Ubisoft Goes Paperless and Defeats Greenwashing Cliché

Ubisoft becomes first gaming company to go paperless

The Going Green cliché became outdated in the 80’s and 90’s.  Greenwashing became a bandwagon and companies began throwing elbows to be among those who could profess that they were environmentally friendly, even if it was nothing more than spin.  Some companies had no logical reason other than everybody else was doing it.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is more 21^st century.  I would argue that there is a hybrid of both in today’s corporate world, and the terms continue to evolve.  Advocating against “going green,” (oh how I hate that phrase) or CSR is similar to proposing a cut in veteran’s benefits.  Nobody would ever advocate against it, however, companies must approach CSR and greenability in a new way.

Take for example Ubisoft, a video game company.  They announced that their video game cases would no longer contain paper pamphlet manuals.  Instead the game manuals will be accessible through in a digital format.  Ubisoft is the first company to do this in the video gaming industry and the new process with start with Shaun White Skateboarding this fall.  You might remember Shaun White from his decorated X Games and Olympic performances.

According to Charles Austin’s blog post, “Ubisoft internal data shows that producing one ton of paper used in Ubisoft’s game manuals consumes an average of two tons of wood from 13 trees, with a net energy of 28 million BTU’s (equivalent to average heating and energy for one home/year), greenhouse gases equivalent of over 6,000 lbs of CO2, and wastewater of almost 15,000 gallons.”

Ubisoft gets it right and is not falling into the cliché of greenwashing.  The company justifies their efforts in cost cutting by fulfilling both a CSR and green role.  Ubisoft is not going green just for the sake of going green.  Their efforts will also provide a more comprehensive digital gaming manual.  I would imagine that this will be a coming trend in the gaming industry and Ubisoft will be standing at the helm.

A few key points to remember:

CSR, philanthropy, and community development are strategic functions and should not be marginalized by viewing them as tactics to win over favorability.

Beware the bandwagon effect.

If your company decides to go green by being more environmentally friendly or practice CSR methodologies, clearly justify the reasoning and show how your company benefits.

CSR and green movements, while the terms and phrases may develop over time, their core principles are here to stay.

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Helping Haiti or Jumping the CSR Bandwagon

“To speak with a human voice, companies must share the concerns of their communities.” – Thesis #34 of 95 found within “The Cluetrain Manifesto.”

On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 earthquake rocked the coastal region of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  News venues were quick to cover the events, and efforts to accumulate and mobilize relief began immediately.  While keeping in mind that ethics can be defined as normative standards of behavior, let’s briefly examine the corporate position in response to Haiti.

Is posting a logo on the homepage of a company website that says, “Donate to Help Haiti” a genuine fundraising effort in which the company has planned to initiate and implement?  Or, is the logo a simple corporate social responsibility move, tactically placed on the home page because the normative standards of behavior in our society suggest giving during great times of need is strongly suggested?  Let’s break it down further.

Does the company make a public effort, through PR initiatives or spending ad dollars, on various means of getting their message out?  Is it wrong to spend corporate assets on ways to advertise the company is taking part in a large-scale fundraising campaign for relief?  I would say no it is not wrong.  In fact it is acceptable and admirable because the company is spending their own money to jumpstart a philanthropic effort, which directly benefits others.  They are investing in a vehicle that may or may not serve as a means to better appeal to their closest constituencies while simultaneously helping those in need.

This effort is similar, yet clearly distinctive from advertising.  In advertising, a company spends money to buy airtime and space in publications at a marginal cost than what they anticipate future sales of their product to gross.  This is a tangible calculation based on the data collected from market segments, past track records of product sales and so on.  In pushing a philanthropic effort, a company is making a gamble for something worth far more than accrued earnings – and that is reputational sustainability and enhancement.  While reputation is more or less intangible, consumers, customers and constituencies are very much aware of its existence.

The ultimate question for corporate entities is – Are you intrinsically motivated to mobilize various forms of relief through raising funds or are you slapping a ‘Donate Here’ icon on the website as means of positioning the company in a more favorable light because relief is driving the bandwagon?

Do you think any corporations are simply and haphazardly jumping on the bandwagon for the sake of image?  Or conversely, have you encountered a corporation that is spearheading the effort and truly going the distance to make a difference in the lives of those who are most closely impacted by this disaster?

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