Rebuilding Was Green Before Green Was Cool By Wes Grueninger Green, it’s not just a color anymore. It’s a worldwide movement and, for many, a lifestyle. Some 35 million American con- sumers regularly buy products that claim to be earth-friendly, and their numbers are increasing. Consumers have embraced “living green,’ and corporations are tak- ing notice. To attract green-buying consumers, companies are working hard to green-up their images. McDonalds is making Happy Meal boxes out of recycled news- paper. Wal-Mart is building stores to run on wind and solar power. Dell has announced free recycling of any of its computers. Even DuPont, the chemical company that invented and manufactures chlorofluorocarbons (aka Freon) has revamped their image enough to be named by Business Week magazine as one of the Top Green Companies of 2007. Environmentalists scoff at most of these efforts, calling them PR stunts with little real benefits. They’ve even coined a word to refer to it: greenwashing. Sesame Street’s Kermit the Frog said, “Tt isn’t easy being green,’ but Kermit isn’t an electrical rebuilder. Our indus- try is, by its very nature, eco-friendly. We don’t need to greenwash anything. We do need to proclaim our green-ness to all the millions of consumers desiring to make a difference with their purchases. Green consumers want to feel good about their choices, knowing that they We do need to proclaim our green- ness to all the millions of consumers desiring to make a difference with their purchases. Green consumers want to feel good about their choices, knowing that they are helping to make things better. It’s up to us to let them know the difference that buying a rebuilt unit makes. Several studies have been done attempting to quantify the environmental advantages of rebuilding. While the statis- tics are compelling, the information is not up-to-date. For this reason, I’m not going to throw a lot of numbers at you. No mat- ter how accurate the study is, it’s unlikely that many customers would want to read it before purchasing an alternator or starter. Our goal is to find a simple method of drawing attention to the environmental advantages of rebuilding and shining a Rebuilding is Recycling! Figure 1— Recycle Logo with Slogan positive light on our industry. With this in mind, the Electrical Rebuilder’s Association (ERA) is intro- ducing several new items to promote the green-ness of electrical rebuilding. First, we have a new logo and a new slogan. The ERA logo has been re- designed to fit inside of the universally recognized recycling logo. This design visually reinforces the environmentally friendly aspects of our industry. The new slogan is “Rebuilding is Recycling!” We recommend always dis- playing the new slogan and logo together Good for the Environment copper and steel ¢ extends the life of vehicles Good for the Country Good for Consumers Rebuilding is Recycling! ¢ less waste in landfills through recycling of aluminum, ¢ less energy and pollution than making a new product ¢ local rebuilding keeps jobs & money in the community * rebuilt parts save 45-80% of the price of new Figure 2 — Rebuilding is Recycling Poster slogan. The ERA logo has been re- designed to fit inside of the universally recognized recycling logo. This design visually reinforces the environmentally friendly aspects of our industry. The new slogan is “Rebuilding is Recycling!” We recommend always dis- playing the new slogan and logo together as shown in Figure 1. Next, there are two new posters. These are great to display in the customer area of your shop. Figure 2 shows the “Rebuilding is Recycling!” poster. This displays the new logo/slogan and pres- ents a list of the environmental benefits of rebuilding: Good for the Environment ¢ less waste in landfills through recy- cling of aluminum, copper and steel e less energy and pollution than making a new product ¢ extends the life of vehicles Good for the Country ¢ local rebuilding keeps jobs and money in the community Good for Consumers e rebuilt parts save 45 to 80 percent of the price of new The “Let us help you be Green” poster in Figure 3 is designed to get the green message across using dramatic graphics and fewer words. It is a full-color image of Earth surrounded by the blackness of space with the green ERA recycle logo superimposed. The text message is short and simple: “Rebuilding is Recycling! Let us help you be Green.” The new logos and posters are avail- able for download on the ERA Web site. Different sizes and formats are available online to use on your printed materials and Web sites. The posters can also be ordered in 20-inch by 30-inch format through Shutterfly.com, an online photo-printing service. The cost from Shutterfly.com is $22.99 (as of Feb. 2008). To purchase them, go to the ERA Web site homepage