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Movies and television are the key drivers to toy sales
Lionel Emerges From Bankruptcy As Entertainment FirmThere are lessns to be learned here for green companies that conduct research and development. Products are inherently appealing to consumers...but not all companies that are expert in research and development of products are also experts at marketing, distribution and corporate finance for global marketplaces.
The Wall Street Journal
Lionel LLC, which emerged from bankruptcy-court protection last week, will be an entertainment company and not just a toymaker, according to CEO Gerald Calabrese, a former Marvel Comics executive who shepherded the 108-year-old company through bankruptcy. "We're not the distribution and sales mechanism anymore," he says. "We're the intellectual property.
Breaking into the broader toy market is key to Lionel's growth, Calabrese says. During the company's stint under bankruptcy protection, sales for Lionel starter sets--kid-friendly systems that range in price from $129 to $300--more than doubled. Developing new products that appeal to children and getting them on the shelves at big retail outlets is only part of what Calabrese calls the pop-cultural segment of the toy market. He says that in today's marketplace, movies and television are the key drivers to sales.
Contact: Carol Goldberg (202) 265-7337
NEW JERSEY MODEL FOR PRIVATIZED TOXIC CLEAN-UPS FAILS AUDITS
Serious Violations Found in More than Two-Thirds of Audited Massachusetts Sites
Trenton — More than two out of three privately supervised toxic clean-ups in a Massachusetts program that New Jersey wants to adopt failed audits with serious violations, according to records released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Despite these red flags, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is rushing to embrace further privatization of its troubled toxic remediation program as a cost-free panacea.
PEER argues that DEP has an unrealistic view of its plan to license private sector consultants to replace state employees in overseeing remediation of contaminated sites program by overlooking –
- The need to hire new state employees to license and oversee the private consultants. DEP is under a hiring freeze and does not have surplus employees to assign to run this new program;
- Privatization does not mean the program is free. DEP has disclosed no plan to plan for financing the program nor is it clear how the state will save any money in its operation; and
- Perhaps most importantly, DEP has failed to prioritize any of its more than 16,000 toxic sites – something DEP is legally required to do and has promised to do for the past two years. Without a ranking system, public health will remain secondary to developer interest in deciding where to invest scarce resources.
The April 26, 2008 letter, signed by 94 law professors from schools stretching from the Carolinas to California, is addressed to key congressional leaders and conveys the authors’ “profound disappointment” in the six-page EPA report on library restoration submitted to Congress on March 26, 2008, including –
- Political Control. “We view with alarm the absence of any EPA commitment to have all aspects of its library plans subject to review by qualified, non-governmental library professionals”;
- Only Partial Restoration. “We are troubled by the Report’s…failure to explain why and how EPA’s libraries will vary in size, target audience, subject focus and depth of collection….We also decry the Agency’s failure to explain its plan to allow some EPA libraries to be open to the public on an ‘appointment only’ basis.”; and
- Vague Commitments. “EPA’s Report is woefully lacking in detail, unresponsive to many of the criticisms that were appropriately included in GAO’s February, 2008 reports on the Agency’s library mismanagement, and entirely devoid of a needed commitment to restore EPA’s shuttered libraries to the levels of service provided to the public and EPA’s staff prior to their closure.
The law professors’ concerns echo those raised by PEER, the agency’s librarians, employee unions (which are pursuing unfair labor practice charges), and agency specialists, including its enforcement attorneys.
“EPA simply needs to put back everything they dismantled; why is
that so hard?” asked PEER Associate Director Carol Goldberg. “The
political appointees at EPA should not be deciding, as they are now,
who gets access to what material.”
EPA had eliminated
access to agency libraries in 23 states, shut technical collections and
reduced hours and access in other libraries. This December, Congress
ordered EPA to re-open closed libraries. In its March report, the
agency indicated that it would complete a partial restoration by this
October.
Meanwhile, EPA has launched a series of meetings with media, industry, environmental organizations and “other stakeholder groups” as part of “a National Dialogue…to help EPA document the information needs of various sectors …under the leadership of the Chief Information Officer Molly O’Neill”, in the words of an invitation sent to PEER. This National Dialogue will continue until the end of June.
SOURCE: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
April 28, 2008
Contact: Carol Goldberg (202) 265-7337
Re: the April 18 article "Viewers, critics irate over ABC's handling of Dem debate."The flap over the last televised debate suggests to me that we need a debate where the candidates question the news people. That might be more revealing.Theo WarmbrandTucson
My husband was a radio news director and I even spent a brief period in radio community news casting (that was before the radio infrastructure would allow women's voices on the air "because they were too high".) I know a little about the pressures news people work with. And the personal prejudices that can enter into a story. And that NO STORY is devoid of emotional values. We're all human, and emotions are part of making judgments, asking questions and how we treat people based on how they treat us.
Newscasters are just human. And as such, in a democracy (or sort of a "republic") it would behoove us to ask our news casters how and why and when we should trust their messages...or "stories".
Carolyn
This community advocate is working for more sustainable communities in a broader ecosystem. The following story shows how things change...but they don't really change...the challenges are long term.
MODESTO, California, November 30, 2005 – According to a new study from the Great Valley
Center, the health of the Central Valley’s environment is linked to the ability of the fast
growing region to attract highly educated workers and well-paying jobs.
The new report shows as the region’s population has grown, the indicators that impact
quality of life, such as pollution and water use, have also increased. In the San Joaquin
Valley, land converted to urban uses accelerated 31% and energy use increased 19%
while in the Sacramento Valley diesel emissions increased 4.5%. These findings are
among more than two dozen documented in a comprehensive revisit of environmental
data first tracked by the Modesto-based Great Valley Center in 2000. The report is part
of the Center's five-year series examining the region's economy, environment,
community well-being, health and educational performance. Its findings cover the 19
county region stretching from Redding to Bakersfield.
"The environment is tied to quality of life," said Carol Whiteside, president of the
nonprofit Great Valley Center, "The good news is we have made some progress as a
region. But it is unclear whether these gains will be overshadowed by the impact of the
Valley’s dramatic population growth.” At stake, she said, is the future ability of the
region to attract and retain businesses and skilled employees. “Educated workers will
choose regions that are healthy and desirable places to raise their children while
businesses are unlikely to make long term investments in a region that faces imminent
environmental sanctions.”
The report urges policymakers to develop effective strategies to balance population
growth with environmental management or risk facing higher long-term costs and
reduced profits in the future. For example, while progress has been made in reducing the
air pollutants that cause ozone, the number of days above government standards has
continued to increase and the emissions from road dust, exhaust and waste burning is
projected to increase – alongside population growth.
The State of the Great Central Valley: The Environment (2000-2005), is available online
at www.greatvalley.org and includes data on air quality, water supply and quality, land
use, species and habitat, and resources and energy. It was made possible with support
from the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, the San Joaquin
Valley Air Pollution Control District and the State Water Resources Control Board.
Additional support was provided by Citibank and Kaiser Permanente.
The Great Valley Center is a nonprofit organization that supports organizations and
activities working to improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of
California’s Central Valley. Major support for the Center is provided by the William and
Flora Hewlett Foundation and The James Irvine Foundation.
In visiting with a green manufacturer recently, he hopefully asked, "How much more will people pay for green products?"
My answer, "Not much. They pay for additional VALUE, not GREEN."
This is the same challenge conscientious, conservation business people are facing: how do we translate the green benefits into VALUE propositions that people can get instant gratification from?
Some are taking the tact of "glamor". Others, prestige and innovator status with bragging rights among the in-crowd. Others are selling the concept of savings from energy use.
Others are waiting.
Waiting for what? For compliance to kick in. For carbon trading to kick in. For carbon tariffs. For carbon taxes. For prices of oil to rise.
Watching and planning and waiting is what constitutes a "chasm".
This marketing term was coined by Geoffrey Moore who wrote the book "Crossing the Chasm" in 1999 to illustrate how high technology's early bell-curve product life cycle was broken with hesitancy at a predictable point.
2007-2008 is that "Chasm" for many green business-to-business applications.
The Chasm |
The early adopters have been corporations who have bought "test" units and they are testing them. They are communities who have instant savings from long term energy glut applications such as street lights or potential litigation from health impacts such as schoolbuses.
They bought. They're testing and sharing the results with the rest of us. We're waiting for the rules of the game to become clear before we buy more.
But some things are different between the green revolution and the technology revolution in the desktop computer era. We ARE living in challenging times.
Early Market |
Consumers Are Ahead of Business
Recent research showed that consumers are ahead of business in adapting green solutions. They are recycling. Changing light bulbs. Buying organic. Walking and biking. Buying hybrid vehicles. Buying Energy Star applicances.Businesses aren't putting systems into place for purchasing greener products. They aren't collecting used paper. They aren't replacing paper plates with permanent servicewater. They aren't buying hybrid cars. They aren't retrofitting HVAC systems.
Businesses are waiting for legislation that will affect their tax credits and their compliance behaviors.
Businesses are going to seminars and searching for case studies and testing demo equipment. And waiting.
That's the chasm.
The questions that must be answered is "Then what happens...?"
After the Chasm
Employees are learning about green solutions at home. They are replacing faucets, recyling their trash, measuring their electrical usage, locating biofuel fueling stations.These innovators will be the leaders in the workplace when it breaks loose...and then, Katie bar the door!
They will be ready. Will you be ready?
The Bowling Alley
The Bowling Alley |
The specific solutions in the green market include hybrid vehicles, PV solar energy and organic food, among others. Very specific solutions that are well defined with immediate results that can be demonstrated.
Other green and sustainable solutions, such as water conservation, zero waste, and green retrofits for buildings are harder, provide longer term or less obvious results -- and they will thrive in later stages of the technology life cycle.
Knowing which of your products can be attached to SPECIFIC market applications can help you tailor your marketing and your message to these "bowling alley" buyers.
The Tornado
The Tornado |
Green building and development (NEW buildings) is a good example of one segment of the green space that has reached The Tornado stage.
Supported by the USGBC and other green certification and training programs, new green building technology has
- An infrastructure with deployable methods
- Is supported by architects and builders who provide third party endorsement and services
- Is supported by governments who mandate and will buy into the marketplace
New green building has crossed the chasm, has been applied to specific applications such as schools and colleges and state office buildings... and is now an accepted part of the architectural field with training, employment opportunities and materials suppliers all lined up for the ride back up to the bell curve apex.
Cities are strengthening the mandates across the entire development sector that all new buildings must meet tighter building codes that meet green building and sustainable community goals.
Translating "Computer Tech" into "Green Tech"
Times have changed. The challenge is different. Compliance issues are different. And the economic mix has changed. But the chasm concept is partly an observation about how people and how groups work when faced with new technology and CHANGE. And that doesn't change a lot over a few short years.We will be bringing you more information about how green marketing fits this product lifecycle timeline in future articles and learning platforms.
Resources
The Chasm Companion by Paul Wiefels with a Foreward by Geoffrey A. Moore provides implementation guidance to "Crossing the Chasm" and "Inside the Tornado".
To Robert Hildreth, the sustainability movement has to move beyond just
the environment in order to maintain its momentum. It has to become
personal.The most successful corporate sustainability initiatives operate on a micro level, encouraging individual employees to green their personal environments
...according to Robert Hildreth, vice president of global strategy at green-branding firm Saatchi & Saatchi - which maintains 153 offices in 83 countries with nearly 7,000 people.
Speaking at a conference in Rhode Island, Hildreth pointed to the success of Wal-Mart's Personal Sustainability Project (PSP), which his company developed.
"The green movement in general suffers from one of the largest communications problem that’s out there," Hildreth says. "We need to orient ourselves more around making the problem so compelling that it draws people in."
For example, Wal-Mart's PSP encourages employees to find small ways to green their personal environments, from recycling more to walking to work one day a week. One employee suggested turning the lights off in break room soda machines, a move that now saves the company $2 million each year on electricity bills.
Wal-Mart’s 1.3 million employees were asked to tackle a small problem that was important to them – quitting smoking, losing weight, recycling more, walking to work one day a week.
What doesn't work, according to Hildreth, is creating company "green teams" to develop big-picture programs that don't engage employees on a personal level. Green teams at some companies lack enthusiasm, "Nobody really cares about it; they’re just sort of doing it," says Hildreth.
Venture capitalists (VCs) may be willing to fund
a
marginal team with better venture potential
In other words, entrepreneurs need not only to assemble an effective team, but also to clearly demonstrate the venture potential of their proposed business. This finding contrasts with most prior studies, which identify the venture team as the key funding criterion.
The Small Business Research Summary Findings include:
- The findings suggest that while a venture team’s
composition and ability are a minimum requirement
in the consideration of a venture capital investment
and a major factor in explaining why a business plan
gets rejected, these features are not significant in
explaining why a business plan gets funded.
- The study implies that venture potential is a better
indicator of business plan funding than venture
team quality and that VCs have similar knowledge
structures and preferences when it comes to funding
and not funding actual business plans.
- The researchers analyzed the relationship between rates of return and factors such as venture team quality and venture potential. The analysis finds that a good venture team has decreasing returns even for funded ventures, but favorable competitive conditions and market potential of a business plan have increasing returns
Venture Capital Investment Decision Making
Download a full copy of this report is available at: US SBAThe research summary can be found at: US SBA
Complying with Environmental Marketing Guides:
FTC Publication
Environmental Marketing Claims.
This article provides excellent details on legal approaches to environmental claims: Lawpublish.com
The FTC looks at all advertising from the ... standards for environmental performance or prescribe testing protocols.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) seeks to prevent deception and unfairness in the marketplace. The FTC Act gives the Commission the power to bring law enforcement actions against false or misleading marketing claims, including environmental or "green" marketing claims. The FTC issued its Environmental Guides, often referred to as the "Green Guides," in 1992, and revised them most recently in 1998. The Guides indicate how the Commission will apply Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices, to environmental marketing claims.
Claims must provide
- Substantiation
- Specificity
Eco-Seals, Seals-of-Approval and Certifications
Environmental seals-of-approval, eco-seals and certifications from third-party organizations imply that a product is environmentally superior to other products. Because such broad claims are difficult to substantiate, seals-of-approval should be accompanied by information that explains the basis for the award. If the seal-of-approval implies that a third party has certified the product, the certifying party must be truly independent from the advertiser and must have professional expertise in the area that is being certified.Symbols
Many consumers are confused about what they can recycle in their communities because so many products display the universal recycling symbol. Often called the "three-chasing-arrows" or "Mobius loop," this image is likely to convey that the packaging is both "recyclable" and "recycled." Unless both messages can be substantiated, the claim should make clear whether the reference is to the package's recyclability or its recycled content.National Center for Environmental Economics
NCEE analyzes relationships between the economy, environmental health, and environmental pollution control. This includes:- Economic benefits and costs
- Economic incentives
- Size, composition, and effects of the pollution control industry
- Risk assessment data used in economic analyses
SOURCE: EPA Natinal Center for Environmental Economics
Association of Environmental and Resource Economists
AERE provides many forums for exchanging ideas relevant to the allocation and management of natural and environmental resources.AERE Business Office
Marilyn M. Voigt
AERE Business Office
1616 P Street NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Telephone: 202-328-5125
Facsimile: 202-939-3460
voigt@rff.org
http://www.aere.org
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The announcement comes a week after the release of a report from TerraChoice Environmental Marketing showing that the vast majority of green marketing claims are inaccurate or inappropriate.
The firm researched more than 1,000 consumer products with environmental claims and found that all but one violated at least one of the report's "Six Sins of Greenwashing."
The Federal Trade Commission is requesting comments on the Green Guides in regard to their costs, benefits, and effectiveness.Current FTC Regulations for Environmental Claims
Issued in 1992, the FTC Guidelines for Environmental Marketing Claims or "Green Guides" do not constitute a labeling system as such, but they are designed to have an effect on labeling. The guidelines are intended to prevent false or misleading use of advertising claims such as "environmentally friendly," "degradable," and "recyclable." Confusion over the meaning of such terms affected not only consumers but also companies, who were concerned about lawsuits over their environmental claims.
The Guides outlined four general principles for environmental claims:
- qualifications and disclosures should be sufficiently clear and conspicuous to prevent deception;
- claims should make clear whether they apply to the product, packaging, or just a component of either;
- claims should not overstate environmental benefits; and
- comparative claims should be presented in such a way that the basis for comparison is clear.
The guides also addressed claims concerning
- environmental friendliness
- degradability
- compostability
- recyclability
- recycled content
- source reduction
- refillability, and
- ozone friendliness
