Mall

Communicating to consumers that a product has an environmental benefit can be a difficult and complex issue.  Trying to explain all of the reasons why the product is better due to sustainable features such as using recycled materials, having a low-carbon footprint, being organic or being locally sourced is a complicated and long list.  That is why a lot of products use of one of the many icons, certifications or 3^rd party endorsements available, and there are many to choose from.  A quick Google Image search turned up these 6.

All are an attempt to quickly communicate that the product is “better for the environment”.  One of the best examples of making a complex sustainability message easy to understand is LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental and Design.  This is the sustainable building certification process created and managed by the US Green Building Council in the United States.  One of the most visible aspects of the program to the average consumer are the plaques that a building owner is entitled to put on the front of their building to communicate to everyone going by that this building is a LEED certified building.  This, like all icons, allows the consumer to instantly understand that this building is better for the environment than one that is not certified by LEED.

Being familiar with these plaques and seeing more and more of them in the States, I was perplexed on our recent stop in Singapore.  As we walked through a couple of the malls in the downtown area, including City Square Mall,  I saw signs and even plasma televisions extolling the many features that were designed into these new buildings to make them more environmentally friendly.  They also included the measurable impact, i.e. tons of carbon saved, swimming pools of water saved, etc. as part of the consumer education campaign.  What I did not see was any communication of what official certification, if any, the mall had achieved.  It led me to do some digging to see if Singapore in fact did have a sustainable building certification process similar to LEED in the US.  Turns out they do in fact have quite a robust process, Green Mark, that has been in place since 2005, and they even have a pretty good logo.   My question is why are they not better at branding their achievements?

It seems that the lesson of the Hybrid Honda Civic has not been shared with the leadership of the BCA (Building and Construction Authority), which oversees Green Mark in Singapore.  Part of what makes the Prius so successful in the US is that the car is a rolling statement by the driver.  It is a status symbol, pure green consumer social capital that is awfully hard to miss as the car has such a distinctive design.   The first generation Hybrid Honda Civic, however, looked exactly the same as the non-hybrid car, the only difference being a small badge on the back. The result, as of April 2008, is that despite a much lower price, Hybrid Honda Civics have sold 80% fewer cars than the Prius[1].  Consumers that are looking for a more environmentally sustainable product, especially with a significant purchase such as a car, house or office space, want to ensure that the premium they paid for an environmentally superior choice sends a message, so making that message easy to communicate and understand is critical.

I would offer that a major success for LEED in the States has been the effective marketing they do jointly with developers and building owners to promote their certification.   A major contributor of the value for the building owner is the LEED certification, as it helps to command higher rents and attract increased numbers of potential tenants.  Green Mark needs to quickly invest in establishing their band to ensure they continue to provide value to the developers that choose to go through the certification process.

What do you think?  If you were to invest in a more sustainable purchase, like a car, house, or office space, would you want to ensure it was easy to talk about it?

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