Recently, I was presented with the question: Do I think sustainable business practices are a trend?

Here’s what I think:

Trends in business are often cyclically driven by the momentum of the market(s), technological advancements and social/global issues of any given time period. At some point, a trend either dies (thus defining it as such) or it starts to become recognized as a period, possibly revolutionary, which will undoubtedly show aggressive new changes in the way our world conducts business. At some point, generally the moment where we question a trend, companies better be analyzing their ideologies and best practices so they are prepared for change.

Businesses around the world have been practicing sustainability for years-many simply driven by their own passionate employees wanting to do more than just recycle or conserve energy on a personal level. In fact, the article in which I was quoted speaks to one of our best environmental stewards, The Brick Companies, who has signed an environmental charter and has been practicing many sustainable initiatives for years. I use The Brick Companies, by example, as one company that has far surpassed the idea of sustainable practice as a trend. Environmental stewardship is part of their everyday business and culture.

Of course, there are also many businesses who are just starting to analyze their practices. I applaud these companies for starting to put a long term plan in place. There are also many businesses that could be considered as using “the trend” to market themselves and their growth. One might say they are jumping on the wagon. I applaud them, too. They will quickly realize, and like, how it improves their businesses-even if they jumped on with an initial haste.

The point I make is this: Sustainable business (on a global level) might be considered a trend, or at least it may have started as one. But it is quickly becoming a period that will be remembered much like the industrial or technological revolution. And it is quickly surpassing the definition of a trend. Many may argue that it never was a trend due to its globality, or that it has long surpassed said status (upon the release of ‘An Inconvenient Truth’).

For now, I’m still comfortable calling it a trend when asked as I believe our world has a lot of work to still do on this issue. I should add that many companies are moving quickly to better the earth and surpass this notion of trend. I’m pleased to say we’re beginning to make our own strides at Orange Element, too.

And, if it is a trend, I believe it is one that is here to stay. And one about which I am very excited.

Aaron Moore

www.orange-element.com

Thanks to EJ for passing along an email about Bloxes. Bloxes are amazing and tare what I believe is going to be the next hot item, especially for creative firms (design shops, architecture firms, ad agencies) all over the world.

You’ve gotta check them out: www.bloxes.com.

While they’re probably a whole lot more environmentally conscious and bio-degradable than traditional cubicle walls and even real wood framed drywall walls (say that three times fast), I’m wondering if they’re made out of recycled materials? Hmmm, doesn’t say on their Web site. Their Web site SO leaves me wanting more. I’m not sure if that’s intentional or not…

While I love the simplicity and strength of the design, how cool would it be if you could have custom designed graphics for your bloxes? I think either way if Orange Element decided to make the purchase, we’d figure out some way to customize them.

Here are some pictures, but you can find more at their Flickr site HERE.

Garret Ohm
www.orange-element.com

I had been thinking about writing some commentary about this for a while, but every time I tried, I felt like what I wrote sounded a bit too condescending and self-righteous. So Seth did it for me in a bit more politically correct way. You can read his blog post HERE.

In a nutshell, what Seth talks about is how it bugs him that some companies take the easy way out and choose a generic name. A name that has no promise to the consumer and certainly not much meaning. These names that incorporate “central,” “village,” and “world.”

I’d like to also add to that list companies that incorporate “solutions,” “services,” “specialists,” and any other iterations of that idea into the mix. Those bug me SO much. Like Seth says, they’re interchangeable. Meaningless. I just think it’s kind of weak.

As you know, I think consumers are smart. If you didn’t know that, just read HERE. I think they see through this. I think they expect more out of the places they spend their hard earned dollars….What do you think?

Garret Ohm
www.orange-element.com

Have you guys seen this? What a great concept - small changes repeated over and over create one big change…

http://www.earthhour.org/

I’m going to write them now to see how hard it would be to organize one for Baltimore….

Garret Ohm
www.orange-element.com

It all started a few days ago when, walking back from a meeting on Centre Street I noticed that one of my favorite Mount Vernon attractions was now completely fenced in with gold chain link fence. I started to wonder what was going on, as I’m sure did everyone else that usually walks their dogs there, admires the beauty of the park, eats lunch there, etc. I have to admit I was a little ticked about the park being closed, especially when the weather was just starting to turn.

I think that’s just what “they” wanted me to feel. It turns out that “they” is actually a senior student at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and the gold chain link fence is his senior project. His mission is: “through interactions created by the context of the temporary gold fencing, visitors are encouraged and possibly even forced to ‘re-see’ and ‘re-consider’ Mount Vernon Place from an alternate perspective.”

I don’t know for sure yet, but I have a feeling that what he’s trying to do is to make people appreciate and use public spaces more by using the deprivation method. He was probably hoping that the exhibition would create some controversy - and it did…Check out the coverage in the Baltimore Sun HERE.

If you’re interested, walk on by the Washington Monument and check it out. Or visit www.goldchainlinkfence.com.

Art? You decide…

Garret Ohm
www.orange-element.com

Happy Monday everyone. I hope you all had a great Easter weekend. I meant to write about this on Friday, but it was a late development and I didn’t have time to write before I left for Pennsylvania. We’re really excited to announce that we have been chosen by the Maryland Film Festival to help promote their Friends of the Festival program.

We started talking to them a couple of months ago because while we love our clients like Citifinancial, Comcast, T.Rowe Price and W.R. Grace, we enjoy taking a periodic break from working on corporate accounts to work for those that are typically non-traditional and edgy. Luckily they thought Orange Element was worthy to work with them.

In talking with the folks over there, we quickly realized that one of the most pressing sore spots for them was their Friends of the Festival program. While the Festival itself gets lots of attention in early May due to amazing programming and celebrity involvement, the organization has struggled to communicate to the general public that the Maryland Film Festival is actually way more than just one event. It’s actually year-round events, film screenings, contests, and more, with one amazing flagship event each year.

Years ago, in an attempt to communicate this, they adapted a revised logo for the Maryland Film Festival incorporating the number 365, which you can see to the left. It was a bandaid at best, but I had to admit to them that I didn’t immediately get what it was trying to communicate (of course I did get it when I had the luxury of meeting with them a couple of times). In addition, the Friends of the Festival program was buried well within the Web site, nearly invisible to interested parties. Needless to say the program was crawling ahead at best.

Enter Orange Element. We are going to start by creating a unique identity for the Friends of the Festival program that will be able to stand on its own and begin to be promoted when it just doesn’t make sense to promote the festival itself. We think this approach will be the best way to communicate the breadth of Maryland Film Festival’s offerings while still building the brand’s offerings. In a sense, we’re hoping to create more of a ‘community’ around the Maryland film industry by promoting the FoF brand.

Once we create the identity, we’re going to use it in creating sweet membership cards for members (…think Amex black cards..), email campaigns, posters, t-shirts, social networking sites, etc. We have lots of cool stuff planned to try to bolster the numbers for the program and we’re sure they will be successful.

One of the most fun and exciting elements of our work for them will be promoting the renovated program during the Festival itself. We’re going to go tour the Charles Theater this week sometime to see how we can incorporate environmental graphics to make sure that people at the Festival take notice. We’re going to try to incorporate light gel stencils and projection equipment, as well as some movie-style posters. It promises to be good stuff.

Well, that’s it for now - See you at the show on May 1-4th!

Garret Ohm
www.orange-element.com