The Beijing Olympics served as quite the platform for environmental and social responsibility.
You may remember hearing early on about the “greening” of the 2008 Olympics. This put China in a challenging situation, trying to deliver on a Green Olympics while not having the best environmental and human rights record.
At least China attempted a step in the right direction, though, activists are definitely making sure people know of China's less than stellar record.
This can be quite a challenge for any country, destination, company or brand as it decides to take its first, major environmental step — especially if it does not have a great environmental record.
In order to be successful in this type of situation, you need to be aware of how to accomplish the results you want — align with the right partners, put out the right message and so forth.
Aligning with the wrong partners not only forces the public and your customers to question if your intentions are authentic, it also forces your partners to be in a limelight that will challenge them to be authentic and real as well.
The Olympics offered many corporate sponsors an opportunity to highlight their environmental efforts.
Alcoa provided 350 lightweight aluminum wheels. They shaved nearly 275 pounds off each of the 50 buses used for Olympics transportation. The company is road-testing new buses that are 50 percent lighter than traditional buses – all of which translates into energy and carbon emissions reductions, according to the latest CSR Alert.
Corporate sponsorship does set the stage for many to highlight their sustainable efforts, which can do wonders for their images.
If you want to know how to effectively position your company’s environmental efforts and be effective in communicating to green and LOHAS consumers, click here to learn about Colette Chandler's green marketing webinar series.
Blessings of Love and Light!
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