Green Inc is a new blog written by staff at the New York Times about "energy, the environment and the bottom line." A recent article written by Ciara O'Rourke outlines the effort the beer industry has made to show off their green credentials. Her specific example details the changes to marketing material New Belgium Brewing Company (Fort Collins, CO) has gone through over the past few years.
Starting in 1999, New Belgium began getting wind power through their local utility. In doing so the company began heavily marketing this fact on their products. As the ad campaign went on, claims of greenwashing began to get more vocal; peaking when a former employee went to the media showing the inaccuracies of New Belgium's marketing slogan, "100 percent wind powered."
Overall the energy consumed through their products stretch much further than the wind power credits they purchase. They burn natural gas, their trucks do not run on wind power, and the glass bottles and ingredients they use come from outside suppliers that do not follow the same sustainable strategies. Although New Belgium initially denied any falsehoods, it is clear that their operations were not "100 percent wind powered."
In 2007, the company modified their slogan. In doing so, New Belgium also issued its first sustainability report outlining all of its energy usage. The transparancy and record keeping will enable the company to follow the responsible business model they are looking to achieve.
Consumers are wising up. It is no longer acceptable from a marketing stand point to make extragavant claims without the transparancy of those actions.
Green Inc article.
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