How many nails does it take to close the lid on the coffin marked Clean Green New Zealand, asks the Sunday Star Times. “For years, we’ve been reading stories quoting greenies who say our environmental image is at risk. In the past two months, however, that risk could be tangibly measured in column centimetres – or inches, depending which country’s newspapers you were reading.” (Inside Tourism). So is clean and green worth the fight for New Zealand?Greenpeace Executive Director Bunny McDiarmid notes recent focus group work in the UK. When presented with New Zealand’s record on greenhouse gas emissions (we are one of the developed world’s fifth-worst emitters, on a per-capita basis, she claims), participants were shocked. A typical response?
To know that there is no haven out there, there’s no hope almost, if they’re not doing it, if they’re not prepared to…there’s nobody else…they were the one shining light.
So is New Zealand’s clean and green image worth defending, or should we just give up?
Well, first of all, clean and green is a very valuable piece of global consumer real estate. Many countries are jealous for example of the guts and success of the 100% Pure New Zealand tourism campaign. It has struck a chord with the world’s rapidly growing green consciousness.
And that value can only increase in the decades ahead, as rising living standards in emerging economies create even more awareness of the importance of quality of life and environment. So to just give up on clean and green would be giving up a lot.
Secondly, if New Zealand didn’t have clean and green as a unique selling proposition, what would we have? It is difficult to see anything of equivalent power being developed in the foreseeable future that would enable us to maintain a high standard of living .
Thirdly, whilst our environmental record is not perfect, New Zealand does have a lead in being thought of as clean and green. The focus panel work quoted above by Greenpeace is evidence of that. That lead won’t disappear overnight because of a few articles in newspapers.
There is plenty of evidence that can be tabled to back up our green leadership status. World leader in sustainable forestry, nuclear free, world leader in renewable energy, and much more. In fact, one wonders about the “developed world’s fifth-worst emitter” status described to the UK focus group above. Is this gross emitter or net emitter? One suspects it’s the former, and that if our significant carbon offets through world-leading rates of tree planting are taken into consideration, our net position (the one that matters) is in fact much better.
Also, even in terms of gross emissions, a high figure per capita is to be expected from a low density population which by definition will be less efficient in energy use. But our total contribution to global emissions is neglible. If we shut down New Zealand agriculture (our main source of emissions), it would not make a scrap of difference to global warming.
So there is plenty to talk about if we want to. New Zealand has a unique set of circumstances being a high-income country that relies for its living on the land and sea (even including services like tourism and film making) rather than manufacturing or financial services. We also inherited a unique biosphere which is highly sensitive to change.
But do we want to talk about it? Should we base our brand proposition on something that requires defending? If this was the 20th century, we might say no.
But this isn’t the 20th century. Consumers who are likely to be interested in buying our goods and services, which are not necessarilly the cheapest options available to them, are likely to be well healed and well educated. They are online savvy. The new rules of digital branding throw the 20th century brand rule book out the window.
Twitter, Facebook, and blogs mean that branding is no longer about control. It’s increasingly about authenticity and engagement. Our target market cares about the environment and is not scared to become involved in a discussion about it. We have the opportunity to involve them more deeply in our clean and green brand by opening our books and discussing our situation with them. A little controversy is not necessarilly a bad thing when dealing with a sophisticated target audience. A Green Brand New Zealand Strategy is needed though to help us focus on this.
Being clean and green is like being pregnant. Either we are or we aren’t. If we aren’t clean and green, it’s hard to imagine what we are.
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Tags: 100% Pure New Zealand, brand authenticity, clean & green, clean & green NZ, Clean and Green, clean and green NZ, digital branding, Kaitiakitanga, LOHAS