area is about 1000 booths and attracts about 25-30,000 attendees from all over the world. The green building industry has really picked up and does not look likely to slow down. I like this event a lot because of the creative energy efficiency exhibits and speakers.

Investors’ Circle (Nov 10-12th Washington, DC)
A membership organization of over 150 angel investors who are looking for solid socially responsible companies to invest in as a group. They have funnelled over $134M into 200 companies addressing social and environmental issues. A great place for LOHAS oriented start ups to present who are seeking seed capital. There is an application process with an extensive screening but nothing too overloading.  The event focuses on vetting good seed capital candidates for an investor audience and mixes in some good quality speakers sucha as Acumen and Ashoka. If you are an investor or seeking funding from a good values base source check out Investor’s Circle.

ISPA Conference & Expo  (Nov 15-18, Washington, DC)
The spa association where everyone in the spa world congregates - green and conventional. If you attend you can see there is a strong emphasis from many about sustainability than ever before but there are still those brands that have their share of green washing along those who just don’t care. Regardless, anyone who is interested in the spa world and creating spa products should attend to understand the trends in the industry. LOHAS has a strong foothold in the wellness and beauty industry and it is a good place to learn macro trends and spa operation techniques. This is probably the most well groomed attendee base I have seen which I have no trouble surrounding myself with.

Spring/Summer

LOHAS Regional Events (April TBD, NYC, LA, Atlanta, Minneapolis)
Taking the LOHAS conference on a bit of a roadshow and working to get some momentum build in these areas. Its tough to go to all these events so we have decided to try to make it easier by providing single day events. Stay tuned for more details!

BALLE (June 15-17th Bellingham, WA)
Business Alliance for Local Living Economies celebrates local businesses and local orientation. There are a lot of local loyalists at the event and mostly smaller and mid size companies, non profits and academia. But the conversations are lively and some really interesting networking. A lot of cross over with speakers from the Greenfests and SVN groups. I like the workshops and the networking here. The production of the event is low key as the focus is on the content and type of people who attend which is really nice.

LOHAS (June 22-24th Boulder, CO)
Of course I have to put this one on the calendar as I think EVERYONE should consider this one. Well...maybe not everyone. We have about 5-600 people attend who are business executives, thought leaders, academia and enterpreneurs. As much as many equate LOHAS with the converted dark greens of the world the event is set up to not be an 'Us' and 'Them' atmosphere. Rather we welcome all who are interested in understanding LOHAS and how it applies the them personally and professionally. We set up plenty of networking opportunities and workshops to provide tangible takeaways. To see some of the videos from previous LOHAS sessions visit our LOHAS YouTube page. We work hard to get a solid program together with a great attendee base. If you have any recommendations or tweaks I'd love to hear from you.

These are only a few of the many that are out there and more to come. I truly feel that any conference you attend is what you make of it and how you prepare ahead of time setting up meetings, scheduling and follow up. With that said, good luck with your planning and hope to see you at one of these events. If you have other events you feel should be added I would love to hear about them. Please share!


 

LOHAS (acronym for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) provided three days of insightful panels and networking opportunities attended by thought leaders across industries, government, non-profit organizations, research organizations and academic institutions including Faith Popcorn, Joel Makower, Dr. Alan Greene, Philippe Cousteau, U.S. EPA’s Stephanie Owens, Coca-Cola’s Tom LaForge, eBay’s Elisabeth Charles, Edelman’s Henk Campher, Alex Bogusky, Dr. Larry Dossey, 1% for the Planet’s Terry Kellogg, Mother Jones’ Madeleine Buckingham, Malika Chopra, Ode Magazine’s Jurriaan Kamp, among others.

 

Key insights from the LOHAS 2010 Forum include:

“Learning from the Past to Shape the Future”
• “We are in the midst of an evolution of our Cultural mindset from a ‘me’ mentality to a ‘we’ point of view.  This transition is a response to a society where economics, ethics and environment are collapsing simultaneously,” said Faith Popcorn, founder of BrainReserve and best-selling author of EVEolution, Clicking, The Popcorn Report, and most recently Dictionary of the Future.

“LOHAS and LOHOE: How Health & Sustainability are Complemented by Hedonics or Economics”
• The mainstream is more often motivated to act upon hedonic reasoning (i.e. seeking pleasure and avoiding pain) and their choices are constrained by economic realities. 42 percent of the population considers buying eco-friendly or ‘green’ versions of big-ticket items if the price is about the same as conventional versions.
• “Frankly, there is a little HOE [hedonics or economics] in everyone.  It is natural human instinct to gravitate toward those things that bring us both temporal pleasure and long-term satisfaction.  We are all able to act upon our desires within the constraints of our personal economic situations,” said Wendy Cobdra, president of Earthsense.

“The Situation in the Gulf”
• “We spend 1,000 times more money every year in our federal budget for space exploration than we do to understand our oceans,” said Philippe Cousteau, environmentalist and founder of EarthEcho International.  “Knowing whether there was ever water on Mars – not critical to surviving on this planet.  The oceans are.”
• “There’s a lot of talk about boycotting BP while a lot of [BP] gas stations are owned by small business owners…it hurts those people.  What we need to be boycotting is our dependence on oil, single use plastic bags, plastic bottles, coal; shutting off the power; and living in more reasonable houses,” said Philippe Cousteau.
• “The type of dispersant that was chosen, Corexit, was only proved 56 percent effective in a lab.  There were 12 other EPA-approved dispersants, and two were 100 percent effective and they were not chosen.  That was an inside oil industry thing because Corexit is produced as a by-product from the refining process,” said Charles Hambleton, producer of Oscar-winning documentary The Cove.

“Where are the Green Jobs?”
• The Obama administration has made it a priority to connect low-income communities to green jobs based on the billions of dollars placed into the Stimulus Bill.  For example, the U.S. Department of Labor put out $148 million of green job training grants through its Pathways Out of Poverty grants. 
• “The economic business case for sustainability is being made every day by companies as diverse as Patagonia and Walmart. Their effort to green their supply chains is driving the economy and creating new business opportunities, innovations and jobs in support of sustainable business practices,” said Andre Pettigrew, executive director of Denver’s Office of Economic Development.

“Phood and Kids”
• The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has stated that children born in the year 2000 in the U.S. will be the first generation in our country’s history to have a lower life expectancy than their parents due to a projected 33 percent of Caucasians and 66 percent of African Americans and Hispanics contracting diabetes in their lifetime as a result of poor diet.  “We are actually killing our kids with food and this must stop,” said Ann Cooper, author of Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed Our Children, chef and educator.
• One in three American children now have autism, allergies, ADHD or asthma.  “As we work together, to inform and inspire each other about ways in which we can protect our children from toxins like growth hormones, pesticides, synthetic dyes and genetically altered ingredients in food, we realize that there is so much that we can do together to create the change that we want to see in our food supply,” said Robyn O’Brien -- author of The Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food Is Making Us Sick and What We Can Do About It and founder of Allergy Kids.

“Understanding the Carbon Economy”
• The US represents five percent of the population yet emits 25 percent of the world’s carbon.  “We need to reduce our energy use now and promote renewable energy to offset the remaining energy we consume.  If we all do our part today, we can create a bountiful, healthy future together,” said Margi Gardner, CEO of Bonneville Environmental Foundation.

“Spirituality and Health: What the Fuss Is All About?”
• In 1993, three of the 125 medical schools in the U.S. taught courses in spirituality and health and now 90 schools have such courses.
• In 1997, the Joint Commission on Accreditation strongly recommended that every healthcare institution have a vehicle in place to assess the spiritual history of incoming patients, which is now a requirement.

“Global LOHAS”
• Mobium Group data shows that the Australian consumer market for LOHAS products and services has grown from $12 billion in 2007 to $19 billion in 2009 with 2011 projected at $27 billion.  (Source: Mobium Group)
• “LOHAS in Asia is a brand rather than a movement and, as such, offers a great opportunity for LOHAS companies trying to enter the markets.  By using LOHAS on their marketing material, they are appealing immediately to their target audiences in Asia,” said Adam Horler, founder of LOHAS Asia.

“Convincing Mainstream Consumers to Go Green: What really motivates them to make sustainable choices?”
• Conversations matter – when kids talk to their parents about green issues, it results in behavior change 68 percent of the time.  Those conversations with neighbors and co-workers result in behavior change 56 percent of the time. (Source: Shelton Group)

 

“New Paradigms in Health & Sustainability: What's Working and What's Not”
• Mainstream consumers comprise the majority of users for many LOHAS products such as compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), organic food, natural personal care and natural household cleaning products. There has been an increase in usage of many LOHAS products despite the recession, such as organic foods.  (Source: Natural Marketing Institute)

“The Social Currency of Social Media”
• If Facebook were a nation, it would be the third largest in the world with 50 percent of users logging in daily and over 70 percent of users outside the U.S.  “Measuring ROI with social media marketing is tricky, but the consensus is that more engagement correlates to achieving more marketing objectives.  So your goal should be to cultivate customer communities,” said Joey Shepp, founder of Earthsite.

“The Storytelling Value of Location-based Services”
• “Location-based social media is rapidly increasing in value, popularity and relevance.  LOHAS businesses will benefit from experimenting with tools like Foursquare, Gowalla and Twitter Places to get a feel for how these applications can help engage consumers and grow business,” said Nathan Rice, interactive director for Haberman Group.

Promoting lifestyles of health and sustainability, the annual LOHAS Forum brings together entrepreneurs, government heads, Fortune 1000 executives, investors, research institutions, academics and media for a program designed to inspire innovation and further expand the LOHAS market share.  The 2010 Forum was held from June 23rd to 25th at the St. Julien Hotel in Boulder, Colorado. 

In a few weeks time a remarkable event will happen in Boulder, Colorado. Over 500 large and small business leaders will come together to learn how each is contributing to a meaningful and safer world, while still managing to make a profit and even to live a relatively stress-free life.

This gathering is the annual LOHAS Forum, aka Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability, to be held June 23-25.

LOHAS offers a rare opportunity for both business owners and consumers to meet with the decision makers from many large companies, including Coca Cola, Petco, eBay, and the CEO of Ecover, and for those larger businesses, who may not know how to navigate the rapidly changing market, to learn from smaller ones who are making it work. It is also a place to find out about new trends and approaches to engage conscious consumers, who pay close attention to more sustainable and ethical ways of doing things.

With the current economic downturn affecting us all, many business people are asking themselves: “What am I doing and can I do it better, for both my business and for the planet as a whole? Can I, even if only in a small way, make a difference?” Last year we were all holding onto our financial dashboard with white knuckles, hoping we would be able to pull through. But now, LOHAS organizer Ted Ning tells, “People are asking, ‘Why was I in the rat race to begin with? I want to make decisions and spend my money with a greater awareness of the outcome but I don’t know how to do this or where to go.’ LOHAS provides an enormous amount of information to assist those who are making changes so they can understand how to maintain their business and market position.”
 

For all of you out there who’ve asked us how to recycle or compost assorted items over the years, here’s our list to post on your refrigerator door and copy to share with friends. If you have other resources and information please feel free to share. Enjoy!

1. Appliances: Goodwill accepts working appliances, www.goodwill.org, or you can contact the Steel Recycling Institute to recycle them: 800/YES-1-CAN, www.recycle-steel.org.

2. Batteries: Rechargeables and single-use: Battery Solutions, 734/467-9110,
www.batteryrecycling.com.

3. Cardboard boxes: Contact local nonprofits and women’s shelters to see if they can use them. Or, offer them up at your local Freecycle.org listserv or on Craigslist.org. If your workplace collects at least 100 boxes or more boxes each month, UsedCardboardBoxes.com m accepts them for resale.

4. CDs/DVDs/Game Disks: Send scratched music or computer CDs, DVDs, and PlayStation or Nintendo video game disks to AuralTech for refinishing, and they’ll work like new: 888/454-3223, www.auraltech.com. For recycling, see “Technotrash.”

5. Clothes: Wearable clothes can go to your local Goodwill outlet or women’s shelter. Donate wearable women’s business clothing to Dress for Success, which gives them to low-income women as they search for jobs, 212/532-1922, www.dressfor success.org. Offer unwearable clothes and towels to local animal boarding and shelter facilities, which often use them as pet bedding.

6. Compact fluorescent bulbs: Take them to your local IKEA store for recycling: www.ikea.com. Or, order a Sylvania RecyclePak for $15, which is a special lined box large enough for eight average CFLs. Your fee covers shipping to and recycling at Veolia Environmental Systems. To order, visit www.sylvania.com/Recycle/RecyclePak.

7. Compostable bio-plastics: You’ll need to take them to a municipal composter; find one at www.findacomposter.com.

8. Computers and electronics: Find responsible recyclers, local and national, at www.ban.org/pledge/Locations.html.

9. Exercise videos: Swap them with others at www.videofitness.com. (See also “Technotrash.”)

10. Eyeglasses: Your local Lion’s Club or eye care chain may collect these. Lenses are reground and given to people in need.

11 . Foam packing peanuts: Your local pack-and-ship store will likely accept these for reuse. Or, call the Plastic Loose Fill Producers Council to find a drop-off site: 800/828-2214. For places to drop off foam blocks for recycling, contact the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers, 410/451-8340, www.epspackaging.org/info.html.

12. Ink/toner cartridges: Recycleplace.com m pays $1/each.

13. Miscellaneous: Get your unwanted items into the hands of people who can use them. Offer them up on your local Freecycle.org or Craigslist.org listserv, or try giving them away at Throwplace.comm or giving or selling them at iReuse.comm. iReuse.com will also help you find a recycler, if possible, when your items have reached the end of their useful lifecycle.

14. Oil: Find Used Motor Oil Hotlines for each state: 202/682-8000, www.recycleoil.org.

15. Phones: Donate cell phones: Collective Good will refurbish your phone and sell it to people in developing countries: 770/856-9021, www.collectivegood.com. Call to Protect reprograms cell phones to dial 911 and gives them to domestic violence victims: www.donateaphone.com. Recycle single-line phones: Reclamere, 814/386-2927, www.reclamere.com.

16. Sports equipment: Resell or trade it at your local Play It Again Sports outlet, 800/476-9249, www.playitagainsports.com.

17. “Technotrash”: Easily recycle all of your CDs, jewel cases, DVDs, audio and video tapes, cell phones, pagers, rechargeable and single-use batteries, PDAs, and ink/toner cartridges with GreenDisk’s Technotrash program. For a small fee, GreenDisk will send you a cardboard box in which you can ship them up to 70 pounds of any of the above. Your fee covers the box as well as shipping and recycling fees. 800/305-GREENDISK, www.greendisk.com.

18. Tennis shoes: Nike’s Reuse-a-Shoe program turns old shoes into playground and athletic flooring: www.nikereuseashoe.com. One World Running will send still-wearable shoes to athletes in need in Africa, Latin America, and Haiti: www.oneworldrunning.com.

19. Toothbrushes and razors: Buy a recycled plastic toothbrush or razor from Recycline , and the company will take it back to be recycled again into plastic lumber. Recycline toothbrushes and razors are made from used Stonyfield Farms’m yogurt cups. 888/354-7296, www.recycline.com

20. Tyvek envelopes: Quantities less than 25: Send to Shirley Cimburke, Tyvek Recycling Specialist, 5401 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Spot 197, Room 231, Richmond, VA 23234. Quantities larger than 25, call 866/33-TYVEK.

21. Stuff you just can’t recycle: When practical, send it back to the manufacturer (with a copy of our McDonough interviewon p. 26) and tell them they need to close the waste loop. This list was originally created by Green America. For more information from Green America click here.

Not a bad deal, lets go through it again.

Earn $40,000.

Pay taxes on all $40,000.

Put $5000 into Roth IRA, after tax.

$5000 grows to $75,000 over your lifetime.

Take original $5000 out – taxes were paid when that money was earned. Take $70,000 tax-free. Nothing due on earnings.

In a regular IRA you put $5000, before taxes, from earnings into same investments in IRA, grows to same $75,000 over time. Then pay taxes on all $75,000 when taking it out of IRA.

Pay taxes now on $5,000 and nothing later,

$70,000 distribution – tax-free.

Or,

Pay no taxes now on $5000 and pay taxes on full $75,000 taxable distribution.

Seems fairly straight forward, especially if you think taxes will be the same or possibly higher when you retire.

Here is where it gets interesting.

A Roth IRA has earnings limitations. If you earn over $120,000 as a

single person, or over $177,000 as a married person, you can not make a Roth contribution. Tough luck.

But wait……..

Making an employee contribution into a Roth ‘bucket’ in your 401(k) has no earnings limitation. You can put full employee contribution into the Roth ‘bucket’ not just $5,000.

If you earn $200,000, are over age 50, you can put $22,000 into the Roth 401(k) at work.

In 25 years that $22,000, earning 6% grows to $94421.16. The $22,000 had taxes paid when earned, but the growth $72,421.16 is never subject to taxes.

I’d call that the best kept secret out there. Whether you run a sustainable green business, green health spa, yoga business or are just interested in corporate sustainability, a Roth option in your 401(k) will probably make sense.

This is an example and anyone interested in further information should contact a registered financial advisor, or ask about a Social(k) 401(k) /  403(b) at work.

The Green Hero Project (redux) - revisiting a cultural lens study by The SOAP Group

HEROES

Hero fetishism is alive and well in American Pop Culture and LOHAS.   Hollywood has grasped the formulaic tale of the hero and won’t let go.  The party started in 1978 with Superman.  And more recently, Hollywood has had to go deep into fringe heroes like The Watchmen and Kick-Ass (due out April 16) to satisfy our large appetite.

Even our political system has adopted the mythologies, visuals and narratives of the hero’s tale. Obama was portrayed as an everyman, turned champion.  And even the graffiti artists picked up on it the narrative.  

Look at Al Gore’s personal narrative as it follows the classic hero’s journey (the monomyth) as defined by Joseph Campbell and others.  Here's an over-simplified version:

1.  An everyman is born: the robotic vice president.

2.  The hero goes on a journey: Gore disappears into the forest (of Deep Sustainability) (and returns with a beard no less).

3.  The hero battles evil:  Gore and Bush43 lock horns to battle for the kingdom.

4.  The hero returns to his community and is bestowed with treasure:  Nobel and Oscar.

This narrative pattern, to more rich and complex degrees than I can go into here, is equally prevalent in Star Wars as it is in Harry Potter.  Once you see it, it is everywhere.

Culturally, we love heroes.  Can’t get enough of them in fact.  And LOHAS is no different.  From Hirshberg and Hollander, we look to these heroes for leadership and, perhaps even, salvation.

As has been the case for centuries, heroic icons remain potent social influencers. Often motivated by duty, heroes not only bring positive change to the society in which they reside, but they provide a physical manifestation of hope (sound familiar?) for what is to come.  

THE GREEN HERO PROJECT

In late 2008 SOAP launched the Green Hero Project.  Using the lens of the hero, to better understand and track changes in the perception of sustainability, we set up www.mygreenhero.com to survey self-defined “green consumers.”  Specifically, we wanted to look at five key features of modern green heroes:

1. Authenticity (does a green hero’s authenticity matter?)
2. Influence (do they influence our purchasing patterns?)
3. Trustworthiness (do we trust them?)
4. Aspiration (do we want to be like them?)
5. Impact (are the saving the planet?)

To get to some answers we chose nine influential archetypes and asked site visitors to rank them according to our 5 key features.  Those archetypes where:

1. The Politician 
2. The Celebrity 
3. The Scientist 
4. The Treehugger
5. The Soccer Mom/Dad
6. The Eco-Entrepreneur
7. The Green Socialite
8. The Business Person 
9. The Vegetarian

RESULTS

Here are the “Cliffs Notes” of the results showing the top 3 heroes for each category. (Link to free full report at the end of this post)

Authenticity: Do you think they are authentically green?

1. Treehugger 

2. Scientist 

3. Eco-Entrepreneur 

Influence: How much influence do they have on the issues? 

1. Business Person 

2. Scientist 

3. Politician

Trustworthiness: When they speak do you listen? 

1. Scientist 

2. Eco-Entrepreneur 

3. Business Person

Aspiration: Do you aspire to be like them? 

1. Scientist 

2. Eco-Entrepreneur 

3. Treehugger

Impact: Are they saving the planet? 

1. Scientist 

2. Eco-Entrepreneur 

3. Business Person

We also asked participants to vote for their real-life (in most cases) Green Heroes. Seven different genres were evaluated, providing five names to vote on, as well as a write-in option.   Here’s who people on the brink of 2009 saw as their green heroes.

Businessperson Green Hero 

1. Gary Hirschberg, Stonyfield 35%

2. John Mackey, Whole Foods 16%

3. T. Boone Pickens, Oil/Wind Tycoon 12%

Scientist Green Hero 

1. David Suzuki 23%

2. Bill McKibbin 17%

3. William McDonough 16%

Celebrity Green Hero 

1. Bono 25%

2. Leonardo DiCaprio 19%

3. Woody Harrelson 16%

Political Green Hero 

1. Al Gore 67%

2. Barack Obama 15%

3. Arnold Schwarzenegger 3%

Activist Green Hero 

1. Rachel Carson 31% 

2. Van Jones 11% 

3. Julia Butterfly Hill 7% 

Corporation Green Hero 

1. Patagonia 27% 

2. Whole Foods 21% 

3. My Local Farm 16% 

Media Green Hero 

1. Mother Jones 17% 

2. Grist 13% 

3. The Daily Green 11% 

VILLAINS

Of course Batman is just Bruce Wayne without the Joker and Spiderman is just Peter Parker without Venom.  You can’t look at Heroes without also looking at Villains.  So we launched a companion survey at www.mygreenvillain.com
 

Note:  The full Green Hero Project Report contains a special bonus section on “My Green Villain.”

WHAT’S NEXT

We’re hoping to continue this lens study so that we can track Heroic LOHAS trends over time.  If you have a few minutes, visit the sites at www.mygreenhero.com and  www.mygreenvillain.com to take the surveys.

A copy of the full 2008 report is available for free here.

Up Up and Away, 

Johnny Monomyth

 
John Rooks is the President of The SOAP Group, a consulting firm activating sustainability and social justice through communication projects that create positive cultural dialogue.  www.thesoapgroup.com.

Authored by The SOAP Group

Language shapes the way we think and determines what we can think about,” said linguist Benjamin Whorf. Since advertising is the most read text in our culture (we’re hit with between 300 and 3,000 messages each day), the role that advertising’s language plays in shaping thinking about sustainability should not be ignored.

To look at this issue in a bit more depth, we surveyed 100 green print advertisements from both mainstream and
green-minded publications. The ads were for a variety of goods and services, including building products, food and beverages, automobiles, airlines, investing, electronics, detergents, pet food, and cosmetics among others.

Understanding the most commonly used green words of today, reveals insight into the communications trends of tomorrow. As a marketer, understanding ubiquity and saturation is one of the first steps in identifying what’s next. It is then important to recognize that the pulse of modern language provides the market advantage of differentiation.

Emotion vs. Science
The advertising survey bisected operative words (headlines and positioning content in copy) and word families (e.g.,
carbon, CO2, and carbon offset were grouped as one set) into Emotive (“change,” “progress,” “clean”) and Scientific (“carbon,” ”planet,” ”hybrid”) categories. Hyphenated words, like ”eco-friendly,” were considered emotive. We also looked at language intent: Was the phrase intended to be emotional or scientific? For example, in nearly all cases “green” was used emotionally or aspirationally, not scientifically.

At this primary grouping, science-derived words were used 168 times as opposed to emotional words at 116. This
represents marketers’ awareness that prevailing consumers are looking for factual data when making purchases in green contexts. That said, most of the science was fairly vapid, relying more on the language of science than on science itself. This means that science, as a brand differentiator, still has unclaimed potential.

More interesting, however, is the emotive side of the ledger. “Green” was toppled as the leading operative word in its
own category of goods and services. “Less” is today’s operative. “Less” represented the most common linguistic turn
of phrase, showing up 28 times in 100  ads (“green” appeared 23 times). The phrase “go green” is all but abandoned
today. “Green” and its variations are telltales of greenwashing. Still, it seems that it has been relegated to serving as a shortcut to define the category, but doesn’t offer much depth beyond that.

Is “Less” the New “Green”?
Maybe. Green marketing often takes the shape of its current cultural condition. When energy (fuel, etc.) prices were
painfully inflated, marketing language (and solutions) turned to saving money and distance efficiency. Way back in
2008, one could be green and indulge at the same time, as long as they drove a hybrid to get there. Today, energy prices have fallen, but less immediately controllable economic hardships have replaced them. The current condition is one of anti-overindulgence, simplicity (noted eight times, it is a form of “less,” but not classified as such in our survey), and doing more with well...less. This is a cultural condition of the economic turn. “Less” is on the lips of CEOs, school administrators, advertising sales teams, governors, and kitchen-table budgeters. And, apparently, green marketers have picked up on this fact. No surprise there. But, “less” in these ads is a factor of economics, not life philosophy. This was the case with “green” too, where it was arguably more about social status and trend than a
change in values.

It’s odd how a phrase intrinsically linked to anti-consumption can become the most popular word in marketing goods and services. Like “green,” this is the co-opting of the LOHAS language by the mainstream all over again.

But advertising has never been accused of being “accurate” language, so in a sense what’s odd is that we expect authenticity to play a role in it at all. Or at the very least, we should.

Most advertising is based on use of the superlative. “Very” lost its meaning through overuse, so we installed “very, very” into the language set. “Yes” has had to become “absolutely.” “Green” is currently interviewing for hyper-replacements, both in terms of movement and language. This is evolutionary language theory at its quickest. It will be interesting to watch “less” become a superlative. And, of course, we await lesswashing — where the consumption of less is a contrived illusion.

Encouraging consumers to consume less is an emerging marketing strategy. Engineering ways for them to have the same reward consumption offers is a sustainability strategy.

Author Edward Abbey said, “Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.” In more theoretic terms, according to ecopedagogy, sustainability is not being realized because it represents the antithesis to the political, economic, and cultural status quo of the powerful forces needed to fuel growth. The ‘less’ backlash is a response to this and marks a real milestone along the pathway to culture change and LOHAS ubiquity.

What is a LOHAS Ad?
What’s the difference between a mainstream ad and a LOHAS ad? Maybe a LOHAS ad is a gadfly. A LOHAS ad may be one that challenges the status quo of not just health and sustainability, but of advertising itself. Maybe LOHAS advertising needs to do more than promote and educate. On some level, LOHAS ads have both an opportunity to simultaneously inspire and make a mess.

Shakespeare said, “Past is prologue.” So how can we use these linguistic trends as an opportunity to create more authentic culture change stemming from the LOHAS business community and emerge into the mainstream (as opposed to mainstream marketing to LOHAS)? There are some new frontiers that are ready for marketing to embrace.
• Local as the new niche market (“The 100 Mile Diet” goes mainstream)
• Overwhelming positivity
• Authentic “me” instead of purchased badges of community
• The acquisition of experience over products
• Activist-based marketing (not guerilla, rather marketing that has a purpose beyond marketing)

Advertisements tend to signify cultural trends. They enforce classic structures of economy and politics. But they can also subvert the same. We are advocating for LOHAS marketers to push harder now more than ever to promote their goods and services through the principles and ideals of the LOHAS marketplace, not just the associated signs and signifiers. Move beyond language, go deeper into the trends, and create new levels of business consumer dialogue and engagement.

In 1968, when Garrett Hardin wrote “The Tragedy of the Commons” he was describing a particular dilemma in which individuals acting independently in their own self-interest ultimately destroy a shared resource—even where it’s clear that it is not in anyone’s long-term interest for this to happen. Today’s green ads may be serving the interest in meeting a company’s quarterly bottom line, but few are acting in the interest of communal sustainability.

Unfortunately, advertising shapes American culture; it shapes our image of ourselves. But it is through deconstructing the codes of advertising that we can begin to learn the limits of these codes. And, in turn, improve the odds of sustainability, social equity, and enduring value.