Last week, I attended a Green Marketing Summit given by the Pittsburgh American Marketing Association and learned some interesting new trends and developments in Green Marketing from:

  • Jacquelyn Ottman, Founder, J. Ottman Consulting
    who has a great book on Green Marketing and discussed her, "Five Simple Rules of Green Marketing," the "Triple Bottom Line" of sustainable development and how to use credible green marketing strategies to turn its risks into genuine business opportunities. Ottman is a Green Marketing expert and gave a super presentation.
  • Gary Saulson, Director of Corporate Real Estate, PNC Financial Services Group and their industry leading and trademarked "Green Branch." Gary discussed the positive economic and productivity impact of Green (Sustainable) Buildings and why building green makes sense for corporate America. He provided details on the design and construction of PNC's Firstside Center, one of the largest certified green buildings in the world, and the collaborated efforts to obtain a LEED Silver Certification.
  • James Bogdan, QEP, LEED-AP Manager, Sustainable Design & Green Building Initiatives for PPG Construction
    who discussed, "Beyond Environmental Claims: Driving Transparency from Product Manufacturers." James talked about some of PPG's Green initiatives and how several company's eforts and/or products claiming environmental benefits are being scrutinized. Such claims are requiring manufacturers to invest in research that qualify or quantify their benefits.

I'm certainly going to dive deeper into Green Marketing for several of my hospitality clients because it's the right thing to do and people are becoming more interested these days in how the firms they interact with interact with the environment.

However, don't you think this company is taking Green Marketing a bit too far?