Yet Another Interesting Transportation Trend: Car Sharing is Booming

When gas prices hit a record high in 2008 people began to think a bit harder about transportation. To deal with this unexpected rise in oil prices some people bought more fuel efficient vehicles, some people started using public transportation, some started riding a bike, and others began to car-share. According to this article at Treehugger a lot of people began to car-share. Most people did it to save money but others were interested in helping the environment and lengthening the time we have before oil runs out.

I found this really interesting because Portland has a very successful car share program, Zipcar, with strange and awesome branding. They mostly highlight how Zipcar can save you money and help the environment but they are doing some quirky things like naming their cars and giving them personalities. Zipcar is definitely one sweet green brand with an eye on sustainability.

To go along with my last post they are also a kick ass service-based company that decreases consumption of one of the biggest purchases people make, automobiles. If that Treehugger article is right I see big growth for the Zipcar folks.

Kevin Tuerff from Enviromedia: How do we sell less consumption?

Last Monday Kevin Tuerff from Enviromedia came and spoke to my Green Branding class and I just wanted to touch on a few of his insights.

 

First off Kevin is the founder of the first "green branding" agency, EnviroMedia. He came to our class with challenges relating to the future of sustainable advertising/business and asked the question: How would you sell?

Wine in a keg (to eliminate the waste of glass wine bottles)

Boats powered by hydrogen (to eliminate water pollution related to boat fuel)

Lawn irrigation that uses treated waste water (to conserve water)

A brand of electric car charging stations (to build a electric car infrastructure)

Roof top shingle-solar panels (for home power generation)

And perhaps the toughest question of all: 

How do you sell less consumption?

This is the question that has had my attention a lot lately. I don't think it is a contradictory idea. It would require in how business does business but I think it is a possible goal. These are the two biggest changes that need to happen before we can start to sell "less consumption."

The first thing that would need to change is how products are produced. In a time of rapid technological change companies need to start designing products that can be upgraded,  thus creating products that never become technologically obsolete.You could then advertise not the new product, but the new upgrade, thus not advocating for more consumption. This could virtually eliminate "e-waste" and would create greater customer loyalty to a particular brand. A win for business and the environment.

The second thing, a concept discussed by Paul Hawken in Natural Capitalism, is a much needed shift from a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based economy. To explain this I'll use my favorite example: Zerox. Zerox doesn't really sell copiers anymore, they rent them and provide service for them (and do upgrades). The Zerox copier has shifted from being a manufactured product to a service product. again this is a win win. Zerox saves money in the manufacturing process, businesses save money and time (not having to purchase a copier, and not having to call that repair guy in a week to fix it). Again it, is a product that can be advertised for its ability to decrease consumption and provide a win-win for businesses and manufacturers.

So that, Mr. Tuerff, is the answer to your question about how we sell less consumption. By being more creative, of course!