Highlights from Sustainable Brands 2011

Several of us from Shelton are in Monterey this week at the annual Sustainable Brands conference. As always, there’s a lot to digest and we’ve got a couple more days to go…so here are some random musings and highlights thus far:

–       We announced new research with John Marshall Roberts that overlays worldviews with our consumer segments to reveal the deeper reasons behind WHY people do what they do. It’s causing a little buzz, but we’re just starting to analyze the research. Look for a white paper (maybe in the spirit of true sustainability we should call it an unbleached white paper) later this summer. You’ll learn how to laser focus the right message to the right audience and, thus, create long-term behavior change.

–       Before the Philadelphia Eagles partnered with the Natural Resources Defense Council to green their operations, they were buying their paper products – including toilet paper for the stadium – from an endangered eagle habitat. To the team owners’ credit, that stopped as soon as it came to light.

–       GE’s massive ecomagination program started when a group of nuns called the investor relations department to say they were considering their investment options and wanted to know how much of what GE made was green.

–       HP’s working on the next generation of sensors. If the internet is the brain, it’s deaf, dumb and numb. Sensors will add a new dimension of awareness to the central nervous system for the Earth, ultimately creating smarter, more efficient, more sustainable systems.

–       The number one question at one major company when recruiting new employees is:  how does sustainability intersect with business?

–       It’s important to build microcultures into larger corporate cultures and encourage “intrapreneurship” – innovation centers within bigger organizations.

–       There are four kinds of gamers: killers, achievers, socializers and explorers. Most Americans are socializers, but killers are the most engaged.

Friends, there’s lots more. If you want the latest, follow me on Twitter at @barneshead.