GreenMark Public Relations®, Inc.

When does “Green” transcend the trend? Some would say the time is now. According to London-based market research firm Mintel International Group Ltd., the number of U.S. consumers who regularly buy green products tripled in 2008, to 36%. Convert that to numbers and you’ve got well over 100 million people who make the conscious choice for green. What about the rest? What about not just light-bulbs and organic food, but banks and hotels? Steve Hendershot, of Crain’s Chicago Business (”Is green enough to lure clients?” July 18, 2009) says, “Success hinges on old standards like price, service and performance.”

“My customers want me to help them save money by running more efficiently,” says Jason Howard, CEO of Greenspace Supply, which sells office supplies and janitorial products. “Environmental benefits are important, but they rank second or third. Customers move forward once we can show them the cost savings as well as the green benefits.”

A 2008 Boston Consulting Group survey revealed that 82% of U.S. consumers are willing to pay a premium for green products, as long as those products provide added benefits. That means if something says “organic” on the label, it had better live up to its expectations - and taste better, too. Likewise, if travelers shell out an extra few dollars on a green place to stay, the hotel can’t get by on novelty alone, customers aren’t going to feel satisfied with only a green mint on the pillow.

GreenChoice Bank in Chicago has yet to open, but already has 2,000 people on its waiting list. CEO Harold Sherman noticed a different attitude amongst the depositors, but said people feel good about their bank. This attitude doesn’t come lightly. GreenChoice has made clear it’s intent to be a significant improvement over any existing bank. GreenChoice will use less paper, it’ll be built to high LEED standards and will offer better interest rates to customers who decline paper statements. It’s location is good too, built on the first floor of The Green Exchange, Chicago’s first green marketplace (2545 W. Diversey Ave.). Is this enough?

Northwestern University marketing professor Tim Calkins said, “There are a lot of things that drive consumer decision-making around a bank, and environmental issues I think would rank fairly low… You’ve got to use that environmental benefit to show people you’re committed to helping their communities, that they can trust you, that you’re not going to lend their money to fancy investment bankers on Wall Street who will never pay it back.”

Calkins is right, people are still skeptical about green and especially skeptical about banks. Sustainability is something to be taken seriously and people want companies going green to treat that issue with respect. Hendershot poses a good question, “Is green enough to lure clients?” Take one step inside GreenChoice Bank when it opens. Take a stroll through the Green Exchange. You decide.

Read Steve Hendershot’s article, “Is green enough to lure clients?” on ChicagoBusiness.com (July 18, 2009).

On June 16, 2009, The Chicago Tribune reports on a new crop of green banks sprouting up in Chicago. Becky Yerak, of Tribune Newspapers, writes, “In recent months, investor groups in Illinois and Pennsylvania have gotten regulatory approval to open GreenChoice Bank in Chicago and e3bank in Malvern, Pa., joining New Resource Bank in San Francisco, Green Bank in Houston and First Green Bank in Eustis, Fla.”

These banks market their green policies by offering lower interest rates on loans to green builders and borrowers who buy fuel-efficient cars and incentives to depositors who opt out of paper installments.  Research firm Mintel surveyed consumers, of whom 56 percent found paperless accounts to be genuinely ecologically friendly, not just a cost-cutting ploy.

With bank failures widespread through the country, GreenChoice Bank aspires to be one of the Midwest’s first green lenders. “Sustainability has entered the mainstream, as evidenced by the ubiquity of ‘green’ messaging and reporting in the media,” said GreenChoice’s application with the Office of Thrift Supervision. Steve Sherman, who will be GreenChoice’s chief operating officer, is accredited in green building practices by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED. On June 2, 2009, GreenChoice received conditional regulatory approval, and it hopes to raise $13.5 million to $16 million in capital.

In addition to the above mentioned benefits to green banking, GreenChoice Bank is pushing envelope-free ATMs and remote deposit capture, in which the business customer can deposit checks without visiting a bank. First Green Bank, which opened earlier in 2009, offers zero-interest loans to workers who buy cars that get more than 30 miles to the gallon.