In this post:
it is “How You Vote/Buy”,
People must be convinced that it is good for them personally,
What would it be like if everyone in the world used 2% less gas?,
the Spirit of “positive advertising”,
promote Eco-Ethical USER EXPERIENCE,
advertising slogans, take advantage of some old ideas,
…a list at the bottom of other posts about the UX of eco-ethical actions
The first step toward change is awareness.
The second step is acceptance.
Nathaniel Branden
The next step is DO IT!
We the population of planet Earth are aware. We have accepted. Some of us have accepted so much that many are eco-anxious. Many feel helpless, powerless, hopeless to be able to change things.
Let those of us in business concentrate, now, on positive ways to convince and encourage ourselves to ACT!
To do what-ever we can!
To change our habits!
An “eco-ad channel” for every product & services’ marketing strategy.
The point I want to make is that since every business has ups and downs in marketing, and you can stablize your marketing strategy by diversifying , add an “eco-ad channel” to help us consumers accept, re-think and re-do. We ALL need to become eco-consumers. If every business would add a regular “climate change campaign” to their marketing, it would help all of us as consumers get on board and help your business diversify.
You may be familiar with some or all of what I refer to in this post. I feel that repetition can remind us of ways to help any business focus part of their marketing campaigns to promote good eco-shopping habits.
How does your product/service help reduce Greenhouse Gases (GHG)? How can you use such an “eco-channel” to promote your product/service? B2C or B2B
In my opinion it is “How You Vote”.
If you are reading this post, then I imagine that you are one of the growing number of people that has accepted the fact that there is a temperature ticking time bomb. It would be so good if everyone would get involved at least a little.
Businesses helping people master the art of “climate conscious buying” would help the most.
How you vote, is “How You Buy.”
- TerraCycle’s CEO, Tom Szaky says, “We don’t give ourselves enough credit as individual consumers for how powerful we really are. The role of these major retailers and consumer product companies is to get us what we want in the best and most affordable way. They are really a reflection of our desires. So, if we start to desire things that create less waste and are more “circular”, these companies will produce more of those things. We vote multiple times a day with money on the future we want. I think many people do not realise just how powerful that buy/vote that they cast is.”
- Virginie Helias, from Procter & Gamble’s said of wasteful packaging: it is “becoming a deterrent to purchases.”
Not buying – deprives the bad boys of sales and profit.
You can not get people to buy/vote, unless they are convinced that it is good for them personally. You need to show that buying your product or service is a vote for our planet and is our self-interest.
There are a lot of people that still have not figured this out. Look at the protests in Paris. They started because people do not want to pay more for gas, although gas is the Number 1 item we need to stop using. (Lets not go into what has happened in those protests.) In the beginning we know why they protested, but do they realise what they were doing? Do they know what it means to them and their families?
PARIS (Reuters) – Commuters scrambled to fix up old bicycles, reserve carpool rides and arrange emergency childcare … A year or so later, France is doing exactly what they should have done instead of start protests. They had to be forced and, of course, it will not last……
I do not argue that people need transportation. If they need their car, they need to buy gas, but maybe we could all learn to buy just a little less of it. Not because the gas is cheaper, but because we used another way to get there. Could we all get used to this? If we did get used to 2% less, could we go further and get used to buying 3% less gas? Each of us.
What would it be like if everyone in the world used 2% less gas?
- Let us say that there are 1.5 Billion cars in the world.
- Let us say that a year’s worth of gas per car costs ~$1500. That would require $2250000000000 per year for gas world wide.
- 2% of $2250000000000 is $45,000,000,000 that the oil/gas industry would loose if everyone bought 2% less gas.
- We know that Americans spend less on gas that most places… [One article says that they paid about $2400 a year for gas in 2014 and only $1400 in 2016, and about $1500 a year in 2017.]
- Let’s take $2000 for this scenario. So if each person worldwide walked or something else and paid 2% less for gas in a year, that would be only $40 less off our gas budget.
- $40 less gas for each of us versus $45,000,000,000 less for the oil/gas industry.
- A significant vote. that is a 1 : 1125000000 ratio.
And it is happening, but not yet in France. Plunging fossil fuel revenues should push Indonesia to accelerate its clean energy revolution
China can do it, but how about where people vote?
Democracy is based on the majority vote. The majority is made up of people that are aware and have accepted. Social scientists have found that when one person makes a “sustainability-oriented” decision, other people do too. But everyone is more likely to make this decision if the vote/the buy also follows their personal comfort, needs, and whims. Is it a friendly Eco-Ethical USER EXPERIENCE?
A late December 2018 BBC article, asked some of the more urgent questions.
Limit the use of fossil fuels.
You can. Individuals need to exercise their rights both as citizens and as consumers. Shop your Vote. But also Vote your vote. Elections will put pressure on governments to direct companies to change.
Going without a fossil fuel car.
That’s a big one, too. If cattle were their own nation, they would be the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, after China and the US. You don’t have to go vegetarian or vegan to make a difference: By reducing your consumption of animal protein by half, you can cut your diet’s carbon footprint by more than 40%.
In the Spirit of “positive advertising”
It’s pretty clear that going green has its advantages for the planet. But in a lot of ways, it’s also about saving each consumer a ton of money, both directly in what they purchase, and in-directly in the results of using what they purchase. You waste less energy and thus save money on heating, gas, electricity, personal health and maybe from extreme weather events. It helps the planet and us inhabitants when we go green.
In the spirit of positive influence, convincing, helping and encouraging…. let us look at words that could be used to promote Eco-Ethical USER EXPERIENCE.
How do your advertise a sustainable housing development?
Sheer Living pleasure – a state-of-the-art community building project
Cooling or heating at minimum cost – energy efficient design
Smart water use – 10,000 litres rainwater storage per house for gardens and toilets
Clean Energy – 2.5 kilowatts – solar energy per home
Food gardens – grow your own
Active lifestyle – lot of walking, jogging and cycling paths
Natural wildlife – Coastal and Woodland habitats
How do your advertise electric cars?
Get the Sensation!
Break a Guinness World Record with your cost efficient electric car.
How do your advertise Ocean Power
Watts in the water?
Wave energy to create electricity for our homes.
Think Different, Think Ocean Power !
Harvest the ocean’s power?
Cuba Does, why can’t we?
How do your advertise turbine wind energy savings?
Can every building harvest energy from the wind?
Is it better to use solar energy or wind energy to power your home?
Lower your electricity bills by 50%–90% with a Small wind electric system.
Cut home expenses with a solar water heater and a wind turbine on your roof.
Does your electric company lower your electric bills with wind? You can!
How do you advertise local shipping?
Life is full of surprises >> Is the shipping cost more than the item you ordered?
Looking for ways to trim shipping costs?
What the …? I’m actually losing money on the shipping !
A third-party logistics (3PL) company can improve delivery by providing a geographic footprint that most e-commerce companies could not afford on their own.
It can automate the order delivery process using powerful algorithms that route each order to the most logistical handling center. As each order is shipped, the tracking information and each step of the shipping process is sent to your store and shared with your customer.
How do your promote “eco-ethical air travel”?
Which airline is most conscious of their air pollution. Hydrogen planes?
Take a nonstop flight – uses the least fuel. More expensive, but More Comfortable.
Lower the window shades to help keep the aircraft cool.
Give yourself cleaner wings >> Offset Your flying Footprint with the airline you use, the class you fly and more….find out how!
Economy class is the best carbon-footprint option, for the same reasons as carpooling and public transportation.
Another place to buy offsets for your flight travel.
How do your advertise train travel.
Are you in a hurry?? or can you take the Hydrogen train and save a little money?
A top-notch train sleeper service costs far less than a first-class plane ticket!
No airport security when you take the train!
Your luggage will not get lost by someone else on a train!
You can bring as much luggage as you can carry on a train!
More time to fall in love on a train!
How do your advertise the health of renewable energy?
Consumers of electricity will find air “cleaner” and their bills dropping slow but steady over the next 4 years as suppliers forecast in their price levels the phase out of the federal Production Tax Credit through 2024.
Human Cost of Coal Power!
If you live near a power station, have you checked you family’s health costs lately?
The value of your house will go up, if the power station near you stops burning coal.
Have your health costs gone up since living near a Coal-fired power plant?
Choking Our Health Care System With Coal!
The unpaid health bill: How coal power stations make us sick
Looking for the right advertising slogan.
Why not reuse the ones that have been around for years? Make a few word changes and take advantage of some old ideas in a new way…….
- Electric Cars relieve gas pains
- Peak Car? Soon there will be 2 kinds of people. Those who drive, and those who travel some other way.
- Think outside yourself – Eco-Ethical Shopping
- Look Ma, no waste!
- The ability to re-think….The power of Dreams
- Built for the planet Earth, by the Human Race
- Engineered to stir the human mind….
- Engineered for “everythings'” comfort…..
- If you want to capture someone’s attention, listen.
- Fly the cleaner skies
- Lot’s of things have changed using the FoodCloud APP, ………..for the better.
- Making the sky the best place on Earth – Solar Impulse
- It’s all in the mix! From captured CO2 in pellets to clean transportation fuel!
- Promise them anything, but give them clean air.
So ask yourself some of the Eco-Ethical questions about your product/service, below. Build an ad campaign that will give customers a friendly Eco-Ethical USER EXPERIENCE !
- How does your product/service help planet Earth?
- What ECO problem do you solve for your customers?
- How does your background or product/service set you apart from your competitors? Why should your prospects buy from you instead of them?
- Is there a unique eco-story behind your product/Service?
- ECO Words that best describe your company/product/service
- Describe your ideal customer’s ECO needs. Is it good for my budget? Good for my family? Is it good for the planet?
- What is the primary ECO message you want to convey to your customers?
- Which Brands inspire you? What do you like best about them?
- Where is your product/service in the cause of minimal environmental harm.
- What is your business’s carbon footprint and how are you lessening that footprint on the environment?
- How does your business/product/service support eco-friendly and sustainable communities. Reinvest in the Community
- How do you Practice What you Preach – remember a company perceived as committed to sustainability and sound environmental policies gains the good graces of consumers. But be transparent – work through your product’s life cycle.
- What 3rd-party support can you use? Popular and credible forms of third-party support include eco-labels, environmental product declarations and certifications. The surest route to avoiding the label of a “greenwasher” can be to avoid using green claims altogether. Eco-aware or not, your consumers want to know how products can benefit them personally and their environment.
- Look at the questions, a carbon footprint calculator asks and see if your product/service answers them.
This is a series of posts about promoting Eco-Ethical USER EXPERIENCE (UX) to ward off the “temperature ticking time-bomb”. Can we make it easier for us all to master the art of “climate conscious buying”?
The Words
The Eco-Anxiety
Product Design Review – Form should still follow Function
The APPs – The different kinds
>Transportation APPs
>Clothing, etc. APPs
>Food APPs
>Carbon Footprint and more kinds of APPs
The Gases
Pulling in the Excess CO2