Increasing Green Efforts
January 07, 2008
Even more new services emerge to help customers, and the companies that service them, stay green.
By Stacy Straczynski
Just when you thought you had seen everything from packaging to furniture go green, even more new services emerge to help customers and the companies that service them stay green. Recent announcements boast a green-motivating electronic recycling service and eco-conscious trade show tips.
Shop and Shop Again…Greener
Yesterday, N.E.W. Customer Service, a Sterling, Va.-based provider of consumer product service plans and protection programs, announced the release of a new service designed to help consumers stay green when discarding older electronic models for new products. The service, called ecoNew, is now available to retailers who want to provide eco-conscious consumers with an easy-to-use recycling option that helps reduce e-waste.
The concept is simple: When a consumer wants to get rid of an out-dated electronic, say an old iPod shuffle model, he can log on to the online platform and enter the electronic product's basic information. EcoNew gives the product a trade-in value and the consumer receives a prepaid mailing label to ship the product in to NEW. Once received, NEW confirms the trade and sends him a retailer-specific gift card as an incentive reward.
Although some products do not have any trade-in value with NEW, and are termed and handled as "recycle," ecoNew is a way for retailers to get their consumers on board the green train. And, to add another "win," the retailer gets brownie points for taking on an eco-conscious mantra.
Those interested in this service should stop by the NEW booth at the Consumer Electronics Show on Jan. 7-10 in Las Vegas, or visit the company's Web site at www.newcorp.com.
Time to Walk the Green Line Yourself
And, if you're company's interested in finding more ways to stay green, take a look at the Sydney Exhibition and Convention Centre (SECC)'s recently released "Green Events Ideas" brochure.
Within the brochure's seven pages, event planners will find practical ways to keep their events and meetings as cost conscious as possible from the initial planning stages to clean-up. Some tips—which cover topics such as waste management, catering and energy consumption—include: encouraging public transportation, electronic information distribution, recycling stands and materials and reducing the amount of paper hand-outs.
The booklet's release marks the SECC's latest action in its continued environmental commitment. The convention center was one of the first in the world to receive the Green Globe benchmark accreditation last spring for its green efforts. "We take our environmental responsibilities very seriously and encourage event planners involved with the Centre to do the same," says Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre Chief Executive Ton van Amerongen.
The brochure is available to planners who host their events at the convention center. For more information on the SECC and its' services, please visit www.scec.com.au.
Sales & Marketing Management Magazine
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