Fresh from the 2009 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, SLM contributor Lucas Daniel offers a firsthand look at how Nokia is telling its sustainability story - via cellphone.
For companies innovating in the new economy of ethics, shifting consumer behavior is one of the more difficult tasks to undertake. Companies have to not only deliver on what people are most concerned with: convenience, beauty, value; but also make a switch to more responsible actions natural and seamless. Reusable grocery bags come to mind as a good recent example of this; at the local Jewel-Osco near my home in Chicago, they are inching closer to the check-out aisle so that it no longer has to be a fully pre-planned activity. For mass adoption, green products and services have to be within arm's reach.
So where better to put the tools for more responsible behavior than in the object within pocket reach: your mobile phone. Nokia is doing just that in an interesting extension of their "power of we" brand story: offering a set of applications and services that bring green tools, community, and information a menu button away.
Nokia is currently offering four of these combo applications and services in their phones.
- we:offset is a CO2 emission offsetting tool for traveling (one of the biggest carbon offenders). Nokia is working with ClimateCare to bring the carbon calculator and ability to buy offsets directly from your mobile.
- Green Explorer is a web-enabled widget that provides tips and advice on green travel options, such as organic restaurants, green hotels, and recycling guidelines, to name a few. Users can log in and post information about cities they’ve visited. Now in beta, Nokia hopes Green Explorer will become the social networking hub for green living.
- Eco Zone is a phone app where users can access quarterly updated content such as wallpaper and videos from the WWF and links to green living tips and eco communities.
- Mobiledu is a mobile application available in China that promotes environmental awareness through education tools.
At Barcelona's massive Mobile World Congress (MWC) exhibition last month, I played with we:offset and Green Explorer at the Nokia booth. They're impressive not simply because they are included on the phone (no extra effort required), but because they don’t feel kitschy or like they were tacked on at the end. There's value in using them beyond just a feeling that you've done your good for the day. Green Explorer gave me some user-generated suggestions on where to grab an all-organic lunch or where the best parks are. Johanna Jokinen, senior manager of Environmental Communications, was at the Nokia booth explaining the apps. "They are examples of services that can help people do their bit for the environment with the help of mobile technology. We are bringing eco services directly to people, where ever they are, creating communities and having a strong social location element included in them."
This level of direct engagement with their customers is what sets Nokia's sustainable efforts apart from those of their competitors. This was even evident in how they engaged with MWC attendees to tell their story. In comparison to Nokia's booth, Samsung and LG's sustainable brand stories were behind glass, unstaffed, and talked exclusively about eco-packaging, bio plastics or energy efficiency. Samsung did have a few bullet points about their "Eco UX," but the applications seemed too passive, like Eco Calendar which marks ecologically significant days, or too kitschy, like Eco Walk which counts and shows trees saved as you walk.
While Nokia was very focused on their green applications and services at the event, they were framing it as part of their larger sustainable brand story known as the power of we. "The power of we is Nokia's attitude to eco business and approach to more sustainable living - a billion people using our devices to connect and work together in different ways to protect the environment," says Jokinen. "The power of we combines both Nokia's own environmental work as well as all the individuals using our devices."
The power of we is an umbrella for the following green initiatives:
- we:evolve: A recognition that this is an ongoing dialog Nokia has internally and externally
- we:create: Nokia's focus on creating mobile devices using healthier materials, processes and packaging
- we:energize: Tips on how to save energy and Nokia's commitment to power consumption and finding new sources of energy
- we:recycle: Information on why, where and how to recycle old Nokia phones
- we:support: Partnerships with groups like the WWF that Nokia is creating to leverage to their customers
The power of we is both changing how Nokia thinks and acts internally as well as engages with worldwide community. And they are getting recognized for their efforts. The power of we won the 2008 Green Awards Grand Prix.
But it seems that Nokia's greatest impact will be with their services and applications, as it has the potential to create a massive behavioral shift with their 1 billion users. It’s the simplicity of it that makes it so innovative. Most people don’t want to put out extra effort to be green. So what if our devices pushed us to? In 2007, Nokia introduced a simple innovation in their phones: when it's done charging, it notifies you to unplug, so you’re not syphoning unnecessary phantom power. It's not that people want to keep it plugged in, they just forget. So Nokia very simply reminds them.
"One of the goals currently is to demonstrate people that there are simple actions they can take and that the information on what to do and how to do it is within easy reach – in their mobile devices. Doing small things individually can have big impact (The power of we)."
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Lucas Daniel is a strategy lead at gravitytank, where he manages the strategic direction of a wide variety of projects, from product innovation to market positioning to future platform strategy for clients ranging from Samsung, OfficeMax, and Unilever.
Lucas sits on the advisory board for SLM's upcoming Sustainable Brands '09 conference in Monterey, Calif.
