Openeco: Sun's online comunity designed to help companies become greenRecently, a Silicon Valley vice president told me of fear running through technology companies. They worry they aren't green enough. At least she could take solace in knowing that she is not alone.Green is the new black as green marketing and green investment have become hot or at least getting warmer on a global scale. The pressure is now on to show your green stripes.How far we have come from my early green experiences. Back in the early 1990s, companies espousing green principles were met with suspicion, and environmental groups who reached out to the other side were corporate sell-outs.In 1993, my very first Internet experience was with the EcoNet. At speeds of 9600 baud, I was connecting online to a hearty band of educational institutions, non-profits and small businesses. Environmental groups were using the network for Internet access, but fast and robust it wasn't. And it certainly didn't leverage the power of online communities.Fast forward to 2008. Not only has the environment become corporate, but of course the way we communicate has changed.Environmental groups and corporate communications professionals now have blogs and social networks to drive their green messages to a much wider community. They can provide far greater detail, far more cost effectively and to far more people.On the flip side, it is a lot easier for critics to expose false claims, identify bad practices and call out inaction. It's a complicated equation. As you tout one initiative, you lay yourself open to criticism in other areas. Given social media's capacity to amplify and magnify, it's enough to make some companies avoid green marketing altogether.So how do corporate communications professionals manage complex dynamics that govern traditional and social media? The blogosphere can be rather unforgiving with many more voices weighing in. Similarly, how do you address the media's ever changing focus on the latest environmental threat? How do you prioritize the many global threats and competing solutions out there? How do you handle the public's desire to do right thing and the sense of fear and lack of knowledge that fuels public debate?Following Sun's LeadSome companies seem to be doing it right. Take Sun Microsystems. It's winning praise and coverage for how it's approaching its green initiatives.With its Eco Innovation Initiative, Sun is committed to an ambitious goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from its U.S. operations by 20 percent by 2012.Sun's David DouglasAs David Douglas Sun's vice president for eco-responsibility explains.At Sun, we don't say we are green. Rather, we say we are getting greener. We recognize that anything bad is going to get picked up at photon speed. We try to be transparent and post data because it will be found anyway. It's better to get out information in a controlled way. Getting out information to the public also establishes a benchmark or a point of reference that others can point to.That's a lesson that Nike learned.For some time, Nike would experience a new round of criticism each time another overseas factory was exposed. Rather than endure a continuous drumbeat of negative news for its working conditions, they decided to posted the entire list. A bigger bitter pill yes, but Nike was praised for taking "an important step forward" and exhibiting "transparency."At Sun, transparency is a virtue. David Douglas has a blog. Sun also launched Openeco - a forum to share ideas, facilitate discussion and find solutions. Yes, discussions can be done at a conference, but an online community is a quantum leap in lowering barriers and sharing ideas.They are currently collecting tons of data. They are creating a tool to manage and disseminate data. The information is nonproprietary. The site is collaborative, and the goal is community building. Several hundred companies are now involved.Success can be measured at the societal level. As a company, Sun is promoting the state of the art, environmentally safe products and policies. But in strictly business terms, they also hope these efforts are a differentiator and will provide Sun with a competitive advantage to attract new customers.But David concedes that it is not all possible. Sun eliminated 99 million sheets of paper by going electronic for their annual report. They looked at corporate travel and didn't see any substantive impact by making significant changes.David advises that you look for areas where you can quickly make the biggest headway. "No company is entirely green, but you find places to improve." Public pressure is a catalyst, but is not the reason to go greener.What's the biggest social media take away when building a green program? Honesty, transparency and something Dave said. Going green is "not about products; it's a value."Let me get back to you.Technorati Tags: Green Marketing;Green Initiatives;Sun Microsystems;David Douglas;Open Eco;Nike;Save to del.icio.us
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