Green is a nice benefit but no competent manager is going to buy a product solely for its green benefit. They buy products, equipment and services either to increase sales or to cut costs, or both. A company I work with manufactures conveying equipment that enables converters to capture their waste paper, plastic and other materials and send them right to a baler for recycling instead of paying to have a garbage company pick it up and dump it in a landfill. It also permits savings in labor costs by automating an otherwise manual process. That’s the primary benefit behind their success – the elimination and/or reduction of costs. Secondary benefits include a cleaner, healthier workplace with improved indoor air quality and a leaner, more efficient process. That these systems boost recycling and reduce landfilling makes them a green product. But it’s not why their customers bought them and were they to focus marketing efforts on their green credentials rather than on the cost-savings that sparked their growth it would likely be to their own peril.
Green is nice and highlighting it can help secure exposure in the media but it’s not the most important selling point. If it is, and if it’s not enjoying a government subsidy, then it’s likely not yet a viable product.
