Avoiding Greenwash with Real Green Value Propositions

With the global climate summit in Copenhagen just around the corner, I've been reading an increasing amount about eco-initiatives from organisations that you wouldn't normally associate with the green movement.

Fascinatingly, a number of organisations are moving away from just plastering their marketing material with their great intentions and instead are taking more direct action. I read today that Lush, the high street cosmetics company, is more or less setting itself up as an environmental activist company, with other companies taking a similar line to prove 'that you can do good through doing business', as one company director put it.

"We look at issues and we decide which ones are important to us and then we see how we can support them", explains Andrew Butler, Lush's director of campaigns. "We partnered with Sea Shepherd (a marine environmental organisation) - a direct action group best known for confronting Japanese whaling vessels, and we felt that shark finning was an issue we could help them with." To this end, Lush sold 'shark fin soap' (soap bars with a fake fin sticking out of the top) with proceeds going to the cause. Mr Butler argues it's about attracting attention to an issue that might otherwise have languished. "In all, we raised £25,000", he said.

I'm fascinated about this movement of environmental and sustainability issues into mainstream business.

How does a company's value proposition to its customers reflect corporate values? How does Lush translate its passionate, activist, environmental stance into a valuable customer experience? I'd love to hear your views.