Andy McFarlane on Climate Change (25-Jul-07)
From Lauraibm
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Full article: Andy McFarlane on Climate Change (25-Jul-07)
With regards to environmental issues demand from our clients is being driven by three key trends; economic demand, regulatory compliance and consumer demand.
Corporations can be classified into four different species of animal (gorillas, ostriches, mules and peacocks) depending upon their action and attitude towards “green” issues; it is common for companies within the same industry to be classified as the same animal.
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Organisations know they need to act. Deciding what to do is the challenge. That’s where IBM comes in ...
We are well positioned to help clients. We have a compelling IBM proposition and client ready solutions to help organisations today and there is a cross-IBM steering group in place with subject matter experts (SME’s) from each brand
- Business solutions, GBS Centre of Excellence offering carbon management services, Intelligent utilities services etc
- IT solutions, e.g. energy efficient data centres, measuring the carbon foot print of IT etc.
This is backed up by IBM’s experience, collaboration and investments
- Our track record - IBM pioneered its own environmental sustainability programme over 35 years ago. A recent AMR report highlighted our leadership position.
- Our partnerships – both in the UK (e.g. Carbon Trust) and globally
- Our global initiatives – Big Green Innovations out of the Innovation Jam
As a marketing community we need to:
- Present a unified and consistent message to the market
- Remember our cross IBM proposition is more compelling that any single message – consider the full IBM picture when you are planning campaigns
- Engage with the SMEs from each brand to gain access to the latest thinking and understand their marketing priorities
There are different animals out there
Gorillas
- These are the big emitting businesses e.g. in Energy & Utilities, Chemicals & Petroleum, Manufacturing
- The financial impacts of reducing emissions are already seen to be significant
- Most are already well up the learning curve when it comes to understanding their position on climate change
Ostriches
- These are medium to high on the scale of carbon emissions
- Their approach to date has been, to some extent at least, to downplay the impact
- the risks of being seen to actively address this issue may outweigh the benefits of doing so, particularly in the short term
- Examples could be airlines and other transportation businesses, manufacturing
- At some point they may have to address the issue more significantly
Mules
- These are organisations – primarily in the public sector – that accept the need to address *carbon emissions but vary in their enthusiasm to do so
- In the UK, all central Government departments and agencies have been pledged to become carbon-neutral by 2012 and to reduce emissions from government offices by 30% by the year 2020
Peacocks
- These are typically brand-aware organisations that are likely to see carbon reduction as something to tackle in response to consumer pressure
- There are a number of high profile UK companies which have stated their intention to address the issue, e.g. HSBC, Marks & Spencer, Eurostar, BSkyB
- In many cases the volume of CO2 emissions is already low
