Sustainability story telling

'Sustainability' still has some growing up to do as a concept and label. It brings about many opinions and debates... some see it as a marketing ploy, while others see it as a sincere and legit foundation of doing business. Either way, 'sustainability' success stories need to be shared with hopes that these stories will help other ideas and initiatives to be developed and fueled. Plus, the more success that is being reported, the less negative connotations will be linked to the term.

For example, GE has been telling such a story on the back of their CFL light bulb packaging. GE backed up the talk by reducing the amount of plastic used in the packaging and replacing the plastic with recycled and recyclable materials.

Wal-Mart scorecard proof aside... this package is one of the best on-the-market examples of what is possible when considering and developing sustainable packaging.

As we look ahead to 2009, GE was ahead of the times with this sort of 'story telling' approach.

As the new year approaches, consumers will be seeing more and more 'green stories' being told on the packaging of products they buy. Sustainability labels will also become a common sight, with major retailers like Wal-Mart hoping to standardize and require such information.

The labels, which some companies have already starting using (hoping for a competitive edge) will have information on the various categories like: carbon footprint, an index measuring recycled content, what raw materials were used to produce the product and/or package, and how sustainable those materials are.

Sustainability labels will soon become as common as nutrition labels on food, especially since it will be driven by the retailers, which is great for the everyday consumer looking to make a difference.

-- CardPak Inc.