Ray Smith, the Managing Director for AppliCad, asks the question: Why Green? And he makes some very interesting points. 

Ray Smith, the Managing Director for AppliCad, asks the question: Why Green? And he makes some very interesting points.

Here’s what Ray Smith had to say:

Why Green?

This is becoming very tiresome.

I am starting to feel like I’m late for the St Patrick’s Day parade in New York. Why is everyone painting their websites and advertising material various shades of green? This is all getting a bit silly with ‘Green’ becoming a euphemism for what most good managers have been doing for years. What has changed? Isn’t responsible, considerate, efficient, effective and sustainable use of materials and resources good management at any time? Why do we have to invoke green to succeed in business? Surely we have better messages to convey to our customers?

I believe Green has become an anachronism in today’s environment and used when you can’t think of anything else to say! Marketers seem to have lost their way and in the absence of any other creative campaign invoke ‘green.’ This has coincided with the recession that resulted from the GFC and perhaps has taken the edge off their creative skills. Can we focus on the real reasons why our products and services are truly an effective solution and good for the future of our occupation of the planet?

Yes, we wish to leave the planet in better shape for our kids than what we have inherited and this should underscore everything we do. So why can’t we focus on the technical things that really matter, that happen to be efficient, effective, responsible and sustainable? 

In AppliCad’s case, our software doesn’t just deliver tools for efficiently estimating roofing materials and generating job management reports – we also reduce waste, optimise reuse of off-cut material, plan for solar panels and rainfall capture and a bunch of other things. And they’re not dependent upon any color! I believe that good marketers sell benefits, not features. Green is not a benefit – it is a result of good management practice and processes.


Well, what do you think? Does Ray Smith make his case? Is ‘green’ a benefit or a result of good management practices?