Uh, maybe they should've thought this one through...

Julia Hughes from the Environmental Business Council of New England sends this along:

"I thought you’d get a kick out of this. (See attached.) A pro-environment button arriving in a non-recycled, bubble-lined envelope? (Costing about a buck to ship no less and apparently mass-mailed.) The hypocrisy!"

I tried to do a little research on this group Pedestrians for Obama, and apparently, it's just a button you can order from a democratic web site (I'm not pushing politics here, so if you want one, do your own research). Strange - it's pretty much an oxymoron, doncha think?

A summit's missed opportunity

A little off the sustainability track, but I noticed a opportunity for a conference to make extra $ and wow attendees go unnoticed.

So, I attended the New Marketing Summit at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro MA - the only 1 kinda-negative I've been hearing is that several panelists turned their time to educate into an info-mercial, and that several exhibitors were given an opportunity to present their services in an agenda slot. Sigh. I paid 2k for my employee and I to attend, and with that I expect to hear only expert knowledge - especially when the topics where geared towards collaborations and not interruption!

Digression: I got the ipod touch at the conference (yeah, I paid for it), and when it was handed to me, I asked one of the conference planners if it was pre-loaded with any podcasts or vlogs, to which they responded with an emphatic 'no'. No? Really?

Instead of charging attendees for an ipod, NMS08 could've:
- allowed speakers and exhibitors pre-load podcasts or vlogs onto each ipod for a fee

- eliminated the cost to the attendee (the ipod sponsorship would pay for this)

- eliminated having exhibitors speak at the conference (this is what the exhibit floor is for!)


I would have loved to have a podcast from CC Chapman or Christopher S. Penn (neither of which were given enough time and were brilliant) or even David Meerman Scott.

Other than this, I was very impressed and look forward to the NMS09!

The Extra Paper Card

I have an 18 and 1/2 inch neck. Yup, pretty girthy and not the easiest to find shirt sizes for, but wow does it come in handy for this example.

My 2 year old has a cold, so I ran to CVS to get her some children's Tylenol. Ok - you see that - 1 item. The cashier asked for my Extra Care Card, scans it, and out slithers a python-length receipt:




I told you my neck was big - but as you can see the receipt is slightly bigger. Then, the cashier bursts into sing-song:

Wow! You've got some coupons!

...for the Abreva pump. How did they figure I had cold sores from buying children's Tylenol? Anyway, they have my e-mail addy from when I signed up for the Extra Care Card, why don't they e-mail me the coupons and let me decide which one's I want?

I must be missing something; I mean with an international focus on being environmentally conscious, why do I continue to easily stumble upon high profile corporate leaders blatantly disregarding their responsibility?

Virtual Tree Killer

This one doesn't make a lot of sense...

Ebay sends me an e-mail telling me that my custom catalog of rare finds will be arriving in the mail soon. Ok. So it arrives, and the only thing custom about it is that it has my name on it:

Wow. My name. The inside just has a bunch of electronics and clothes and handbags from 'powersellers'. How is geared towards me? I never buy any of those things on ebay. I buy Star Wars toys. That's it. If it were a catalog full of Star Wars memorabilia, I would definitely open and look, but wouldn't most of the auctions be over by the time I logged onto ebay?

Nevermind the environmental impact -they sent out thousands of these 'custom' mailers and they're not even printed on FSC approved paper nor do they use soy ink. Better yet,

Why didn't the e-mail just link me to my custom page?

In an age where people want their info now, why did I have to wait for a bulk mailer? At least I got to see my name...

Bring out another basket...

So I'm guilted into grocery shopping 10 minutes before kick-off on Sunday. To make matters worse, I had to stand in a deli line 6 people deep, the majority eligible for AARP2 cards. As I'm standing there stewing in my own contempt for shopping, I noticed something a bit disturbing; no, not the potato salad from yesterday nor the cows tongue in the case. Nope - something unsustainably upsetting. I'll explain.

Remember going to the deli and pulling that little tab that had a number that would hold your place in line? Well, nowadays they have a machine with a huge button, and when you push said button, an equally large piece of paper shoots out with a gi-normous number on it, no doubt an advantage for my geriatric line buddies. HOWEVER! To get back to the unsettling observation, I noticed a basket filled with these tp square-sized sheets of paper. Brimming if you will. Of the workers noticed how full it was and called to another worker:

"Hey Ellie, bring out another basket!"

Wait, another basket? Why not empty the first? And, whoa, where are they emptying the first? Yup, you guessed it. The same trash they throw the ham stubs into.

What makes me even more puzzled is the fact that this same shop has a computer where you can enter your deli order (no print out) and you will be called when it is ready. They also have those hand scanners where you can scan all of your items as you shop and keep on your budget (also allow for a faster check out).

How can they have 2 extremely sustainable practices in place, but take 2 major leaps back with the machine that prints billboards (compared to the pull-tabs) that will eventually go in the universal trash?

As a steering member of RISE (Responsibility in Sustaining our Environment), my sustainable senses are heighted by such inconsistencies. The good thing is, I can write about them in hopes to influence others.

Live Blog: No way out...or is there?

It almost seems like common sense - if there's an emergency in your business, train your people to know all egresses - not just the obvious one.

I'm sitting at Bentley College at a Triumvirate Environmental Industrial roundtable, and Rick Foote is talking about emergency response planning. He gave a great example of something so obvious, but most of us would never think about:

When an emergency happens, most people go to the only exit they know of - we are creatures of habit. Now, take away that one exit and what happens? PANIC!!!

He suggests performing regular training drills that not only clearly defines all egresses, but randomly takes one away during the drill.

Yeah, that's a little excessive...

My sister had a broken toilet. The arm that pulls the chain when you flush decided it no longer wanted to be part of that scene anymore and needed to be replaced. So, I went to Lowes' Hardware and picked up a new arm. This is the only thing I purchased from Lowes' - 1 toilet arm, $4.18. 1 thing. No gum. No nails. Just the toilet arm. This is the receipt that printed out after I used the self-checkout:


Look at the size of that thing - who needs that much paper for a $4.18 purchase? It's enormous! It's taller than Mike Dale, Justin Raymond and John Menzigian:
It's even taller than this freakish-ly tall British man:


The question is, how many rolls of register tape do they go through each day on each system? Talk about socially unconscious - with environmental responsibility at the forefront of business concerns, how come nobody at Lowes' has addresses this issue? Why isn't it double sided? Why didn't the computer ask me if I wanted a receipt?

Target is another abuser of register tape - I'll buy a pack of gum and a soda and get my receipt, a gift receipt and a .10 cent off coupon for Juicy Fruit. Sigh.

At least I know what I'll do with my receipt: