Glass is Green

So, this is the topic I have decided upon - basically entails how to market, in a socially-conscious way, the earth-friendly attributes of glass, the most recyclable packaging material, with 'supposedly' lowest carbon footprint. The marketing plan will be intertwined with my company, Owens-Illinois' (O-I), business objectives to make some $ off of the macro-economic, environmental issues of global warming and better recycling.

I am meeting with our sustainability group tomorrow to learn on how they are going about doing some of this stuff already and what kind of data they have at hand, to supplement by independent research.

The intersting part for me will be to avoid any conflicts of interest and keep the study unbiased as my focus will be (and should be) on the social "good" rather than using the topic to promote O-I's product. On the other hand, the opportunity may turn into a "trojan horse" within my company itself.

More to follow... keep checking... :-)

Using social issues to make a buck - CSR?

I guess the underlying assumption is that lot of the CSR stuff is done by a company to boost its own bottom line - enhanced reputation, corporate image and the like, turning into $$. Is that a bad thing? Not at all - seems like a win-win for the corporation and the beneficiaries. It is no wonder that lot of the companies use every opportunity to boast their CSR credentials.

Parterning with and raising/donating money to non-profit organizations fits the bill for most CSR activities. The conundrum presents itself when a corporation leverages a macro-social issue (global warming, climate change, teen-violence, poverty, etc.) to promote its offering (product/service) and make a buck. Their intention is to ride the wave of that burning social issue and use it as an advantage to emphasize the "goodness" of their offering in addressing that social problem - would that fit the definition of CSR? Or more importantly, will that qualify for a cause-related marketing we understand it to be? - since this is not vanilla CSR of just giving $ away.

Some of my thoughts... as I prepare to pick my project...

Here we go...

My first blog ever! - thought I was too old for this, guess not.