I really like Brett Virmalo’s post today “2010: Marketing is not Marketing.” He points us away from the “artificial or half-true brand stories’ that, sadly, characterize much of what consumers are fed today, and points us to activities of “uncovering, fostering, sharing, and engaging with employees and consumers around the true stories that make your brand unique.” These are the activities of today’s Marketing. He looks at how various departments in an organization form today’s real marketing department. They include product design and development, and customer support.

More to the point, in today’s Marketing every department is a marketing department, and every employee is a marketing department of one.

Stepping back and taking a broad view of the business model, what appears to be happening today is the merging of traditionally independent departments or focus areas. This is more than removing silos-it is a whole new way of operating. Today, every department is a marketing department, every company is a media company, and every company is a green company.

Question: What’s the difference between “Green” and “Sustainability”?

Answer: The concept of Green is best defined as a “Health Related” practice although is often misapplied to anything “environmental.” The concept of Sustainability is best defined as “the management of our resources.” Sustainability is not singularly focused on energy reduction and carbon emissions. (Source: Trans World News).

This post makes the compelling case for a sustainability officer for every company. Find out why, and where to get trained, here.

Every business, small or large, is or will shortly be a greenmedia* business. This is inevitable based upon two inexorable trends: sustainability and social media.

Sustainability. It makes no difference if you are in the green industry directly or not. Your clients or the clients of your clients are-and so you are tied-in with them. Perhaps your employees support a green initiative. Eventually, they or your customers, or politicians or community advocates will ask for your support. Just out of curiosity, look for plaques commending green efforts on the walls of your customers’ offices-they are appearing with greater frequency. It’s best to get onboard now. This makes goods sense from the perspective of personal environmental stewardship and, given the billions the government is spending in this area, will definitely help your bottom line.

Social Media. It’s growing at an increasingly rapid rate, as is its presence in marketing initiatives. “Media” encompasses your website, social media platforms including blogging, and even news releases. Even if your company doesn’t have or believe in traditional media, you must begin to engage in social media. It’s the new listening post; your competitors are engaged, and they know what the marketplace is saying about you. Want to continue to “touch” your customers? They are increasingly tuning out of traditional forms of communication.

*Note source: “Every Company Is A Media Company” is a post from Brook Ellingwood.

Sustainability and the trend to renewable resources and responsible use is not new. It is as old as another word that begins with “S” and that is stewardship. Stewardship is a profound respect for and awe of creation. Out of this comes the desire to sustain what is innately good. It is a good thing that sustainability is now being used as a driver for good business practices.

The opportunity and obligation to associate with green initiatives is well above my earlier assumptions. This was made clear to me when I interviewed customers of my client who is in the packaging industry. Here are some signals of how green is manifesting itself:

• The lobby of a very large company displayed a plaque honoring this company’s environmental efforts.
• The customer of a customer is in the music industry, which is highly focused on sustainability.
• A customer that replaces bulbs in specialized lighting considers itself in the recycling industry, and insists on environmentally friendly packaging.

What are the cues and triggers that point out to you that going green and supporting sustainability are valuable business opportunities, beyond just being the right thing to do?