Risks of Jumping Onto Green Agenda

Something I've been saying for awhile is that the Green technology positioning many companies have embraced -- both as a vendor or service provider as well as a buyer -- has its risks. You don't have to be too discerning to realize that the majority of companies are not pursuing "green" initiatives for altruistic reasons. They are pursuing green agendas to save money.

And you might be saying to yourself, who cares as long as the net effect is the same -- a greener planet? True enough. But, the message and its meaning significantly change depending on which side of the coin you land, and if you land on the side of "green" for planet-saving purposes, you run a significant risk of reputational hit when economic pressures intensify.

Let me explain. If a company says they are investing in renewable energies, says they are reducing the CO2 footprint, engaged in carbon offset programs and providing paid time off for employees to engage in planting trees or something, that's all fine and good when the economy is humming along nicely. It's easy to have and support a green agenda as a good corporate citizen when you have lots of green coming in. However, when the economy tanks, it's survival time, and green has to take a back seat.

Take a look at this post from the Wall Street Journal Technology Blog today. Rackspace, which runs data centers, conducted a survey regarding its customers about their commitment to green IT. Not surprising, the findings from 2007 to 2008 dropped 17% in respondents' commitment to working with "green" tech vendors. And 46% said the weren't willing to pay any extra to work with green tech companies.

For all those companies that were pushing their commitment to "green" for the past several years now are in a situation in which they have to change corporate positioning and do a ton of top-spinning to try and match their "green" message to economic realities -- companies exist to make money.

So what's a company to do? It's one thing to have, as a corporate priority, a commitment to the environment. It's another to overly market your greenness. Know your audience, and know which audience wants to hear what aspect of your business. For communicating your green programs, you'd probably be better off speaking with those who care most about it -- employees, recruits, the community, government officials and community leaders.

Business operates in an unprecedented fishbowl environment, and that requires greater examination of corporate behavior, not marketing hype on the latest buzz term or fad.