I went to a conference on Green Communications this week in New York city (I know, I know: in the “act locally” spirit of green action, it seems like a long way and a major carbon footprint to go to New York to hear about the best ways to effectively communicate environmental issues. But I did do other things while there, in the interests of efficiency, and I took the train or walked, so that should count a little, no?).

In any case, the conference was designed to be as green as possible, and reminded me of some of the small and not so small ways that every group or organization, PR firms included, can become more green. For example, instead of water bottles being available for participants, there was a large jug plus recyclable paper cups at various stations around the room. Some people complained, saying it was easier to spill, but honestly, what’s the worst that can happen if you spill a little water on you – it will dry? They also did no paper communication (something we are also moving towards as we continue to deliver more and more material electronically only) and even the cutlery was made of corn fibres; this latter was less exciting as an alternative, but points for effort.

The headline speaker was Stephen Giannetti, Vice President and Group Publisher of National Geographic Magazines and besides a very compelling, and visually impressive, presentation about how National Geographic tries to walk the talk internally (the company has 118 years of conservancy messages behind it), he put forth a very interesting issue. How can a company whose main product is essentially environmentally unfriendly, i.e. using paper for a high-gloss magazine that reaches literally millions of people, creating landfill (except in our house, where we saved every NG when I was a kid) and also consuming acres of forest product, defend itself as being green?

This was not his main thesis: Giannetti very wisely stuck to the script about how his company is not only a leader in the “leave nothing but footprints” style of traveling, armchair travelers included, but also is trying to enhance the identified trend of consumers who are either committed or supportive of the green movement, the top 41% of the (presumably American) population. But he couldn’t get away from the fact that his organization, in addition to living a mission that “inspires people to care about the planet” and make people more actionable about the environment, is also a major consumer of natural resources: approximately 1 ton of coated, higher-end virgin magazine paper like National Geographic uses consumes a little more than 15 trees, which quickly adds up. They are actually considered to be one of the worst offenders, consuming more than an estimated half million trees annually, beat out by a slim margin by People Magazine.

So what do you do when your primary business, be it making cars (as the next speaker, responsible for launching the Ford Escape Hybrid to the US) or selling magazines, is essentially toxic to the environment? Giannetti explained that they were still and constantly working on a solution to reducing the amount of paper consumed but that this was a challenge, given that they are a high gloss publication with an emphasis on excellent quality photo reproduction.

We’ve run into this issue before: I attended a sustainability conference at Sofitel, one of our clients and a hotel chain that is quite forward-looking with its “Earth Guest” program, and someone at the table criticized the fact that the water we were drinking was imported from France. Of course we have bottled water from Quebec, we get your point, but for those who want 5-star service, which is what Sofitel offers, would they be satisfied with local water? You can always drink tap water: obviously, no-one obliges you to drink the imported stuff with all its implications of global warming by virtue of its transportation costs. But how does a company that’s in the business of “spoiling” its customers go totally green?

I think Giannetti had the right response: we start where we can and take as many small steps as possible towards a big goal, in his case, to use 100% recycled material. In the meantime, the move is towards electronic materials where possible and using environmentally-friendly inks, a major toxin and polluter. For another of our clients, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, its primary business is a major producer of greenhouse gases. In response, they are planting millions of trees, converting some cars in their fleets to hybrids, and are funding research for alternative fuel sources.

In each of our professional (and personal) lives, small steps we take today can make a big difference tomorrow. I’d rather encourage companies to keep incorporating more and more of these small steps into their way of doing business than to condemn them for the issues that are harder and take longer to change (assuming they’re also committed to changing them). And as for us, I’ve decided I’m not quite ready to use corn-based utensils – I don’t mind washing the regular ones, thanks.