Our focus on the environment is nothing new but it is important from a trends perspective to note that a shift in attitude has taken place.
While most consumers have agreed for some time that care and renewal of our natural environment is an issue that needs to be addressed until recently only a small number of individuals proactively took responsibility for making changes in the way they lived and worked.
This attitude has changed and currently many people now feel that simply voicing a concern isn’t enough and that each and every one of us must actively make changes in our homes and workplaces in order to ‘do no harm’.
Government leaders too have become more engaged in sustainability issues with politicians talking ‘green’. New legislation requiring businesses to operate with environmental consciousness has companies scrambling to keep up.
Companies that are ahead of the curve are touting their environmental savvy as a way to attract like-minded customers and stand above their competitors. In the near future however business operating in a way that supports sustainability will become a given in the minds of consumers and business leaders will need to add environmental best practices to an already long list of customer expectations.
For many companies this means implementing new processes but for others it will be more challenging and require developing new technologies, rethinking operations and reformulating products. All of this while keeping the end product or service priced competitively. This is one tall order to fill and unless tackled with keen insight an organization could put themselves out of business trying.
But try they will because this business eco ego is being fueled more by customers and their own eco ego than by legislation. Consumers taking positive action want to proudly shows off their environmental responsibility and their ability to reduce their carbon footprint through the products and services they chose.
While the environmental movement has spurred us to take a less self-centered and broader view of the long-term impact each of us has on the world we haven’t left behind our need for recognition. The paradox is that often the same people that feel most driven to make a significant difference also the same ones that want to be recognized for how brightly their halo glows.
It seems that keeping up with the Jones has become keeping up with the ‘Greens.’
