(1)BE AGGRESSIVELY HONEST - Most large companies can't be totally honest, because at best it's not appealing, and, at worst, it's reprehensible. Everyday, companies affirm decisions not to use recycled materials, not to install scrubbers on smokestacks, not to decrease their cabon emissions and not to stop polluting waterways. If you're really doing what you're doing for the right reasons, you get to be honest. Examples of honesty: web sites and packaging that explain not only what you're doing well, but also what you're trying to improve. When someone is candid enough to tell you their weaknesses and faults, you're more likely to believe them about their strengths and achievements. When I saw Michael Cooke, then-CEO of Patagonia, speak at a press conference announcing his company's Capilene-recycling program, he began by declaring "we are not sustainable, not even close." This admission made everything he said afterward more credible.
(2)BE HUMAN - In business, there is a much greater danger of being ignored than being misunderstood or dismissed as unprofessional. Ultimately, a business is a group of human beings in a relationship with other human beings. But if all your communications take the form of some perfectly punctuated "professional" voice, then you're less likely to be trusted, remembered or liked. It's good to remember that the more sincere a corporate voice is, the more human it is. Some years ago, I was involved in conceiving of several large and expensive campaigns for Sun Microsystems, none of which ended up changing the public's perception of the company in an appreciable way. Then Jonathon Swartz was given the reins of the company and started his own blog on which he was candid about what he was doing and why. His blog is now widely read and much more influential in modifying perceptions than a slickly produced ad campaign can ever be.
(3)BE TRANSPARENT - Because there is a disconnect between the profit-seeking imperatives of business and the moral motivations that make us trust people, transparency is the exception not the rule. Most businesses don't tell you exactly where and how their products are made and their impact on the environment. If you're a green company, you don't have this disconnect. Thus, you can be transparent in a way that your conventional competition cannot be. Use this to your advantage. Transparency can be anecdotal -- simply explaining the reasoning and internal discussions behind a decision. Or it can be systematic, such as detailing exactly how products are made, how workers are paid, and even showing the documentation behind certification processes like Organic and Fair Trade
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