Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Sustainable Community Trainings

Dear friends,
As someone who is concerned about our current global crisis, I know
that, like me, you are motivated to take positive action. "But how
do I start?" is a common question.

Do you long to create more supportive community in your life? Would
you like to lead a more earth-friendly lifestyle but sometimes find
the choices overwhelming? Come join us for a weekend or a week at
EcoVillage at Ithaca, an internationally recognized example of
sustainable community development.

Our popular EcoVillage Experience Weekends offer an immersion in
sustainable community living. Enjoy a balance of nature connection
and personal renewal along with a hands-on experience of community
learning, organic farming, green building, and more. EcoVillage
Experience Weekends are offered May 4-6, June 8-10, and September
7-9. For further details, please see
http://www.ecovillage.ithaca.ny.us/eew2007.pdf

Creating Sustainable Communities: The Social Dimension, is an
exciting training session for those who want to learn how to start or
improve their own communities, whether in urban neighborhoods, or
housing cooperatives or ecovillages. This July 7-14 workshop will
introduce skills for creating shared vision and values, constructive
approaches to conflict, mutual support and celebration, and
sustainable behavior and culture change. For further details, please
see http://www.ecovillage.ithaca.ny.us/csc2007.pdf

All of our programs include an immersion in daily life at our
ecovillage as well as empowering tools and resources that you can use
in your world back home. Many people tell us that just visiting for a
few hours has influenced them with a profound sense of hope. Imagine
what a full weekend or a week can do!

Our scholarship program and commuter rates are designed to make these
programs accessible to as many people as possible. Please plan to
register early, as we expect the programs to fill up.

Yours for a sustainable world,

Liz Walker, Executive Director Elan Shapiro, Education Coordinator
115 Rachel Carson Way Ithaca, New York 14850 (607) 272 5149
ecovillage@xxxxxxxxxxx



--
Elan Shapiro
Sustainable Tompkins Program Co-Chair
Sustainable Living Associates, Principal
Frog's Way B&B
211 Rachel Carson Way
Ithaca, NY 14850
607-275-0249

Friday, March 16, 2007

The Value of Being an SPI Search Consultant

With the most aggressive compensation plans in the recruiting industry and an unrivaled technology platform, we provide earning opportunities previously unavailable to search consultants. We lend our talents and resources resulting in considerable "start-up" time and considerably great success in the search consultants' efforts.

Do you work within the talent acquisition industry but are not a recruiter or consultant? Well, we are always looking for the best and brightest to make our organization better.

We Offer

A variety of aggressive compensation plans to choose from including Traditional and No Net Plans. On the Traditional Plan, the consultant is an employee of SearchPath, is paid an appropriate draw, earns up to 50% of every placement, and is provided benefits. On the No Net Plan, the consultant is an independent contractor, is paid on a straight commission basis payable as 1099 income, earn a minimum of 64% of every placement, can work within an office or as a virtual search consultant, but is not provided benefits.
A world class, Internet accessible technology platform allowing our search consultants to work from anywhere in the world.
State of the art ASP/VOIP phone system providing a wireless environment.
Performance based and ClientCentric fees allowing our consultants to approach potential clients with new and innovative fee structures unheard of in the industry.
Centralized research function providing instant candidate flow, exponential marketing opportunities, and up-to-date market information.
Extensive and constantly evolving training and mentoring program to stay in tune with the latest issues faced in the recruiting industry.
The option to transition into a franchise arrangement if desired.

Friday, March 9, 2007

Green Marketing

There's no doubt the green niche can be lucrative. Environmentally aware consumers tend to earn more and be willing to pay more for green products, such as organic produce and hybrid cars. The problem, however, is that only a very small percentage of consumers make their buying decisions primarily based on the environmental qualities of a product, says Edwin R. Stafford, an associate professor of marketing at Utah State University's college of business. Depending on what your product is, it may very well be difficult to sustain sufficient sales within that niche alone.

Stafford and his colleagues, Cathy Hartman and Jacquelyn Ottman, have done research on green marketing through a U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored research program called "Renewable Energy for Rural Economic Development [RERED]. "They've found that positioning green products on their inherent mainstream benefits can broaden their consumer appeal and enhance their likelihood for market success.

"While consumers say in surveys that environmentalism impacts their product choices, a variety of factors typically can impede green purchasing behavior, ranging from their immediate availability to price to convenience to perceived green product effectiveness," Stafford says. "A number of personal motivations and external factors impact green purchasing behavior, and targeting the elusive 'green consumer' can be challenging.

Educating the Consumer Fortunately, he says, there is great opportunity for marketing green products to the masses, and there are many examples of green products that have gone mainstream due to their practical consumer benefits, including front-loading, energy-efficient washing machines and other appliances, organic foods and heat-reflective windows. "What we see is that the success behind many green products is not their 'greenness,' but the practical value they provide consumers," Stafford says.

Sometimes practical consumer value may not be readily apparent in a green product, however, and that's where education will need to play an important role in your marketing efforts. Make sure that you bundle "consumer value" into the marketing messages for your green product.

"One of my favorites is the slogan, 'Long life for hard-to-reach places,' for General Electric's (GE) energy-efficiency CFL flood lights," Stafford says. "That communicates how a CFL's five-year life can be very convenient. The goal of green marketing communications should be to educate consumers that green provides practical consumer value."

Another place where you can take a cue is from the construction industry. Originally, mainstream consumers worried that green buildings would include inferior building materials, leading to decreased longevity. "Mention 'green building' to a traditional home buyer, and the image of Gilligan's Island and bamboo huts comes to mind," Stafford says. "The reality is, however, that green buildings are increasingly cleverly designed, often technically innovative structures that are super energy/resource-efficient, and work in harmony with the seasons. The construction industry has increasingly adopted the term 'high-performance building' to reframe 'green' away from any potential negative connotations."

You can do something similar with your product. Good luck!
Source: Business Week
Publication date: March 6, 2007
I'm interested in distributing a niche product that falls into the "green" category, but am not sure how to market it. Should we reach out primarily to consumers already buying environmentally friendly products, or try to expand the potential for customers?
-- K.W., Roseville, Calif.

UK Green Building Council Launched

from World Green Building Council Homepage by penny@worldgbc.org
The World Green Building Council is pleased to recognise the UKGBC as our latest member.

On the 27th of February 2007 UK's leading built environment organisations launched the UK Green Building Council, with the aim of dramatically improving the sustainability of the built environment within the next ten years.