That said, I have to ask, What are they thinking? They added the words Go Green to the end of every sentence in their PSA’s on green [ok, not quite every sentence]. Reminds me of the childhood game where you add the same phrase to the end of every sentence you and your friends utter, creating nonsensical, ridiculous and hilarious combination.

It makes me wonder…..with all the smart people at NBC, and all the resources at their disposal, Is this the best we can expect from a national media company when it speaks about green?

Green business has unique challenges. There is a lot of noise in the green space and a lot of companies claiming to be green. As an Eco business owner, you need to establish yourself as a credible green company as well as stand out from the crowd. Even a responsible company can be suspected of greenwashing if it doesn’t communicate clearly with all stake holders both internally and externally.

Green business is also good business. What are the attributes that make any business successful? What do you need to do in order to insure that your business is credible, sustainable and profitable?

Join us for a informative overview of the best green business practices and how simple systems and tools can keep your business running smoothly and profitably*. Learn how to create your money making, less stress blueprint for 2010. For information and registration: http://greenbusinesssuccessblueprint.eventbrite.com/

This call will be recorded, and sent out after the event.

* these are some of the same simple tools and systems that we use in our upcoming Green Business Success Blueprint coaching program created by Jane Tabachnick – starting on October 13th. For more information visit: http://www.janetabachnick.com

For sustainable organizations, the website is even more critical to your business; it holds the key to your reputation.

Take for example the company running an advertising campaign that touts their green product line. In an effort to get more information about the company and products you visit their website. There is little or no information to support their ad campaign. Your conclusion could easily be that the company is greenwashing. This may not in fact be the case, but the perception of greenwash or even just a suspicion, can be as damaging to your reputation as the act of intentionally misleading the public.

Take the “Good Green Website Survey” and let us know if this has happened to you.

The good green website has to do better than most companies are doing. Even those businesses with firm environmental or 3BL commitments, policies and products fail to provide appropriate supporting information online. Or if it is online, it is not easy to find. I think of it as the great green scavenger hunt. Most visitors are going to leave your site before finding the information they are seeking, never to return.

Here are the keys to a “good green website”:

• Easy to find information
• Multiple ways to find the information [home page, about us, product pages….]
• Varying degrees of detail – appropriate for specific audience [architects and consumers may need different levels of information]
• Data supporting claims
• Contact information for further details [human answered is best]
• 3rd party verification wherever possible

The Green Challenges concurs that companies are falling short on their websites and need to do better stating: “There is a breakdown in communication of sustainability programs and policies from leadership to employees, stakeholders and consumers.”

A large part of the success of sustainability programs is in the corporate communications both internally and externally. The website, therefore is the perfect and necessary tool to be the epicenter of company’s sustainability programs and success.
Note: our StandForGreen™ marketing tool makes is easy for your website to communicate your green message.

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This post originally appeared as a Guest Blog on The Green Challenges http://www.thegreenchallenges.com