Today I want to talk about why “Selling Green” has been such a difficult job recently, and why the trend from green building practices and sustainability in general has shifted, and the focus has been more on economics. There are four areas in which I feel are the sticking point for most people, they are:
Information
Effort
Popularity
Money
Information
People have to provide more information in order to practice green. They need to research more to come up with the information required to get green across the line.
Effort
The effort required for people is more. Company resources have to be allocated, extra time has to be spent and more convincing is required to help with the green movement. Not only for the people trying to sell green but also for the people trying to practice it.
Popularity
The perception of green practices is generally thought of as a waste of time and money. The rise of the green movement 10-15 years ago was due to mainly tapping into people’s fear. Fear that the world would end or be destroyed if we did not act fast. So popularity grew and governments started to act.
Money
Money is probably the key area in why green is hard to sell. The general perception is Green Costs Money. In particular more money than if not going green. People and organisations don't want to spend more money on green when money is tight and profits are low. Green is seen as a luxury item, and when times are tough luxury items are the first to go.
Why is green so different?
I think the question answers itself. Because it is different, people don't like change and therefore don't want to go green and explore its difference.
Are we afraid?
As mentioned, the popularity in green practices has mainly been driven by fear. If we look back to the beginning of when people started noticing green, it was people like Al Gore and Michael Moore who really brought green to the mainstream. And one of the ways they did this, was through fear. Why because people react to fear.
Fear is human's most primal instinct. It's the reason why we have evolved and lasted so long as a species. Fear drives people, organisations and governments to make decisions. They used terms like global warming, climate change and resource shortage to instil fear which would force people to react, and it worked! People started taking notice of the green movement and thus it's popularity started to grow.
Why hasn't it stuck?
The reason I think is because the focus hasn't been on the right thing. The environment and the effects on it have been the main focus with the green movement. The predictions that were made that were used to instil fear into people haven't come to fruition. The world hasn't ended and the apocalyptic picture that was painted didn't happen.
Now this is not completely true.
Some predictions and statements have been correct. If we continue to use our planet's resources the way we are now, we will run out of them, in particular oil. The way we live could be threatened as these resources will not last forever. But unfortunately, this and reasons like this haven't stuck with people because it's not seen to affect us now. When someone spends money they are most concerned about the upfront cost, and for them this generally out ways the long term benefits. The same can be said about the current approach with selling green. As most benefits come after a long period of time people are not affected by it now and thus green doesn’t stick.
Do we make a difference?
Throughout this presentation I have talked about people. The common thread in all of this has been us. People need to be the focus because at the end of the day what do people care about most? It's ourselves, our friends and our family.
People react most to how things in life are going to affect them. Things like pollution, money and livelihoods. Pollution is a great example on how the focus on the way green is sold has been misinterpreted. The burning of dirty fuels and it's release of toxic gases into the atmosphere has been mainly linked to the rise in the earth's temperature and thus the cause of global warming.
How about the way this pollution is affecting our health. These toxic gases create all sorts of respiratory problems and countless other health issues and not much has been said about it. Also, the devastating effect on third world countries has been enormous. Shortages in resources means these resources are directed to nations which have the most money and power, and third world nations are left to struggle. This has left millions without the basic necessities for them to survive.
The focus needs to be more on people and the direct effect modern society has on us. Once this foundation has been established I believe the shift towards green will start to happen and more importantly, it will stick.
Thank you.