As I predicted last Fall, talk of “greenwashing” is intensifying. Our Relationship Manager Ed Wargo handed me an article from Fast Company today, one of many taking “green marketers” to task for being disingenuous (or perhaps naively simplistic) in the way they use environmentally-friendly topics for marketing purposes. Many of you may have only recently heard of the term “greenwashing”, but as of this writing Google shows 307,000 hits for it, and I predict the number will rise. We work with companies that market the environmental benefits of paperless bills, statements and checks, helping them understand which consumers are turned on (or off!) by this approach or providing data on projected benefits to use in campaigns. What I like most about this approach is the partnership between company and consumer, which hopefully will spur even more activity that just happens to pay for itself in the bottom line while eliminating a traditional security risk. Where I think banks and tech vendors run into trouble is in failing to understand just what a passionate bunch environmentalists are. I’ll once again cite a particular relative of mine who now works as an environmentalist by trade; formerly she was quite literally served as a volunteer human shield for individuals in troubled Central American dictatorships that had been served with death threats by the secret police. You might say this individual has unusual passion, which is exactly whatbank marketers are up against if their green campaign becomes labeled as “greenwashing” in the 6:00 news.

Bottom line, I see green marketing as a good long term trend, allowing many companies and their customers to do well by doing good. Yet this issue has unusual implications that may be deeper and more profound than marketers may be used to. Bottom line, its not as simple as it looks on the surface, but has a great deal of potential. My advice: know the audience and know the issues in order to achieve your goals of doing well by doing good.