…and the winner is… hessnatur! And that’s what it looks like, the Minne Marketing Award for innovative, sustainable marketing, which I was given the honor of accepting. The presentation also happened to be on Hohenzollernstraße in Munich, the same street where hessnatur’s store is located. It wasn’t a conscious decision, but perhaps no coincidence either…

Since the mid 80′s, the public has been putting growing pressure on companies for socially and ecologically conscious policies. However, the actual steps taken have varied widely. The spectrum ranges from short-term marketing gimmicks to far reaching projects in sustainability.

But what I do recognize is that the “conventional” marketing scene is casting an eye upon the doings of the Eco-scene in the meantime, not only for orientation, but also for education. Until the 90′s, companies who actually acted sustainably were only recognized by a handful of fellow pioneer firms. Today, the topic of sustainability is relevant even for the companies who have payed little attention to the issue until now. Even companies which have ignored the situation entirely have realized that they are in need of a public position on social and ecological issues.

While this is a form of long awaited recognition for the eco-pioneers that they have done things differently and well, it is also a pressure on these pioneers for new innovation. The stronger the competition, the better an organization needs to become. Naturally. And that counts for marketing as well. It validates the need to introduce new and innovative concepts, with which one can push social and ecological goals forward. And it is here that hessnatur, with 33 years of experience in sustainable marketing, has far more potential yet to reveal, in my opinion. In sustainable marketing, hessnatur is a force to be reckoned with.

The jury, from left to right: Klaus Kofler (futurologist), Peter Jordan (Bavarian executive board: Deutschen PR Gesellschaft), Thomas Jäger (founder: The Foo), myself (Noel Klein-Reesink), Lutz Dziarnowski (CEO: Münchener Marketing Circle), Jochen Kohler (bizzlounge Frankfurt), Felix Stöckle (Managing Director: Landor Ass. Hamburg) and Stefan Picard (founder: Bizzlounge).

Tags: sustainability

This entry was posted on Monday, July 20th, 2009 at 10:03 am and is filed under Environment, Fashion, General, Production. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.