So, why did I undertake the exercise of polling my readers/Twitter followers on the question of who the “women at the forefront of sustainability” might be? Because, I’d noticed a gender imbalance in the names of those who have written the majority of the books and articles I’ve come across in my own intensive research.  So – that begged the question.

Now, if you know me at all, you know I’m not setting this up as a men versus women discussion.  Rather, the awareness of who gets “known” for sustainability versus who doesn’t (yet continues to do amazing work) is what fascinates me.  It’s the same for many industries – there are those who SHOW and become the go-to interviews or citations for mass media coverage, and there are those who SHIFT – who are in the trenches making connections, and doing the science or activism that slowly helps nudge the larger change.

The two are not mutually exclusive, however.  Perhaps it is a matter of sequence.  SHIFT work often comes before SHOW recognition.  In most cases, SHOW can slow down a thought-leading/pioneer’s SHIFT work, but, because it starts to put some more mass awareness shine on the topic, this SHOW remains important.  On the other hand, some SHIFTers likely choose to lay low, determined to use their strengths to make a difference without being distracted by the whole other world of SHOW.

Though admittedly flawed in a variety of ways, my unscientific poll did prove the point that there are many, many women of the SHIFT whose names are not getting elevated to the SHOW.  And, perhaps these folks are really much too busy SHIFTING to care.  That’s a perfectly good explanation.

With regard to the poll results, specifically,  it is of particular interest that the three women who received the most votes – Shari Aaron (co-author of Climb the Green Ladder), Kira Gould (co-author of Women In Green) and Jill Fehrenbacher  (founder of the sustainable design trends site, Inhabitat.com) – are all perhaps most recognized for their part in spreading word of the SHIFT.  They are making sure sustainability DOES reach the masses by way of their written words.  These women are at the leading edge, making it their mission to broadcast the sustainability wisdom and innovation that will change organizational and consumer behavior in incredible ways.

It is my contention that in order to bridge conventional business to more sustainable practices, those of us involved will have to resist the temptation to overly focus on the SHOW, and give SHIFT a lot more “air time.”  In very basic terms – SHOW could be defined as being more about the linear idea of what or who is the best, smartest or most successful.  That ALONE is not in keeping with the idea of sustainability.  Instead, the more relational, connected, working together, on-the-ground perspective of SHIFT work is also crucial to the balance of the sustainable movement’s efficient functioning.

So, just as we look to the most recognized names (Hawken, Anderson, and Elkington, etc.) for inspiration and guidelines, so too do we need to ensure that SHIFTers (men and women) have the resources and support they need to keep the engines of sustainability moving strongly forward.  Given their dedication, there is no doubt they will soon get to SHOW whether they want to or not.

As I wrote in my last post, delivering “social proof” to consumers and organizations is likely key to persuading around the concept of sustainability.  Whether its consumers or corporate decision-makers, the “masses” have to start to sense/see/read/hear that a lot of people/organizations they know are already pursuing sustainable life and business practices.  In this way, providing or supporting sustainability content is like producing an extra-powerful public service announcement (PSA).

Just as is the case with well produced PSAs, what those of us who provide sustainability content intend to do is modify public attitudes by raising awareness. Much as I wish everyone could get as geeked out as I do by new solar panel technology, smart grids or “green building,” for example, a lot of people don’t share my enthusiasm.  One reason they don’t: they are not as exposed to reasons WHY they should be excited.

But, here’s something to consider: what about being the first in your industry to address this?  And, you don’t have to start from scratch!  Instead, take part by helping to develop and disseminate the words and videos of the many talented writers who are already knowledgeable and passionate about sustainability.

I see huge opportunity for brands or organizations on the sustainability journey to be more intentional with their “broadcast” information.  This is NOT about having your public relations staff write pages and pages of  “look at us” web site copy, however.  It IS about becoming known as a go-to resource, or for supporting the wealth of existing sustainability knowledge and content.  That may mean identifying and building a relationship with an individual content provider/editor to publish on your own site.  Or, it may mean sponsoring a variety of blogs, video channels and the like, to reach your own customers – as well as those reading the content provider’s work already (who are significantly predisposed to wanting to hear about sustainable innovations, by the way).

“Uncertainty” and “similarity” are two conditions that apply to the “social proof” theory (read more in Robert Cialdini’s book, INFLUENCE: The Psychology of Persuasion).  With particular regard to sustainability, there are still many consumers and business decision-makers that need to be made more certain. Furthermore,  as human beings, those people are also looking for similarity -or to see what their peers/colleagues/industry leaders are already doing/thinking.

Both of those groups need a bridge to that certainty and to being “in the know.” Sustainability content can be a great way to connect a brand’s products or services to the existing relevant cultural and technology trends in a consumer’s mind.  Brands that want to highlight their sustainable and socially responsible steps would do well to make that bridge easier to cross.

Sustainability not only breeds business innovation, it also breeds whole new ways to communicate those innovations and to a broader audience.

Changing public attitudes about sustainability on the whole, and about your corporation’s steps in that direction, comes from raising awareness.   Partnering with or sponsoring sustainability content providers who LOVE what they do and are dying to engage more people on the topic seems pretty obvious to me (but, yes, I am biased). So, consider leveraging sustainability content to help your customers feel more certain about sustainability and be inspired to join their friends and colleagues who are already participating in the movement.  The result will be social proof enough for you.

*If you are interested in exploring sustainability content possibilities: you may want to follow my sustainability-csr Twitter list (quite a few content providers are included, and many also have great lists to explore), or simply follow me on Twitter @AndreaLearned (I regularly pass along links to great work from talented sustainability/social responsibility minds).  If all else isn’t quite enough – feel free to contact me to discuss ideas about working together or how to go about finding the perfect fit for your content-providing effort.

Why do people do what they do?  This has long been studied to benefit the marketing of goods, but how can we leverage what we know about human behavior to forward the sustainable practices of consumers and organizations?  With that in mind, I revisited Robert Cialdini’s now-classic book, INFLUENCE: The Psychology of Persuasion.  And, in this case it was the concept of “social proof” that drew me in.

When a consumer hears or reads that “others think this is the way to go/product to buy,” that may be all it takes.  And that’s one reason marketers have gotten so savvy in their use of testimonials, or in the care they take to select actors of several different looks/races/ages  for ad campaigns.  People like to “see themselves” in the existing group of those who buy iPods (of course) or among those “billions” who buy burgers at McDonald’s (though this may be changing).

What might this mean for engaging more citizens as consumers and business decision-makers with the concept of sustainability?  We’ve got to leverage the social proof that plenty of other people are already embracing it.  Cialdini points out that the principle of social proof works best under specific conditions which include “uncertainty” and ” similarity.”

It sure seems like there’s been a lot of proof that we need to start managing resources and paying attention to the environment.  Still, many today remain uncertain that changing their lifestyles and worrying about the planet, for instance, is really necessary – or personally applicable.  So, how might social proof kick in?  Writes Cialdini: “Without question, when people are uncertain, they are more likely to use others’ actions to decide how they themselves should act.”

And, if those “others” that people are observing are similar – for instance, they seem to be middle class and married with two kids in grade school – all the better. “The principle of social proof operates most powerfully when we are observing the behavior of people just like us.  It is the conduct of such people that gives us the greatest insight into what constitutes correct behavior for ourselves.”

This occurs both in the realm of citizen/consumer and in the realm of business.  I remember how quickly many not-at-all skincare-related brands started to copy the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty’s “real women” approach a few years back.  Whether it was wise or not, other industries that were uncertain about how, or whether, to market to women saw an established brand doing it, so they too took the plunge.  And, the more brands did that, the more additional brands followed behind.  Marketing to women had been important before, but it seemed to take that sort of nudge to get corporations to MOVE on it.

To be clear: knowledge of this social proof principle can and likely will always be used for the… how shall we say… “less than honorable” sell.  But, what we can acknowledge is that a sustainable way of life and thinking is still an uncertainty for a large number of people.  So, those folks, as consumers and business minds, are very likely looking around at “people like them” to get the social proof they need that pursuing sustainability is the thing to do.

So, consider leveraging the powers of persuasion in the direction of sustainability.  Will you and your brand/organization be there to further the proof?

Updated: Noon, eastern time, 3/10/10 – this poll has closed.

Thanks to plentiful submissions, we now have a big list of incredible women who have made their mark in sustainability.  Because the polling widget I’m using limited us to 64, I left off some names that seemed to represent more regional sustainability work – but that doesn’t mean they won’t be known globally very soon (we can hope)!

Now, to the voting.  Though I have no way of enforcing it, please select only three names from this list who are at your top-of-mind whenever the topic of sustainability comes up.  The names are programmed to list themselves randomly each time the post loads, to help keep the top five from automatically getting lots of votes.  My agenda is to (admittedly) unscientifically measure “public awareness” of those women who are doing/have done (several of the nominees are deceased) the frontline work in the field.  In a follow-up post or two I’ll overlay and integrate what I know about gender in our business and consumer culture, and its implications for progress in sustainable development.

I will close the polling at noon (eastern time) on Wednesday, March 10th.

Thanks SO much for your interest and participation!  Much appreciation goes to WhatWomenMake who posed the initial question for me to ponder.

*Please note – this poll-in-a-post is a first-time experiment for me, so I apologize in advance if it seems clunky or otherwise doesn’t deliver the way it should.  I will learn from the experience, and appreciate your patience along the way.

How to engage the skeptics, whether on the topic of marketing to women or on the topic of sustainability, is a driving passion for me.  What are the words, framing, and concepts that will be “accessible” to most people, and open up the conversation – so it doesn’t have to be men versus women or conventional business thinkers versus sustainable business thinkers?  That was the seed of my recent HuffingtonPost “diatribe” and my pondering continued, as I mulled Thomas L. Friedman’s Sunday column in the New York Times.

He writes how Senator Lindsey Graham, the long-time, extremely conservative congressman, may well be key in making “green” a universal constituent (i.e. human) issue rather than a blue state/red state battleground on the Hill.  Wow! What Graham is aware of, and wants to get across to his colleagues, is the following:

“You have to get the people in the present to buy into the future.”

and…

“We’ve got to get started, because once we do, every C.E.O. will adopt a carbon strategy, no matter what the law actually requires.”

What Graham has come to realize is what any business should have long known, given the money they’ve surely invested in consumer research.  The two segments politicians and businesses really need to reach are Hispanics and young people.  With regard to young people especially, the truth is that they grew up expecting “green” in their households, in their schools and from the brands they buy.  All of those current expectations will only translate into their future, adult decision-making processes about: where to work, what house to buy and which congressperson to vote for (and so much more).

Sustainable business practices appeal to and resonate with younger generations, and a lot of other people today.  The present is greatly connected to the future.  Whether you are that “almost adult” person now, or  have children, nieces, nephews, or grandchildren who’ll  live “in the future,” that fact can’t be denied.

So, do we want the products we sell or companies we work for to seem as irrelevant to future generations as “one more short, white Republican over 50″ (Graham’s self-description)?  I think not.  Instead, we should all be looking for ways to bridge old to young, traditional thinking to new thinking, energy wasteful to energy effective and unsustainable to sustainable.

Whether you are GOP or CEO, disregard the sustainable expectations of the younger generation at your peril.

March 8th Update: Submissions/nominations are closed.  Readers named more than I could fit in the poll widget (no surprise given the talent/pioneering pool), which could only manage 64.  Find the poll here.

My friends at WhatWomenMake recently posed a question that made me stop and think: who are the 2-3 women at the forefront of sustainability, and why?  My first response, and that of pretty much all the smart sustainability-focused friends I quickly emailed, was – “wow – good question.”

So that made me think on it a bit more.  In all the sustainability-related books/case studies I’ve read, and in all the conversations I’ve had with so many friends in the field, there has never been a resounding woman’s name or two that surfaces.  Instead there seems to be a long, collected list of extremely accomplished women who should be getting a lot of recognition but may not be bothered by it.   It reminds me of the much pondered (lately) question: “why are there so few female CEOs?”

So, I decided to poll my broader readership on their thoughts.  I’ll start the discussion by listing some of the submissions I got from an informal email survey.  In a week or so, I will publish a follow up post including any submissions that came from more than one reader, and then offer that list up for a larger vote.

The background: given commonly cited sustainability “pioneers” or “thought leaders” such as Ray C. Anderson (Interface Inc.), Paul Hawken (founder of Smith & Hawken, and one of the earliest names associated with sustainability), or Jeffrey Hollender of Seventh Generation, which women come to your mind as quickly?  It’s not about who is “top” or “best,” in my mind, but about the ways that people get known for their work and why. That’s why I’m using the term “forefront” as in – at the forefront of your mind.

I realize that you’d need to be following sustainability in the first place to have ANYONE come to mind (male or female).  And, I’d say that that basically gives us all (the sustainability choir) reason to be more driven with sharing the stories and case studies we come across.  We need to bridge the topic for those we want to JOIN the choir!

But, I digress.  Following are the initial round of submissions I’ve received.  Please add your own ideas (please keep it to the 1-2 that first come to mind) via comments below or via Twitter (I’m @AndreaLearned) – and please use the hashtag #sustywomen (if you remember).

Thanks! I look forward to seeing the results and starting a conversation or two.

The initial submissions, in no particular order:

• Beth Sachs, co-founder of VEIC
• Jan Bittersdorf, co-founder of NRG Systems
• Judy Wicks, founder of White Dog Cafe
• Michelle Long, Executive Director of BALLE
• Eileen Fisher, fashion designer/founder of Eileen Fisher
• Bonnie Nixon, formerly Director of Environmental Sustainability for HP
• Koann Vikoren Skrzyniarz, founder of Sustainable Life Media
• Shari Aaron, author of Climbing the Green Ladder
• Dr. Beth Sauerhaft, Senior Manager of Environmental Stewardship, PepsiCo North America
• Vandana Shiva, sustainability activist
• Wangari Mathai, Nobel Prize Winner and founder of the Green Belt Movement in Africa
• Jane Goodall, British anthropologist, known for her work with chimpanzees
• Majora Carter, founder of Sustainable South Bronx
• Janine Benyus, natural sciences writer and innovation consultant
• Tensie Whelan, President of Rainforest Alliance
• Sylvia Earle, legendary ocean researcher
• Alice Waters, pioneer of culinary philosophy, founder of Chez Panisse restaurant
• Dr. Virginia Burkett, USGS Climatologist and 2007 recipient Nobel Prize
• Dr. Teresa Kennedy, Director, International Division, The GLOBE Program
• Dr. Jane Lubchenco,  NOAA Administrator

***

How women buy and how they work/lead is big news these days – no matter what brand, category, industry or organization.  When you think about how to start to change the culture around sustainable life and business practices, women also appear to be worth serious consideration.  This is particularly the case when you examine the “household manager” role and how women keep those responsibilities in mind all the time.

Let’s connect some dots: One of the reasons people begin to think seriously about sustainability is that it literally hits home- in terms of household energy use.  There’s nothing like the rising costs of winter warmth and lighting, for example, to shake us out of our blase-ness.  Working to keep those costs low is likely particularly compelling for those who manage the “operations” of the “facility.”  Whomever sees and arranges for the payment of those bills is at the front line.  If that person is also very conscious of daily family comfort, energy use becomes that much more important – and challenging.

This person sounds suspiciously like a woman and is probably a mom, but what else may be influencing her awareness and decisions?

If figuring out how to engage more citizens on sustainability is important now, and I firmly believe this is the case, beginning with the “facility management” minds of working women, in particular, should be a focus. A Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research study, commissioned by Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) and the Women’s Council on Energy and the Environment (WCEE), is worth note on that front.

A few of this 2009 study’s general findings:

• 77 percent of women take primary or equal responsibility for paying their electricity bills (with high percentages, whether married or unmarrried).
• 91 percent take dominant or equal responsibility for using less electricity at home.
• 97 percent have taken steps to use less electricity at home.

And, women business owners lead the way:

• 98 percent of women business owners have cut their electricity use at home.
• 77 percent have done the same for their businesses.
• 79 percent have made their businesses environmentally friendly.
• 87 percent strongly or somewhat favor clean energy and efficiency initiatives.

This would seem to suggest that the trend toward more women in the workforce, the recession-inspired household cutting back, and the rising consumer awareness  of -and increasing education about -sustainability creates a perfect, positive sustainability storm.

Women tend to think more holistically, integrating the linear/rational with emotional, or the left brain with the right.  This makes it a tad difficult to separate their work days from their home lives, as it all tends to flow together.  (In the case of energy efficiency that may be a really good thing.)

What if the women who own businesses (and that number is rapidly rising) are all the more primed for energy use behavioral change?   These women are super aware of how that which serves their business bottom line might also serve their household facility management bottom line – all the while keeping “constituents” (family or staff) happy and productive.

The implications for marketing energy efficiency and the related technology today are huge.  Focus on the biggest influencers, and reach them where they are already very concerned about your industry (where it hurts most immediately).  Women who own or manage businesses, and who may more likely be moms (and read green mom blogs!), will be at that market’s core.

***On a related note: a new study finds that people much more easily engage with the concept of “energy efficiency” than they do with “climate change.”  One is immediately felt (like a Vermonter’s January natural gas bill) and the other seems abstract and more like someone else’s problem.  Dave Thier, the writer of the AOL News article on the study, quotes one of the researchers:

“It’s a little bit disconcerting to me that Americans are more comfortable expressing their preferences as consumers than as a citizens,” said [Ed] Maibach.

There’s been quite a lot of discussion about Dove’s Men+Care Super Bowl ad, and rightly so.  But, (for the love of…) don’t let their success lead you to the extremes of “me-too” and “we’ve got to get in on this marketing to men thing.”

I can see it already.  When Dove first started releasing their various more noticeably women-focused, Campaign for Real Beauty ads – and they were effective/much talked about – brands all over the place went nuts trying to be similarly clever in jumping on the women’s thing.  Except, the women Dove was reaching so well were a very specific group of women, and no other brand, product or industry could simply slap a real women/not models campaign together and succeed.

Oh, but they tried.

“Marketing to men” may be the latest shiny object for marketers. But, I’m advising you to take a chill pill, step back – and perhaps revisit the “transparent marketing” guidelines in my book, Don’t Think Pink. Here are three:

1. Narrow your focus (and narrow it more and more and more – almost to pinpoint).  There’s no way you are ever marketing to all men everywhere.  Dove knows that, and did a ton of research.  That’s why the reality their Super Bowl ad depicted seems to resonate.  Guys are not being represented as uber-manly but more like the normal guys many of us know and love.  Life for adult men isn’t ALL about drinking beer and ogling hot chicks (who knew?).

2. Get to know and understand your customer community intimately. Dove found out that men connect with life in real ways – first you are young and goofy, then you get a job and find a great mate, then have kids and so on.  Life is rich and full.  The idea is to understand a day in the life of the man you are trying to reach, and also to understand a day that he may dream of (even if you don’t pose the question to him in quite that way).

3. Gather, utilize and acknowledge feedback. Without really talking to a few of the people they were trying to reach in developing the Dove Men+Care message, the skin care brand would never have gotten the tone and humor of this ad right –  just as was the case with their ground-breaking Campaign for Real Beauty women’s efforts.  And now, I’m guessing they are keeping track of how the ad campaign resonates and what is being said in blog comments and on Twitter to refine their future efforts.  Women are not the only ones who appreciate being heard, and given all the lame caveman vs. superwoman ad representations running now, guys are probably very receptive to brands countering that  theme (which has become cliched, in case you haven’t noticed).

Being guided and inspired by the customers you serve is the definition of transparent marketing.  Male consumers would likely say they don’t need a manly/blue filter on campaigns trying to get their attention.  Like women, they’d much rather be respected and connected with around values and ideas that are important to them.  So leave the grunting and burping for the beer ads – they do it so well.

*I’d give this ad campaign an  “A” for concept and execution.

It is so often the big risk-taking entrepreneurs or business leaders who live the glamorous life and get the media coverage, but does that really mean they are successful?  In the January 18 issue of The New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell considers what makes for a successful entrepreneur – the likes of Ted Turner or hedge-fund manager John Paulson, as examples.  Surprise – it’s not what you think, but it is a combination of things like:

• They are attracted by lack of risk (something pretty obvious, that for whatever reason other people aren’t seeing – perhaps because it isn’t as immediately and hugely profitable).
• They write business plans (who knew?).
• Their businesses are B2B, not B2C.  According to Gladwell: “Ninety percent of the fastest-growing companies in the country sell to other businesses: failed entrepreneurs usually try selling to consumers.”
• They are happy to put personal reputation (or risk being seen as a fool) on the line in pursuit of professional gains.

What struck me was that it sounded an awful lot like what David Bornstein writes in his book How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas about successful social entrepreneurs.  Their motivation is less status/fame than it is a heightened need for achievement.  As he puts it, these folks tend to be:

“…people with new ideas to address major problems who are relentless in the pursuit of their visions, people who simply will not take no for an answer, who will not give up until they have spread their ideas as far as they possibly can.”

Now, we all know that sustainability is just starting to get its due, but a lot of entrepreneurs have been at it a while, conducting the unglamorous grunt work toward spreading their great ideas.

What motivated people like Ray C. Anderson of Interface fame, for example? There was a distinct lack of risk in pursuing a truly sustainable organization (other than people might think he was a nut for thinking so long term).  He already knew his conventional flooring business, so had a plan.  His business was founded as a B2B and only much later introduced a consumer product line (FLOR – to which I can attest, because those washable tiles are very handy when you have a dog). And, while Anderson has become famous in sustainability circles, you can tell, from reading his story in Mid-Course Correction or watching more recent videos of his presentations, that he is quite the regular guy.

Ray Anderson has quietly been doing great things for his business, his industry and the world.

Though they may be under the radar and not getting cover stories, entrepreneurs in the sustainability realm now have a serious advantage.  Their investment in their ideas and commitment to what they do is long term, and they can’t be stopped.  These people may have looked silly in years past, but the joke is now on those who worried too much about looking silly.

Angela Walseng and Wendy Scherer of The Social Studies Group and I were recently interviewed on Purse Strings Radio about our Green Mom Eco-cosm Study. We got into some lively discussion about:

• A woman’s awareness of her own journey toward sustainable or “green” living, and how she allows for a brand to take steps toward sustainability rather than expecting absolute green perfection overnight.
• Even the toughest critics or greenest mom bloggers remain  open minded and see the greater good in what Walmart and Clorox are doing with their corporate and brand steps toward sustainability.
• There can be huge differences in brand perception versus reality on the sustainability front.  Some brands spend big bucks for mass market ad campaigns but may not really be doing all that much, and other brands can’t afford the big campaigns but are really integrating sustainability throughout their business.  Effectively communicating your brand’s sustainable development along the way may be the biggest opportunity out there!

***

At the root of it all, the results of our study made it clear that it is worth the time for a sustainably-oriented brand to get to know – and gain the trust of – green mom bloggers.