It's Not Easy Being Green – But is it Profitable?

Kermit the Frog famously concluded, “It’s not easy being green,” and I think plenty of graphic arts suppliers would agree. I was struck recently by an article questioning the importance of “green” in the marketing message. A print provider was quoted saying, “When we asked our clients if this was interesting to them, the overwhelming response: if it’s more expensive, we don’t care about being green. I don’t even market the green aspect to my clients.”

I suspect that the audience of both end-users and service providers would be split regarding the importance of being a green company. A vast majority would probably agree that it’s a good thing to do to protect the environment. The split happens when price and cost come into the discussion. At what price or cost does the value or marketing benefit go out the window?

FSC-certification has become an important criterion in selecting a print provider for some environmentally-conscious companies. However, those of us who have dealt with certification could get on a stump about the actual benefit to green initiatives versus the bureaucracy and cost involved for very little real “green” benefit. Some of our franchise members who have become FSC-certified have done so because one customer demanded it or would move their business. So yes, I guess you could call that a profitable decision to not lose the customer. We happen to have a process in place to help our members get FSC-certified at a reasonable cost.

From a strictly marketing and business point of view, here is where I come down: First know your market, your customer and prospect base. Again, we all want to be environmentally-conscious and should run our business accordingly. That said, we should do it pragmatically and keep the bottom line in mind. If you are in some areas of California or other states where the general population has a strong environment bias, your decision may be different than if you are in rural Texas. And yes, there is a political element attached to the environmental movement, and as business people, we all should understand how this can impact our business and marketing, regardless of our personal politics. I know some commercial printers that are making “green” a big part of their marketing message, even to the point of installing a large solar array on top of their buildings. And, it’s the first thing you see on their Website. Hopefully, this was a good financial decision both from energy savings and for their target market.