Marketers take note – the 2nd annual Green Marketing Conference is approaching. With all eyes on the changing economic environment, this is an event to mark in your calendar.

On Oct. 22 and 23 at The Old Mill Inn in Toronto, smart companies with leading marketers will be learning and sharing ways to build sales and brand equity through the strategic marketing of sustainable practices and greener products.

Our very own Scott McDougall, President and CEO of TerraChoice Environmental Marketing will be leading the discussions as Chairperson of this year’s event, which includes presentations from companies such as Toyota Canada Inc. and Unilever Canada.

Scott will also be asking the question, “Can Science be Sexy?” during his presentation on balancing the rigour and resonance in environmental marketing. He will look at some of TerraChoice’s clients including Attitude, Sunoco, OxiBrite, Nature Clean and others, to explore how some companies are navigating the pitfalls of false claims and are achieving great marketing successes by making green claims that are scientifically defensible.

Visit www.opendialogueinc.com for more information and to register for the conference.

* TerraChoice clients and friends - take advantage of a discounted rate by quoting “GM-TC” at the time of registration and receive $300 off the regular conference fee.

Consumed at a rapid rate in offices, paper is often the first product organizations focus on when they decide to ‘go green.’

As part of the paper making process, trees, water, and energy are consumed and by-products such as hazardous waste and greenhouse gases are emitted.

To bridge the gap between the need for paper and its effects on the environment, The Responsible Purchasing Network at the non-profit Center for a New American Dream has come up with a Guide for Copy Paper to help purchasers keep costs and paper consumption down. The guide contains best practices from how to increase paper efficiency to recycling; looking at cost, quality and supply; model policies; minimum specifications for copy paper; how to look for standards and certifications as well as access to a database of eco-labeled paper products such as those that are EcoLogo, CFPA and Green Seal certified.

“What the Guide to Copy Paper does is demonstrate how switching to improved environmental papers saves money and paper. It’s about increasing efficiency,” says Chris O’Brien, Director of the Responsible Purchasing Network.

RPN’s site, www.responsiblepurchasing.org, also features a Paper Calculator that was developed by the Environmental Defense Fund. This tool helps companies to quantify the benefits of making better choices when it comes to copy paper selection and use.

Check back for more online tools to help measure your company’s resource consumption.

North America’s largest cleaning show, ISSA, took place in Las Vegas, NV, last week and the attention “green” cleaning received was incredible.

Eco-labels were out in force at the Las Vegas Convention Center and exhibitors included Green Seal, Design for the Environment (DfE), Chlorine Free Products Association (CFPA) and our very own EcoLogo.

Scot Case, Vice President of TerraChoice, was a speaker at the show and his presentation on how to sell “green” cleaning without greenwashing really hit the mark. A look around the tradeshow floor revealed many companies making green claims without any supporting evidence.

Attendees at ISSA also got a sneak-peek at the August 2008 EcoMarkets Janitorial & Sanitation Products Study, which is full of highly relevant findings to assist manufacturers, suppliers and marketers of “green” cleaning products to properly position their products in the marketplace to win customers and increase market share.

For more about the EcoMarkets Janitorial & Sanitation Products Study, contact ecomarkets@terrachoice.com.

Check this out… Prepress and printing services provider Colour Innovations out of Toronto recently launched a new section on their website: Environmental Responsibility. It is amazing!

Complete with an Eco Tool section featuring calculators for print buyers to measure their carbon/ecological footprint and replete with eco-print lingo, this site is full of resources to help inform users and hopefully help them to make more environmentally preferable choices.

One tool visitors to this site should make sure to explore is the section “10 important questions to ask print suppliers.” From printers’ environmental certifications to their environmental and health policies, there are many factors that contribute to greener and more sustainable printing and Colour Innovations wants consumers to get the facts before choosing their printer.

Colour Innovations also received the Most Environmentally Progressive Printer in Canada (50 to 100 employees) award in 2007, was the first printer in Ontario to be EcoLogo-certified in 1997, and is certified by the four leading responsible forestry organizations – Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Rainforest Alliance (RA), Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), and Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI).

When we asked Colour Innovations President Matthew Alexander what made him decide to green his company’s site, he replied, “We haven’t just greened our website, we’ve greened our entire company. More than ten years ago we decided that we had to be responsible corporate citizens and do what we could to reduce our environmental footprint so we became the first printer in Ontario to be EcoLogo-certified. Today we’re an environmental leader in the printing industry and we are attracting a growing number of customers who share our philosophy and want their company’s print products to be as green as possible.”

We’re sold!

www.colourinnovations.com

The largest annual cleaning tradeshow in North America is taking place next week and the EcoLogo team will be hitting the road to show exhibitors how to put the “green” into clean.

From September 8-11, ISSA/INTERCLEAN® North America will be taking over the Las Vegas Convention Center in Nevada. The theme is “Business not as Usual” and we would have to agree.

New at this year’s show is a Green Connection Pavillion where eco-labeling programs such as EcoLogo and the Chlorine Free Products Association (CFPA) as well as environmentally preferable cleaning product manufacturers will be sharing their sustainable ideas and services.

The EcoLogo Program is especially excited to be making its August 2008 EcoMarkets Janitorial & Sanitation Products Study available at this year’s show. The results from this study help Jan/San purchasing professionals to better understand what drives purchasing decisions and what purchasers expect from environmentally preferable cleaning products, creating the opportunity for greater market share.

For more about the EcoMarkets Janitorial & Sanitation Products Study, contact ecomarkets@terrachoice.com and check back for news from the show.

We have some exciting news to share…

TerraChoice Environmental Marketing and the Chlorine Free Products Association (CFPA) have announced that CFPA is joining forces with the EcoLogo Program, demonstrating how eco-labels can work toward a common goal.

“The harmonization of these two certifications will mean easier decision-making for purchasing professionals and greater sustainability in the working environment,” says Scott McDougall, President and CEO of TerraChoice Environmental Marketing, which manages the EcoLogo Program.

The EcoLogo Program is expanding its presence in the United States and, with its new partnership with CFPA, will be providing businesses with regional expertise in the Chicago area along with its existing office in Philadelphia.

What does this partnership mean for EcoLogo and CFPA clients? It represents additional benefits for environmental leaders, including discounted audit/verification and licensing fees for clients who seek both certifications as well as a single audit for both certifications. Both EcoLogo and CFPA currently have standards for bath, tissue and copy papers.

Archie Beaton, Executive Director of CFPA, adds, “This new relationship between CFPA and EcoLogo will result in cost savings to those operating in the pulp, paper, packaging and printing markets while providing added value for companies looking to promote their environmental performance under the sustainable manufacturing initiative.”