Archive for corporate social responsibility
Betty Crocker’s Win One Give One CSR Initiative Benefits Kids in Africa
Posted by: | CommentsA tenant of having a successful corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative is to somehow link your product with a cause that is associated with your field. Education and children’s snacks have proven to be a link that many companies have used when designing such campaigns. There are many examples of this working such as Box Tops For Education or Campbell’s Labels for Education campaign. These initiatives have created a joint fundraising promotion between the company involved and its consumers, which uses either special labels or UPC codes that makes the donations possible. Betty Crocker® understands the success of this style of CSR campaign and is building upon it with their Win One Give One initiative.
Win One Give One is a two fold initiative where by consumers enter the UPC codes from various Betty Crocker® Fruit Flavored Snacks to their site winonegiveone.com . For every 100 UPC codes entered Betty Crocker® will donate an XO laptop™ to a child in need in Africa. They will donate up to 1,725 laptops until July 31, 2012. The campaign was launched on November 15, 2011. There is further incentive for consumers to enter their UPC codes other than altruism, every day that they receive 100 UPC codes, they will give away a laptop to someone participating in the program. The raffle will go until March 18, 2012.
(Image Credit: winonegiveone.com)
Obviously Betty Crocker® understands that their target demographic is parents and education is something that most parents value greatly. They have found a means to allow parents to become conscious consumers. Conscious consumerism is an ever-growing retail trend and people want to support companies that are doing their part to make the world a better place. They are allowing parents to feel that they are doing something productive with their shopping choices. A CSR initiative like this one can even help bring in new consumers as they will try the product out just to participate in the campaign.
The other aspect of this CSR initiative that will draw people in is the chance for their own child to win a laptop. However the XO laptop™ they are giving away is not just any laptop, it’s durable and has a plastic exterior, the screen flips around, it’s loaded with educational software and has built-in wireless so that it can connect to the internet from anywhere in the world. It is a perfect learning tool for children anywhere.
A CSR initiative that gives back to those in need while keeping the bottom line in mind just makes good business sense. Betty Crocker® has obviously put a lot of thought into their campaign as it appeals to both new and repeat customers on many levels. By using education as their focus, it appeals to their target demographic: parents.
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Planet Forward is an online retailer of ethically-made, earth-friendly products designed for everyday use with a distinctly urban feel. Products include reusable stainless steel bottles, stainless steel thermal travel mugs, waste-free lunch bags, reusable shopping bags, Make-it-Yourself toxin-free Green Cleaning kits, organic fashions and other accessories. SALE 50% OFF ALL PRODUCTS – SHOP NOW !
GoClean Waterless Carwash Saves Water and Donates to African Well Fund
Posted by: | CommentsThe triple bottom line is something that is bandied about in many companies, but it’s a true mark of corporate social responsibility. That is because the company in question has built their entire business model around the idea of giving back and being environmentally responsible. That’s the case with a new Canadian company Go Clean Inc. Go Clean Inc. makes Canada’s first waterless carwash in a bottle, aptly named goclean waterless.
Image Credit: goclean.ca
In Toronto, Ontario it is now illegal to wash a car with water because the discharge from the surface of the car goes into storage drains. This soapy run off then gets into and pollutes the water system, and is why Toronto is cracking down on how people wash their cars. Not to mention the waste that goes into washing a car because of the water that it takes to not only create a soapy mixture, but clean it off the surface of the vehicle.
The product is very simple to use and is made from natural and organic soaps. It comes in spray bottle; the consumer sprays the biodegradable liquid on their vehicle and then wipes if off using a soft cloth or shammy. In fact, each bottle contains enough liquid for ten carwashes. According to their website, each bottle saves over 500 liters of water. The product is available in Canadian Tire stores across Canada and for sale online, it retails for $14.99. Watch the YouTube demo video below.
The triple bottom line and corporate social responsibility comes into play not just from water conservation, but also because with each bottle of goclean waterless purchased, Go Clean Inc. will donate to the African Well Fund (AWF). AWF is a “non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds for building and maintaining wells in Africa.” Each individual purchase of goclean waterless “provides water for 21 days” to people in Africa, and according to their website that is just the beginning of the goclean movement.
This small company was featured on the hit CBC show Dragon’s Den. The dragon’s were suspicious about the product at first. In fact Robert Herjavec said, “you’ll scratch the paint [ if you wash the car] without water. One thing I was taught was never wash your car without water.” He then tested the product and was amazed when it defied what he knew to be true about carwash solutions. Kevin O’Leary believed in the product, but was opposed to the idea of donating to the AWF for each bottle sold. In the end, Arlene Dickinson, a marketing expert, extolled the virtues of being a triple bottom line company. When O’Leary suggested donating to charity after the product was successful, Dickinson stated, “you either are triple bottom line or you’re not.” In the end it was Robert Herjavec who inked a deal with Go Clean investing thirty-five thousand dollars for ten percent of the company. It shows a commitment to being socially responsible when a new company is willing to turn down much needed investment dollars to stand by their principles.
By being a triple bottom line company, Go Clean understands their market. The product they are producing helps conserve water and they are paying it forward through corporate social responsibility by supporting a similar charity. In the end, this is what will distinguish them even further from the traditional carwashes on the shelf.
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Planet Forward is an online retailer of ethically-made, earth-friendly products designed for everyday use with a distinctly urban feel. Products include reusable stainless steel bottles, stainless steel thermal travel mugs, waste-free lunch bags, reusable shopping bags, Make-it-Yourself toxin-free Green Cleaning kits, organic fashions and other accessories. SALE 50% OFF ALL PRODUCTS – SHOP NOW !
3 Most Popular Green Posts of 2011
Posted by: | CommentsIn part 3 of our ‘best of 2011’ series this week, we have our top 3 most popular green posts determined by our Planet Forward blog readers. Yesterday, in our ‘best of 2011’ we highlighted the top 3 corporate social responsibility initiatives and on Monday, we featured our 3 most popular Meatless Monday vegetarian recipes. Stories about the environment cover a wide range of topics and our top 3 green posts are no exception. From pollution to pesticides to upcycling, the broad scope of green subject matter represents the diversity of our readership and their environmental interests.
In 1st place is land, sea and air – how our noise pollution is impacting other creatures. People are aware about air quality issues as a result of pollutants in the air we’re breathing but we neglect to consider how animals are also suffering from noise pollution. Crabs lose their ability to avoid predators because of noise produced by oncoming boats. Bats, owls and birds, are finding noises from planes, construction, machinery and vehicle traffic impacting their ability for survival. Mating for some species becomes a struggle with some animals unable to communicate because of the increased noise pollution.
Image credit: sodahead.com
In 2nd place, upcycle with 5 unique ways to repurpose your old jeans. Upcycling involves converting something that is no longer useful to you and transforming it into something new and different with better quality. Therefore, you’re turning something that would otherwise be thrown away and turning it into something functional and new. Jeans are often something that get worn out over time but there are some nifty ways you can alter that old dingy pair of jeans into something better, practical and useful. There really are a multitude of denim repurposing options waiting for your creative crafty hands.
In 3rd place, the top 10 dirtiest foods with pesticides. Worried about what your produce is being sprayed with? Me too. The ‘dirty’ list was compiled by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) who “analyzed pesticide residue testing data from the US Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration to come up with rankings for these popular fresh produce items.” You’ll be surprised by the very popular (and delicious) produce item that is considered the dirtiest, with up to 56 different pesticides found during the analysis.
And an honourable mention to inspirational eco-friendly quotes from actors, activists and world leaders. Some of your favourite actors, environmental activists and world leaders offer some words of wisdom on the long-term health and sustainability of the planet.
And that concludes part 3 of our ‘best of 2011’ green posts. Stay tuned for our best of weekly green news and our top 3 eco-friendly crafts for 2011.
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Planet Forward is an online retailer of ethically-made, earth-friendly products designed for everyday use with a distinctly urban feel. Products include reusable stainless steel bottles, stainless steel thermal travel mugs, waste-free lunch bags, reusable shopping bags, Make-it-Yourself toxin-free Green Cleaning kits, organic fashions and other accessories. SALE 50% OFF ALL PRODUCTS – SHOP NOW !
