Patagonia’s founder and CEO, Yvon Chouinard, talks with Joel Makower at the 2013 GreenBiz Forum on authenticity and responsibility in building Patagonia, and how consumers can use the power of their wallets to change society.

Printing and packaging paper company Monadnock has announced that it has achieved 100 percent carbon-neutral production status and can now offer customers and supply chain partners a third-party verified claim that all of its products are made with certified, clean renewable electricity.

“We have a longstanding commitment to environmental sustainability,” said Richard Verney, chairman and chief executive officer of Monadnock Paper Mills. “We produce up to 50 percent of our electricity on-site. It is a priority to maximize our own low-impact renewable hydropower generation and to continue reducing emissions associated with our operations.”

Monadnock says it has significantly reduced energy consumption, resulting in a savings of more than 1 million kWh of electricity per year. Some improvement projects in 2012 include recognizing and implementing efficiencies in manufacturing processes, increasing the efficiency of its largest hydroelectric turbine wheel, upgrading vacuum pumps on the paper machines, recovering dryer condensate and installing an economizer and variable speed drives.

“We did everything we could internally to maximize the efficiency of our hydro facilities, and only then did we start looking at reputable sources for additive renewable energy and carbon offset credits,” said Environmental Manager Michelle Hamm.

After a vetting process, Monadnock purchased Climate Action Reserve Protocol-certified Verified Emission Reductions (VERs) to offset emissions associated with its thermal energy generation. It also purchased Green-e certified wind power Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to offset the electricity required to run its facilities.

Last month Monadnock announced that SGS recertified its ISO 14001:2004 Environmental Management System for an additional three years.

In addition to these third-party verified actions and programs, the company participates as an EPA 100 percent Green Power Partner, EPA WasteWise Partner and EPA SmartWay Transport Partner.

Earlier this month, Monadnock announced the availability of an uncoated label designed specifically for craft beer made from 100 percent FSC-certified, post-consumer waste fibers.

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Mike Hower is an Associate Editor at Sustainable Brands and an affiliate of New Growth Communications. He writes about companies and organizations engaged in sustainability strategy, clean technology and social entrepreneurship.

Commercializing a business in an emerging field is a messy enterprise. No matter how systematically the process begins, charting a new course inevitably involves throwing stuff against a wall to see what sticks. In such instances when you cannot control the outcome, focus on what you can control: marketing.Foundational to the successful launch and longevity of an idea, initiative or institution, marketing is not something you can ever check off the list or fully delegate to someone else. As David Packard, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, once said, “Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department.” And in the case of ecopreneurs or social innovators, there is no marketing department — just you and your big idea.

Launching my company in 2005 with a crude business plan and no start-up capital, I was armed only with the certainty that it would work because the world needed it to work. Lacking the know-how for selling my original ideas in a region considerably lagging in sustainability, I went on a crusade to find a low-cost, credible strategy for promoting my concept, starting with the book “Marketing for Dummies.” (The bright yellow volume still sits on my bookshelf to remind me how far I’ve come.) Today, my firm advises clients from clean tech startups to NGOs and Fortune 500 companies on how to bolster their brands and distinguish themselves from the competition through profitable sustainability strategies.

I continue to be surprised by how gifted people — from inventors and researchers to scientists and policy experts — struggle when it comes to communicating and packaging their ideas for commercial appeal. This failure in marketing not only limits the individual, it also harms society because it renders potentially world-changing ideas and technologies ineffective. In preparing to speak on this subject for a recent conference, this occurred to me: It’s not the average Internet marketer most in need of marketing advice — it’s the average genius.

Ingenious Marketing vs. Marketing Genius

AMC’s “Mad Men” is now in its sixth season, and Don Draper is back at masterminding campaigns to tantalize and cajole consumers into purchasing products that may or may not deliver on their promises. I’m not saying that real-world advertising executives are as manipulative (or charming) as Draper, but I have enough friends in the field to understand advertisers’ priorities. They are paid to create campaigns that sell products. It’s what they do.

Genius, on the other hand, is much a tougher sell than a consumer product. Genius embodies truth — or at least a potential for it. It is complex and promises no immediate gratification. Such traits tend not to have broad appeal. (Think satellite TV: 800 channels and about 10 of them would qualify as “smart.”) Therefore, marketing genius in today’s media environment requires a more nuanced approach than ingenious marketing does.

Practically speaking, you’re dealing with a vastly different budget. Ingenious marketing is expensive. A 30-second spot on this year’s Super Bowl cost $3.5 million, a sum that many consumer products companies now consider a necessary expense. Fortunately, a Super Bowl ad would be ineffective for marketing genius to the people that would care. The method for disseminating ideas would look more like the peer-review process that scientists and academics undergo to publish their research. The problem there, however, is that this lengthy and closed process prevents the flow of ideas to a wider public.

Many people around the periphery of academia want to bridge practice with theory and higher-level thought, if only they had access. Thought leadership is an excellent strategy for bridging this gap. An art and a science involving a blend of branding, messaging, writing, speaking and relationship-building, thought leadership is really about leading with ideas.

I came to appreciate thought leadership as a marketing strategy when I noticed that the traditional approach to media relations was dying as the Internet gained momentum. Without the budget for advertising (which I’m convinced would not have been effective for my purpose anyway), I sought innovative solutions and possibilities in projecting my voice in the online environment. Establishing a thought leadership platform proved a more natural fit, allowing me to spread my message as writer and consultant rather than marketer and promoter. The same strategy can work for anyone interested in sharing ideas and even selling a product, provided it offers a unique solution to an unfulfilled need.

Social Media for the Socially Conscious

Howard Aiken, the original conceptual designer behind IBM’s Harvard Mark I computer, once said: “Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you’ll have to ram them down people’s throats.” Geniuses like Steve Jobs managed to ram ideas down people’s throats with a blend of brilliance, quirky star appeal and what some call egomania, but not everyone wants to lead (or live) like that. If black turtlenecks, TED talks or even extraversion are not in your wheelhouse, there is still hope.

In fact, some inspiring examples of authentic, down-to-earth thought leadership lie 50 miles north of Silicon Valley at the University of California at Berkeley. Teaching and researching at one of the most prestigious universities in the world, UC Berkeley professors are also innovative marketers of their own ideas. The tools used by these leaders also can transfer to innovators in the sustainability field. Here’s how three world-class professors have set up their social media platforms for thought leadership:

• Robert B. Reich, Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at UC Berkeley, Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration and author of 13 books. Reich has a personal website which contains lots of video and slideshows, and acts as a hub that links to Facebook, Twitter and a blog on Tumblr. He’s got over 80,000 likes on his Facebook page and upwards of 132,000 followers on Twitter. In addition, he is the co-founder of The American Prospect, a progressive bi-monthly online and print magazine.

• George Lakoff, author, pioneering cognitive linguist and professor of linguistics at UC Berkeley since 1972. Lakoff has a personal website, a blog and a Facebook page with 4,800 likes. He writes for outlets such as Huffington Post and publishes political books, in addition to his extensive scholarly articles and academic books. What I love about Lakoff is his plain speech. (More on his work in framing in a future Eco-Leadership post.)

• Dara O’Rourke, associate professor of global production systems and news strategies of governance at UC Berkeley and co-founder of Good Guide. O’Rourke’s website contains links to his research, teaching, writing, GoodGuide, public interest content, speaking, consulting, and his LinkedIn and Twitter profiles. His site also features a link to Shopping for Good, which reflects essays from a debate he participated in through The Boston Review. It’s a great example of capturing an experience that relatively few were able to witness and making it available to the wider world.

Thought leadership isn’t rocket science (sorry, geniuses). It is more like a craft, a discipline and a state of mind. It’s a means of being a conduit for ideas. It calls for an appreciation that the more you share, the more connected you will become to the rest of the world and the greater impact you are likely to have. In a democratized media environment moving increasingly online, thought leadership via social media is a skill set that everyone would do well to cultivate.

Thought leaders leave a legacy

It’s not a coincidence that top professors are also good marketers, because good teachers excel at connecting the dots to make abstract concepts come alive. As Jennifer Rubiello, who took a class with Reich, explains, “I liked his teaching style, how he illustrated concepts. Our favorite class was when he used a cake as a metaphor to illustrate equality and equity. He showed the many ways you could divide up the pie when it comes to public policy. Afterwards, we all got to eat the cake.”

Rubiello describes how interactive discussion groups allowed for participatory exercises and creative engagement. Even as those sessions were led by graduate advisors, Reich remained available to the students as well as his wider audience of readers. “I asked him to speak to a big scholarship forum we were having and he did,” said Rubiello. “He seems to make an effort to be accessible.”

The quality of communicating complexity in a relatable manner that connects with people leaves an indelible mark on UC Berkeley students. Three Cal grads I know are themselves expert communicators with a flair for injecting both urgency and meaning into abstract ideas.

Recent grad Rubiello is wrapping up her fellowship year with Green Corps in DC. Tony Robinson is an author, co-founder of EARTH-NT and an adjunct professor of sustainability at Southern Methodist University. David McGuire, executive director of Shark Stewards, is an internationally recognized marine biologist, documentary filmmaker and ocean conservation advocate. None of these individuals has a career in marketing, but they are all using the power of thought leadership to further their causes through Facebook, Twitter, consistent writing, newsletters, relationship building and media outreach.

Many intelligent people ignore marketing because they think they are too busy or too introverted to make it work. Others fail to do it because their companies or academic institutions do not reward them for it. Some even dismiss it as too common. However, this failure to package one’s knowledge for a wider audience can impede the spread of great ideas.

Establishing your thought leadership platform is essential to building influence and instilling capacity to attract quality clients. It is worth the time and discipline to engage in it, because genius isn’t just how you show up on an IQ test — it’s also in how you show up in the world.

Green idea photo by Palo_ok on Shutterstock.

If you’re a long-time Dell customer, you’ve probably noticed that our packaging looks far different than it did just a few years ago. It’s smaller, easier to recycle, and may even contain some materials you’re more likely to associate with your garden than your computer.

Those changes are part of a concerted evolution we’ve been making to our boxes and cushioning to give customers a friendlier and more sustainable experience out of the box. We embarked on this project by conducting conversations with our enterprise customers and consumers, to see how they viewed the packaging. We found customers had all kinds of strong opinions and they weren’t afraid to share. After sorting through the comments, we realized that customers wanted us to care as much about the environment, the planet and future generations as they did. They were tired of large boxes, polystyrene foam filling, and a system that placed the burden of responsible disposal on them. I call this my team’s “a-ha” moment, and it has guided our work since then.

We knew that our program had to be ambitious, holistic and innovative — covering a package’s life from design to disposal. In 2008, we launched our “3Cs” packaging initiative, standing for “cube, content and curb,” and set multiyear targets, which we achieved last year:

• Cube: We committed to reducing the size of packaging by at least 10 percent. In reality we achieved a 12 percent reduction in size across our packaging portfolio.
• Content: We reached our goal of a 40 percent increase in the amount of recycled and renewable content used.
• Curb: We ensured that up to 75 percent of packaging is recyclable or compostable at curbside.

The work was a true triple-bottom-line success. Our customers are markedly happier and have even sent pictures of the packaging as testament. We eliminated more than 20 million pounds of material from our supply chains. And we reduced our packaging expense by more than $18 million. As a bonus, the plan and its implementation spawned creative thinking, teamwork and innovations we may otherwise have never imagined.

To reduce the size of packaging, we created a multipack system for some of our servers, desktops and laptops. When customers order large quantities of the same product, upon request, we can bundle them together for greater efficiency, rather than shipping them in separate boxes. It seems simple, but it required engineering on both the ordering and packaging fronts. The multipack is far simpler to handle, faster to unpack, and easier to dispose of than individual boxes. For instance, we can ship a fully configured server chassis in a single box, enabling a customer to unpack and get up and running in about 15 minutes. For larger customers, we’ve found that multipack can reduce deployment time by up to 47 percent.

Inside the box, we’ve pioneered use of bamboo cushioning to replace foams and plastics. The bamboo is rapidly renewable, grows close to our manufacturing facilities and is highly durable. During production, we can reclaim most of the water used for pulping. We can also take advantage of solar drying when weather permits, which reduces energy consumption by up to 70 percent. At the end of its life, the bamboo cushioning is recyclable and even certified compostable.

Perhaps our most intriguing innovation has come by way of mushrooms. Working with biotechnology firm Ecovative Design, we’re taking agricultural waste such as cotton hulls and injecting it with mushroom spawn. Our mushroom packaging is proving to be as strong and protective as polystyrene, which is crucial since it needs to protect tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of state-of-the-art Dell PowerEdge servers. Similar to the bamboo cushioning, the mushroom foam is also compostable.

Dell’s packaging is just one step in its larger lifecycle approach to sustainability. We design products and packaging with the planet in mind, considering the environmental impact at each stage of its existence. While we are very pleased with the progress we’ve made, we’re not content to sit on our laurels. We’re using the lessons from our “3Cs” journey to inform the next stage of our packaging — and we can’t wait to see what your next box might look like.

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Oliver Campbell is director of procurement for packaging and packaging engineering at Dell, responsible for creating the framework driving the company’s revolutionary packaging innovations. Follow him on Twitter@Oliver_Campbell, where he comments on packaging, technology commercialization, the environment and management. Learn more about Dell’s efforts at www.dell.com/environment.

At our offices, there is a new refrain.

“I’m recording everything,” says William McDonough — designer, advisor, thought leader and author — on any given day.

In an effort to chronicle the sustainability movement through McDonough’s eyes, Stanford University Libraries has engaged in a unique experiment by creating the academic institution’s first “Living Archive.”

Digital and written materials of McDonough’s past and present will be fed to the Stanford team to capture and share his thoughts and efforts in architecture and sustainable design in as comprehensive a manner as possible, as recently reported by The New York Times and New Scientist.

The extensive writings, drawings, photography, objects and other collections of McDonough already cover more than 40 prolific years in his professional career. The archives are intended to continuously grow in tandem with the continuing generation of his work.

Stanford is an international leader in creating standards and best practices for realizing the digital library. McDonough has a long-standing relationship with the university; he has served as a consulting professor in the civil and Environmental Engineering Department for nearly a decade. In 1999, Stanford acquired the Buckminster Fuller archives, one of the libraries’ most in-demand collections. It is also one of the most extensive personal archives anywhere. The Fuller connection is personally meaningful for McDonough who, as a student at Dartmouth, heard one of Fuller’s famously long lectures (more than three hours) in an encounter that left an indelible mark.

The Stanford project is a massive undertaking and full of challenges, not the least of which will be to perpetually manage new material and keep up with a living donor’s many activities, appearances, projects, writings and even his tweets. Phone conversations and meetings are being recorded. Physical drawings are being digitized.

The libraries will use the digital components to create a set of open source archival technologies that will allow creators, archivists and selected contributors to actively participate in the collection. Eventually, the archive will be available as a digital library, available to everyone.

This is not just for scholars. We see that the soon-to-be-available access to his dialogues and thought processes through the Stanford Living Archive of William McDonough will help inform the future by building a rich perspective of how sustainability issues are perceived and addressed today in our time. If we’re lucky, the signposts here will help future generations work toward continuous improvement and abundance for all.

Roberto Trujillo, head of the Stanford University Libraries’ Special Collections, views this as a “real-time” archive: “We see the possibility to capture not just the writings and artifacts but the activities and conversations of a designer and thought leader — and the many influential individuals he works with — as they happen.”

This radical degree of transparency offers value beyond the confines of McDonough’s personal efforts: Seen through the lens of his life, we anticipate that the archive also will document important activities and conversations that intersect with other influential voices in the sustainability community. Bill likes to call this the “six degrees” factor, and we can already see it taking shape in powerful ways.

Through that, the archive will offer rich perspective on how the ecosystem of issues we’re presently addressing can help inform crucial human settlement decisions of tomorrow.

William McDonough photo by Drew Altizer, courtesy of William McDonough.

A Call for More Good – Ideas that Matter 2013 from Sappi Fine Paper on Vimeo.

More than a decade ago Sappi Fine Paper North America— the maker of McCoy, Opus, Somerset and Flo — established the Ideas that Matter grant program to recognize and support designers who use their skills and expertise to solve communications problems for a wide range of charitable activities. Even today, Ideas that Matter remains the only grant program of its kind in the industry. Since 1999, Ideas that Matter has funded over 500 nonprofit projects, contributing $12 million worldwide to causes that enhance our lives, our communities and our planet. Sappi believes that the creative ideas of designers can have an impact beyond the aesthetic and that those ideas can be a powerful force for social good. Working together with our customers, we aim to make a difference.

Deadline
Ideas that Matter is an annual program. Call for Entries is announced every year in the spring. Applications are due by July 19, 2013. Judging takes place in August and grants are announced in September and awarded in October. Projects must be fully implemented within six months of receiving awards.

Who may apply
Ideas that Matter is open to individual designers, design firms, agencies, in-house corporate design departments, design instructors, individual design students and design student groups.

What kinds of projects may be submitted
All communication projects that support the needs of the nonprofit and meet the conditions and requirements of the Ideas that Matter program will be considered. At least a portion of the project must be printed. Additional elements may include a variety of communication mediums such as outdoor signage, t-shirts, banner advertising, print advertising, websites, html campaigns, or other media.

What budget items may be submitted
Grant awards range from $5,000 to $50,000 per project. Budget items may include implementation and out-of-pocket costs, including photography, illustration, paper, printing, mailing and related expenses. Budget items may not include travel, hardware or overhead elements, such as computers or rent.

For more information and to apply, visit www.na.sappi.com/ideasthatmatterNA.

John Thackara, founder of Doors of Perception, spoke at Compostmodern 2013.

At Compostmodern, John Thackara explored the question: What are the design opportunities where social and living systems meet?

About John Thackara
For thirty years, John Thackara has traveled the world looking for stories about practical steps taken by communities to realize a sustainable future. He is the author of a widely read column at designobserver.com and the best-selling book In the Bubble: Designing In A Complex World. As director of doorsofperception.com, John also organizes conferences, workshops and festivals that bring social innovators together to share their experiences. John is a Senior Fellow of the Royal College of Art in London, a Fellow of The Young Foundation, and a member of the Design Commission of the UK Parliament.

Wendy McNaughten, an illustrator and graphic journalist, spoke at Compostmodern 2013.

At Compostmodern, McNaughten discussed how graphic journalism and ethnographic research creates a deep picture of people and communities.

About Wendy McNaughten
Wendy MacNaughton is an illustrator and graphic journalist based in San Francisco. Her drawings appear in publications like The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Print Magazine. Her documentary series Meanwhile uses the tools of illustration, social work and ethnographic research to tell the stories of communities through drawings and the subject’s own words. An anthology of these stores is being published by Chronicle Books in 2014. She’s illustrated two other forthcoming books: Lost Cat, A True Story of Love, Desperation & GPS Technology, by Caroline Paul and Wendy MacNaughton (Bloomsbury, 2013) and The Essential Scratch & Sniff Guide to Wine, by Richard Betts (Houghton Mifflin, 2013).

She has degrees in fine art/advertising and social work from Art Center College of Design and Columbia University. When they let her, she likes to talk with students at Art Center College of Design, and she is an artist in residence at Intersection for the Arts.

Monadnock Paper Mills, which manufactures technical and specialty printing and packaging papers, recently announced the availability of an uncoated product designed specifically for craft beer made from 100 percent FSC-certified, post-consumer waste fibers.

Made in New England, home to many iconic craft brews, Monadnock says its Envi Label offers American brewers a home-grown source for label stock that upholds brewers’ commitments to quality and sustainability with no compromises in performance or aesthetics.

Monadnock claims there is usually a trade-off for an uncoated, textured feel. In order for a label to stand up to submersion and not peel, disintegrate or fall off, it usually is necessary to use mostly virgin pulp. Conversely, if brewers want to be eco-conscious, there is always a compromise in how that material stands up in the print process or in the cooler. Monadnock says its new label is the best of both worlds.

“Envi Label is unique because it’s the only product that meets our brewery’s commitments to innovative packaging as well as environmental sustainability,” said Jordan Bamforth, creative director at Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company. “It works well on our packaging line and gives us a green alternative to a standard C1S beer label.”

Monadnock’s Envi Label is available to beverage brands manufacturer-direct or through select print partners, including DWS Printing, as part of its Envi Portfolio of fiber-based paper and packaging products for sustainable brands.

Craft brewers have demonstrated a long-standing commitment to sustainability. Sierra Nevada Brewing Company and two dozen other craft brewers recently partnered with the Natural Resources Defense Council to support strong clean water policies. The “Brewers for Clean Water” campaign focuses on protecting the brewing industry’s key ingredient: clean water.

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Article by Mike Hower, an Associate Editor at Sustainable Brands who writes about companies and organizations engaged in sustainability strategy, clean technology and social entrepreneurship.

Julie Kim, a producer at Hot Studio, spoke at Compostmodern 2013.

In her talk at Compostmodern, Julie Kim made the case that we have a moral and social obligation to be design activists in our own communities first, before looking farther afield. To do so, she highlighted some successful program and business models–rooted in the U.S.’s longstanding tradition of local community service–that designers can plug into, or adopt into their own organizations, to make change right here at home.

About Julie Kim
Julie Kim is a Senior Producer at Hot Studio, an experience design company based in San Francisco and New York. At Hot, Julie works with leaders at Fortune 500’s, start-ups, and social sector clients to find the right design and technology solutions for a wide variety of challenges. She is active in shaping Hot’s social innovation practice and is passionate about applying design methods to improve healthcare, education, and local issues. Prior to Hot, Julie worked as the Public Engagement Director at SPUR, where she involved the design community in cross-sector collaboration. A self-proclaimed “recovering architect,” Julie holds a master’s degree from UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design and a bachelor’s degree from Brown University.