Business is not our enemy

I can't lay claim to the idea that climate change and global warming need to be marketed to the public just like any other product (see my June 1st posting at http://cooltheplanet.blogspot.com/2007/06/in-his-may-27-th-posting-on-green.html), but lately I've been struck by how resistant some environmentally-minded grassroots organizations are to this concept.

There seem to be two camps in the environmental conservation/sustainability movement - those who've adopted a traditional business model of marketing and promoting their organization's ideals, while setting measurable, quantifiable goals to meet their objectives, and those who view business as the enemy, and adoption of any business-like practices as tantamount to joining forces with the dark side and abandoning their planet-saving ideals.

As a marcomm consultant with a bevy of corporate business experience, I've encountered a surprising amount of skepticism when I pitch my 'here's how to market your ideas to the public' scheme to some conservation organizations. It seems to be a mixture of suspicion and a knee-jerk reaction to anything that smacks of corporate thinking.

And this, in my mind, is a fatal mistake. Because the most effective way to spread any message in this country - whether it's convincing consumers to buy an enormous, gas-guzzling automobile or persuading them to do the opposite - is to use the existing (and incredibly powerful) marketing machinery. After all, if American marketing could convince millions of consumers to buy rocks as pets, then it can be used to persuade consumers to reduce their carbon footprint and live a more sustainable lifestyle. It's just a matter of successfully crafting and marketing the right message.

Business isn't the enemy of environmental conservation. It may seem like a strange bed-fellow, but once we learn how to use it, we'll leap light-years ahead in our efforts to combat global warming.