Companies Going Green are Seeing More Green

“Going green” seems to be one of the biggest trends in consumer marketing right now, and some retailers are going beyond just making their business practices more environmentally friendly. In fact, more than 300 retailers – including Kraft, Bed Bath and Beyond, CVS, Starbucks and even Petco-- have joined RecycleBank to market to environmentally conscious consumers.

The RecycleBank concept is quite easy and user friendly. Customers receive a 35, 64, or 96 gallon RecycleBank-specific container which has a barcode that identifies their home. As the trucks collect recycling, a device scans the barcode on the container and translates the value of the recycled items into a dollar amount (up to $35 RecycleBank Dollars a month) that can be redeemed through shopping coupons at participating businesses.

Advertising is a central piece of the RecycleBank program, and it will only be getting bigger as it expands across the nation and overseas to Europe. RecycleBank is collecting the names, addresses and buying habits of hundreds of thousands, possibly even millions of people, and in doing so, RecycleBank is gathering a database of loyal customers who manage accounts online and potentially could be targeted by advertisers (provided they opt in).

If nothing else, RecycleBank should become a program where companies can sell to “green” consumers, says Ron Gonen, RecycleBank chief executive. “The core of this company is the ability to target and market to an captive audience that feels good about what they are doing,” he said.

In 2007, participating RecycleBank households redeemed more than $1 million RecycleBank points, thus putting that money back into the local economies in participating communities. RecycleBank’s long-term connection with households enables reward partners to recognize the vast and unique marketing and advertising opportunities in RecycleBank.

Gonen, whose company is being flooded with offers from venture capitalists, wants to grow RecycleBank gradually.

Earlier this year, he went after a new target, college campuses. Starting with a pilot program at New York City’s Columbia University, RecycleBank is putting special kiosks in cafeterias and dorms. Students receive a RecycleBank card, take their recycling to the closest kiosk, swipe their card, weigh their recycling and claim their points. The campus model required a little tweaking on Gonen’s part — the dorm kiosks, he notes, are now prank-proof (you can douse them in beer, and they’ll still work) — and it’s been an early success at Columbia, where school officials are happy for any way to “green” their university.

With the much-anticipated expansion across the nation yet in 2008, many consumers and retailers are equally eager for the opportunity to join with RecycleBank and benefit from the program. And that means a lot more “green” going around for everyone!