01/02/2007 11:56:00 PM 
The environment is a huge issue, but energy consumption is the easiest one to solve, requiring immediate attention and offering the greatest payback.
During the holidays, the collapse of a giant ice shelf off the coast of Northern Canada was a timely reminder to all that this issue isn?t going away soon.
If one of the world's corporate giants, Wal-Mart , already understands that saving energy, saves money, then surely every corporation will follow suit?
As consumers, it will hit us everywhere- from the energy we use to power our homes, the gas for our commutes, the energy we use to heat and light our workplaces, the power for our desktop computers, the jet fuel for our vacation travel and even the shipping of goods that we purchase everyday.
In short, every single brand will be impacted. Google, United Airways, Aetna, Coca-Cola, ESPN, etc- the category will be immaterial, because every company consumes energy.
Influx sees three potential strategic approaches for brands to address the energy issue.
1. Early Mover Advantage- -Seize the initiative and place a stake in the ground that you are serious about the issue. These initiatives will be broad ranging and impact every aspect of your corporation even your employees. Early movers will try to seek competitive advantage from this move- both from a financial and marketing perspective.
GE,Wal-Mart, Virgin Atlantic, Toyota are early movers here, but there are dozens of smaller companies who moved into this space decades ago.
2. Selective Attack- Audit the whole business and understand the areas that require the most attention. Concentrate on those areas and leave the others to a later date.
Detroit- starting to make some of its plants more energy efficient (Ford with Rouge) and starting to make hybrid vehicles, but small percentage of overall fleet.
3. Partnership Strategy-Look for opportunities to align with respected third parties- this could be energy saving seals of approval, the Sierra Club or organizations promoting carbon neutrality. This is the middle ground and more of a follower approach.
Of course, there is also the "head in the sand" strategy, which means doing nothing, because no one is forcing the issue politically. However, this is extremely dangerous position, in a rapidly short period of time, detailing and highlighting exactly what your company and brand is doing to save energy will become commonplace, those with nothing to say, will stand out from the pack, for all the wrong reasons.
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