The Sustainable Divide

I spent two days at the Walmart Sustainability Packaging Expo this week.  A client asked if I could help (wo)man his booth and so I did. I felt a bit like a fish out of water --  flopping around in a world I know nothing about:  Consumer packaging.  Little did I know there are thousands of companies that make something so another company can put something in it.

Yes, a fish on the flop. But, that doesn't mean I came away with a cold blank stare. I learned more about my role as a consumer than I thought I would. And I met some interesting folks doing fascinating things.

Here's my take on the event from my fish bowl.

I had no idea it took so many companies to put one item on the shelf in my home. That yogurt you're slurping down? The lid, the container, the printing on the container, the printing plate for that message,  the pull-back cover, the photo of your favorite fruit -- all shipped in to your favorite yogurt brand from another company that just makes that item. 

And we haven't yet mentioned the cow. 

They call it the supply chain. Wikipedia spells it out: "A supply chain is a system of organizations, people, technology, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer."

How many companies are involved in getting product to your home? I've tried but lost count. Let's just say a bunch.


Here's my second takeaway:


There's a lot of sustainability going on behind the scenes.

Did you know your detergent bottle was probably recycled from your last one? Not directly, mind you, but all those bottles you've been putting to the curb are really coming full circle in post consumer waste recycling.

Did you know the Burt's Bee's "paper" soap wrapper was made from rock dust and marble chips?

Did you know there are paper cups and take out containers that can go in your garden compost bin? 

Did you know $40 billion is spent building cardboard boxes every year? And that all these items get shipped in and shipped out in one?


So, here's my final thought. Why aren't companies being more vocal in helping the consumer make better (read greener) choices? If I knew one milk jug had 15% less plastic than the other sitting beside it at the same price, you can bet I would choose it. If I knew McDonald's was buying compostable cups, wouldn't I be loving it a little more? If I knew a supply chain for a product was conscientiously sustainable wouldn't I want to be their friend on Facebook?

I hear Walmart's Sustainability Index will help us with our choices. In the meantime, get on your readers and peruse those labels, folks. The tiny print matters.



Read Biz2Biz NWA.

The Greening of Small Business

By Janie Pritchett-Clark

As a small business owner I wear a lot of hats. You, too, I suspect. So now along with our role as CEO, CFO, and COO – I say we need to add one more. That’s CSO – Chief Sustainability Officer.

CSO is a relatively new role for the business world and brand spanking new for small business. So new, in fact, the industry is struggling to define a job description and who would be best suited to fill it.

It’s been my opinion the way to a greener, cleaner planet is through the consumer and her wallet. Evidence in every sector shows advances in energy-efficiency and sustainable practices. Big business is looking at sustainability initiatives to squeeze in more profit. Small business needs it to survive.

The World Commission on Environment and Development defined sustainability back in 1987 as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”  As you consider how to add CSO to your hat rack of bowlers and ball caps, here are six steps to help get you started.

• Take a leadership role in sustainability and inspire your team to dial in on the job. Ask yourself to lead with higher standards.

• Find ways to tie in sustainability issues that already exist in your company. Look for ways to accelerate your own green innovations.

• Find the most supportive employees, customers, and business allies and engage them first. Encourage smart new policies that reward sustainability performance.

• Gather your team to brainstorm and create your company’s sustainability and business social responsibility policies. These can be tremendous assets in attracting new employees and customers.

• Create open-door policies that engage conversation and encourage transparency.

 • Take advantage of partnerships. Look outside your company for experts, organizations and academics who can give you a fresh perspective and move your initiatives further, faster.

Read the April Green Issue of Biz2Biz NWA!

Cycling for a Crisis

Some people watch the news and wring their hands. Some people watch the news and get involved. Keith Schuman, an investment banking analyst turned world traveler believes that getting involved is a must. 

With a riding partner he met in Lima, Peru, Pieter Schouwstra, the pair formed 4Legs4Haiti and are now in route on a 10,000 kilometer bicycle ride from Guayaquil, Ecuador to the Marina Green under the Golden Gate Bridge. Their goal is to raise money and awareness in every country, village and township they pass through, with 100% of the donations pledged going to Haiti. Their Web site (http:www.4Legs4Haiti.com) makes it easy via Pay-Pal to pledge your donations and keep up with their journey. 

Read the story in the GreenZine... 

Green is the new black

In this ADHD world of multi-tasking, multi-talking, multi-functional devices, it's encouraging when some ONE thing comes along to alter the way you see the world. That happened for me last May when I was involved in the birthing of the first NWA Green Expo with the 'green team' at the Bentonville Chamber.

Super hero Kyle Howell at Walmart and mother superior Nancy Desler at the Chamber moved mountains to make it happen. And I was happy tagging along with a keyboard -- as their scribe and official publication.

I learned more in that experience about the possibilities, the necessities, and the innovations of sustainable progress than I could have imagined. And I've been chomping at the bit since then to launch a green magazine for NWA.

This year Biz2Biz is again a proud sponsor of the Expo and we have something absolutely too cool for words up our sleeve. We're working with Ozark Film and Video to bring you the Welcome Wall. Don't worry we'll spill the (green) beans later.

The official publication for the Green Expo is now NWA GreenZine, an e-zine devoted to all things green and sustainable in Northwest Arkansas. Yes, yes, we are excited, proud, and deliberate. And we're doing it (also) for you. All we ask is that you read it, share it, advertise in it, and tell us what green-news is important to you.

We're on on this planet together. Let's leave it in better shape than we found it.

Taking it to the streets

Nearly every day I hear from a small business owner struggling with the concept of using social media to market their business. The questions come tumbling: how, when, why, what for?  Inevitably, they feel shy, silly, even stupid as they poke around in the social media "nonsense."

I've been in the advertising industry for nearly three decades, and I admit, I had the same confusion. My Aha! moment came when I realized that social media has changed the very concept of how we reach our customers and how we engage them.

Let me digress. Traditional advertising is an interruption media. "And now, a word from our sponsors..." It claims that, while we have you as a captive audience listening/watching/reading what you enjoy, we're going to interject something we think you also will enjoy buying/ordering/using. The concept worked for a long time.

Aha! Social media is an engagement media. It says: I'm doing this and if you are interested, why don't you join me and we'll experience it together, or at least,  you can tell me about it and I will listen.

I just read an article quoting Don Shultz, a professor of integrated marketing communications at Northwestern. His studies show that only 4-5 percent of our customers make up the bulk of our sales and profits. The other 95% actually cost us. With that kind of margin, why wouldn't you touch this elite group singularly and specifically or "pick them up in a car and deliver them to your door" as Schultz suggests.

I suggest that part of our confusion is trying to stuff the big round peg of social media into the square of traditional media. It won't fit. Shultz suggests we need an overhaul in our thinking. Instead of delivering a message via media to your segment, find the customers and engage them there. (Four rules for media planning coming in the Feburary issue of Biz2Biz) 

Clear as mud?  Here are five ways Biz2Biz will be using social media in 2010.

1. To listen to our peers and community. By staying tuned in to the social media network we can hear what's on their minds. What/who are they talking about? What are their concerns? What are their interests? Where do they spend their time? With our listening ears on, we'll be able to deliver even more relevant content.

2. To introduce our stories and tips to those involved in the business community in Northwest Arkansas. Biz2Biz covers many different topics of business. Not all of them interest everyone the same. If you are interested in the topic, we're just a click away.

3. To find the movers and shakers and shine the spotlight on them. Our business community is full of professionals whose futures are so bright they gotta wear shades. Biz2Biz will spotlight every day small business owners who make up the backbone of Northwest Arkansas.

4. To introduce business professionals to other companies who have a wealth of product and industry information to share. Education is the key to good purchase decisions. With blogs, forums and email we can ask, answer and connect.

5. To expand the role of local entrepreneurship. Google for anything and you'll get a link. It may be for someone on the other side of the world, but it's unlikely it will be someone around the corner.  If 90% of all commerce is local,  90% of our contacts should be, too. That is afterall, where we find our best customers.

Well Hello 2010!

The New Year is a time for resolution. Like the Roman god, Janus, for whom the month is named, we face in two directions at once to look both at where we’ve been and where we’re going.

On a personal level our resolutions are the stuff we share with friends over a glass of champagne. It’s unlikely anyone will hold us accountable, now or later, as they’ve heard them before: our resolutions are our vices and bad habits.

In business, our resolutions are more wide flung. What we resolve to do better as a business affects many– our employees, our clients, and our community. Why not start the New Year with resolutions that steer your company away from its vices and bad habits?

I resolve to follow my strategic plan more diligently. I like to think of this plan as the surfboard I use to ride the waves of the Sea of Enterprise. I’ve created a quiver of boards to ride the right tool over the right wave. But, you can’t ride if you’re not at the beach.

I resolve to delegate more and accept the outcome. As small business owners we often see delegating tasks as the cash register ringing in reverse. The reality is, we can’t do it all ourselves and grow. And everyone brings something unique to the fray.

I resolve to spend more time listening to the stories. This business community is filled with wonderful stories about their experiences. Together we can learn from each other’s trials and tribulations. Together we strengthen the marketplace.

I resolve to share the love. We haven’t even begun to reach all the business professionals and decision makers in Northwest Arkansas.

I like to name each year with a quality I hope to see it bring. (Although it’s infallibly non-prophetic; a divine ’09 it was not!) Here’s wishing you a Perfect ’10.

Burned by the Bait and Switch

I'm loath to say something unkind about the wine dinner I attended last night at Ella's in Fayetteville. The food was fabulous and well paired with a delicious variety of wines from the Reynolds Family vineyard in Napa. Unfortunately, the final taste left on my palate was the feeling I'd been cheated.  I felt burned by the old bait and switch routine.

Here's what I think: If businesses are going to use social media to market to me, to reach right into my inbox and ask for my patronage, they need to be honest. They need take responsibility for their messages -- and craft them with care. They need to make sure they've communicated a clear message, and if they fail in that regard, it's their responsibility to remedy it.  If they want to "build a relationship" with me they should prove to be friend and not foe.

No doubt Ella's didn't intend to bait me with dishonesty. But what was marketed to me as a great deal ended up costing three times as much. A wine dinner advertised for $52.50 became $155. A discount that was offered by email wasn't honored and my request to have it remedied dismissed.

It was our first visit to Ella's. Will we be back? Maybe. If I can get the burned toast taste off my tongue. If I can replace it with the memory of that delightful ahi tun with maitake mushroom, or that yummy crisp Reynolds chardonnay. (The only chardonnay I've ever enjoyed. And now I know why, thanks to the winemaker's discussion on the different acids in the wine.)


Take what you will from this message -- a person whining about a wine dinner gone sour at the end; or a lesson to businesses using social media to market their wares. Snake oil and bait and switch tactics are taboo. Customer service is the most important thing you sell no matter what you are selling.