TakeBack America: Making the Case

Dec 04 2009 ∞
“ If you put an energy meter inside a home and show people total usage in real time, a miraculous thing happens: they use about 10 percent less energy. The simple act of placing data in front of people changes their behavior. Data makes people smarter and inspires them to make small changes to save money and energy. You can use this powerful tool in business not only to cut costs, but to drive innovation and revenues.
— Andrew Winston
Nov 15 2009 ∞
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Although right now the Middle East has no comprehensive legislation or rules governing e-waste management, the region is waking up to the challenge and has started doing its bit to manage e-waste more effectively.

And the good news is that even the private sector here is coming on board. Habiba Al Marashi, Chairperson, Emirates Environmental Group (EEG), told Emirates Business: “The country is beginning to address the e-waste challenge by focusing on different types of e-waste such as cellular phones, used batteries and old computers. The private sector is taking a lead role in this regard by initiating take-back programmes for certain electronic devices as part of their corporate social responsibility. This has been the practice in other countries and the feasibility of adopting a similar system is being studied by different entities.”
— Middle East Braces to Meet the Challenge of E-waste | ewasteguide.info
Nov 11 2009 ∞
Edelman global consumer study finds that “83% of people are willing to change consumption habits if it can help make the world a better place to live, indicating a startling consumer shift and trend away from traditional status markers like big houses and luxury cars and toward identification with social purpose brands…. Sixty-three (63)% of all respondents are looking to brands and companies to make it easier for them to make a difference, with Brazil having the highest expectations at 86%… …study results suggest that in both harsh and rebounding economies, brands will continue to benefit from identifying and contributing to a positive social purpose that makes sense for their business, with 64% of people globally saying they would recommend a brand that supports a good cause (up from 52% in 2008, and in the U.S., up 16 points from 47% in 2008 to 63% this year).”

Edelman global consumer study finds that “83% of people are willing to change consumption habits if it can help make the world a better place to live, indicating a startling consumer shift and trend away from traditional status markers like big houses and luxury cars and toward identification with social purpose brands….

Sixty-three (63)% of all respondents are looking to brands and companies to make it easier for them to make a difference, with Brazil having the highest expectations at 86%…

…study results suggest that in both harsh and rebounding economies, brands will continue to benefit from identifying and contributing to a positive social purpose that makes sense for their business, with 64% of people globally saying they would recommend a brand that supports a good cause (up from 52% in 2008, and in the U.S., up 16 points from 47% in 2008 to 63% this year).”

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In Japan, Even the Barcodes Are Well Designed | Fast Company

In Japan, Even the Barcodes Are Well Designed | Fast Company

Nov 09 2009 ∞

Consumers Need More Green Awareness | MediaPost

From a report by Ipsos MediaCT: “…few technology purchasing consumers are aware of specific environmental policies and practices of technology firms, despite the efforts of companies and the accolades in the media. Though few are aware of specifics, environmentally friendly policies and programs are becoming more top of mind for U.S. consumers when making technology related purchase decisions…

…Mike Bellmont, Senior Vice President with  Ipsos MediaCT who issued the report, said “… a lot of work has been done to build and institute environmental policies and processes (by tech companies), but the information still needs to reach consumers in terms they can relate to.

…44% of consumers did not associate any technology brand tested with having green or environmentally friendly business practices in 2009 compared to 2007, when 55% did not associate any technology companies. Even Apple and Microsoft, the greenest rated consumer firms, were only associated with environmentally friendly business practices by fewer than one in four consumers”

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The Promise of Multichannel Retailing - McKinsey Quarterly “For all the difficulty retailers have experienced in the past year, online sales have continued to be a bright spot: while overall sales have generally fallen in the United States, online sales have actually been increasing since the start of 2009.2 In fact, the percentage of total sales made online continues to increase, and our research also shows that more and more consumers are using the Internet to investigate products they later buy in stores. By 2011, we believe the Internet will play a role in more than 45 percent of US retail sales, as either a research tool or a sales channel. What’s more, consumers who shop across a number of channels—physical stores, the Internet, and catalogs—spend about four times more annually than those who shop in just one (exhibit). Companies that get multichannel retailing right can enjoy larger profit margins and yearly revenue growth more than 100 basis points higher than companies that don’t.”

The Promise of Multichannel Retailing - McKinsey Quarterly

“For all the difficulty retailers have experienced in the past year, online sales have continued to be a bright spot: while overall sales have generally fallen in the United States, online sales have actually been increasing since the start of 2009.2 In fact, the percentage of total sales made online continues to increase, and our research also shows that more and more consumers are using the Internet to investigate products they later buy in stores. By 2011, we believe the Internet will play a role in more than 45 percent of US retail sales, as either a research tool or a sales channel. What’s more, consumers who shop across a number of channels—physical stores, the Internet, and catalogs—spend about four times more annually than those who shop in just one (exhibit). Companies that get multichannel retailing right can enjoy larger profit margins and yearly revenue growth more than 100 basis points higher than companies that don’t.”

Nov 06 2009 ∞

Australia Approves "Historic" National E-waste Program for 2011

Australia’s environment ministers have today endorsed a new national waste policy, which will establish a landmark scheme for recycling televisions and computers.

At today’s meeting of the Environment Protection and Heritage Council in Perth, the ministers set out the first-ever framework to address resource recovery and waste management on a national level.

Under the new policy, which is targeting the mounting problem of e-waste as the first area for action, by 2011 householders will be able to drop off used computers and television sets for recycling, free of charge.

In 2007-08, 16.8 million televisions, computers and computer products reached their end of life, with 84 per cent sent to landfill. Only 10 per cent were recycled. “If Australia were to continue without any form of product stewardship scheme, projections suggest that approximately 44 million televisions and computers would be discarded in 2028, ” said Environment Minister Peter Garrett, in a statement announcing the national waste policy.

“Under the new product stewardship scheme, 80 per cent of all TVs and computers are expected to be recycled by 2021.”

The new waste policy essentially outlines Government support for what will be an industry-led e-waste collection and recycling scheme, which will see manufacturers and importers taking responsibility for their goods from cradle to grave.

For industry and community organisations that voluntarily run computer and television take-back and recycling schemes, the Government will provide an accreditation scheme so that the community can be sure what they recycle through those programs will be reused or recycled in an ethical and environment-safe way.

For non-participants in the scheme, the Government will work to ensure their products and actions comply with the same standards as voluntary participants in the scheme, ensuring that “free-riders” are unable to gain a financial advantage over those companies that willingly contribute to recycling their own products.

Nov 04 2009 ∞
www.americarecyclesday.org - America Recycles Day

www.americarecyclesday.org - America Recycles Day

Nov 01 2009 ∞

Ask An E-Waste Expert

The Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI), hosted by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC), has announced the availability of its online “Ask an Expert” service for the submission of questions related to electronics and their environmental impacts.

Oct 30 2009 ∞

Sony Increases Affiliate Sales by 39 Percent

A recent report from Jupiter Research predicts that online consumer electronic sales will be $6.1 billion by 2009 - nearly 10 percent of all consumer electronic sales. The report also states that online consumer electronic shoppers spend almost twice as much as the average online consumer.

So what is the challenge for online marketers? It’s finding the right online channel for reaching lifelong customers. With the number of different online channels available, marketers increasingly look to focus their efforts and budgets on those that yield the highest return on investment.

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