From the Churchill Club Event on the 19th March 2009

The global energy business alone is worth 6 trillion dollars. that’s a big pie. What size piece can Victoria and Australia capture and can we take a leading role in sustainable design and green thinking? But after discussing “Green is the new Black” with our panel, some great insights were uncovered.

Our panel was:
Kelly O’Shaunassy – CEO Environment Victoria
Scott Kilmartin – CEO and Founder Haul
Andrew Sweatman – General Manager WSP Environmental

Moderator
Michel Hogan – Principal, Brandology

So what’s going in the world of green opportunities?

• Countries such as the Netherlands and Australia are actually leaders in the field, we just don’t communicate this fact very well.

• Many of our exporters are also do very well, however their major driver is compliance with “green” regulations in customers countries.

• Confused discussion and ideas abound – Hybrid cars are just not as environmentally friendly as a small modern diesel and millions of dollars are offered for a solution to take Co2 out of the air (the answer is of course a tree).

• Green generally is an afterthought of design, not a principle.

• The international standard for Green products is ISO 14000. This standard includes how to measure environmental impact costs over a products life cycle.

How do you sell green to Corporate Australia?

• Although there has been a fair amount of effort over the last 10 years, only in the last 5 years have larger Corporate’s started paying attention.

• Creating a green product isn’t easy. The supply chain must also be audited.

• GECA accreditation (www.geca.org.au) is generally necessary for selling to Corporate’s in Australia.

• Helping Corporate’s communicate their greeness is also valued as in Australia we are generally bad at it.

And how do you sell green to the man on the street?

• Studies show that 83% of Australian consumers are concerned about the environment however only a small proportion of them are actually prepared to act.

• Green groups are concerned that the current interest in the environment is fashion and not a sustainable interest.

• At the coal face consumers primary purchasing decisions are made on price and style. Whether a product is environmentally friendly or not is only a secondary attribute.