Having only 3 years out of school and in the workplace under my belt I am still learning the meaning of business as usual. The advantage to this is that I, and others like myself, see the business landscape with more “what if we could do this?” and less “that won’t work because…” The disadvantage, of course, is not having the experience to understand the long term effects of change. For companies to effectively go green I believe two things need to happen:

1. The newbies and the veterans need to work together to design solutions custom to their businesses. New ideas met with time tested wisdom is a terrific formula for positive and profitable change.

2. Going green needs to be cheaper or at least more cost effective. Over the last year of selling promotional marketing products to a wide range of industry I have discovered that the desire to “go green” far outweighs the need or commitment to do so. With regard to premiums and giveaways, most marketing professionals jump at a new eco-friendly item only to sit down when the price tag comes out. On the other side of the coin, the companies making these products are only doing so for the eco selling point. This means that the percent of the product that is “green” is only what the law says it needs to be…usually just 51% of the material. The question then remains: Are these really eco products and do they even offer any benefit besides the “green” branding they come with? Does the PR and goodwill of using eco promotional products outweigh the price tag?

Applying this example to other types of eco initiatives, it seems to me that the focus should not be on appearing to be eco to others, but being green because of the internal benefits. Fuel efficient buildings, decreased dependence on paper communication and time efficient work strategies should be at the foundation of the change. The rest is just icing on the cake.

We at Adaptive Path also working hard to make “green” a part of client conversations. We recently conducted our first internal design session on ways to drive a current consulting project towards more sustainable outcomes. It’s a bit messy and requires new muscles, but you’ve got to walk (or stumble) before you run.

Some of what I learned from this first session:
A great deal of what has the highest impact is out of reach of the normal interaction-design project (e.g., packaging, end-of-life, customer support), but might be a part of a service design project.
Ideas for improved sustainability need to be presented to the client based on their other benefits (e.g., efficiency, lower costs, better experience, etc.).
And it’s harder to interject green notions halfway through a project. You gotta go green through-and-through.

When we gather requirements for print design projects, they typically focus on color, layout, and means of updating–all good points. As PixelMEDIA embraces green efforts and we try to drive our clients in that direction, let’s put a new requirement on the table: green your print campaign. Recycled stock has come a long way–why not make it the rule, not the rare exception? And glossy might look great, but there’s typically no room for shininess in the recycling bin.

All good campaigns, folders, and datasheets must come to an end; let’s be involved not just at the start, but also in making that a greener, happier end.