In addition to the news story we did on the event, here is some more commentary.

AP’s Ken Thomas: “They market every night the Prius and the Toyota Camry — we’re the green car, huh? Then watch the football games, and they’re marketing the Toyota Tundra — like the biggest vehicle ever made,” Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., a Camry hybrid owner, said Wednesday in a speech at an environmental conference.

Larry Holdren, Pure Brand Communications: “Everyone does seem to be paying attention to issues surrounding climate change, thanks in large part to a former vice president with a Power Point presentation. Being green is hot. It’s trendy. It can help companies sell products and make money.”

“Do tell your story. Tell it and tell it, and when you’re sick of it, tell it again. Don’t just assume that people know your story. I sometimes describe this as a ‘PR death march’ that the company has me on.”

–Beth Lowery, General Motor’s VP of energy, environment, and safety policy, speaking about her company’s promotion of its various “green” initiatives, including development of ethanol-powered vehicles.

Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA), chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, had some harsh words in his keynote address to the Target Green conference this morning about “Detroit” and the “energy industry.”

Though people under 30 by and large are greatly concerned about global warming and are pushing for a revolution in the way businesses, consumers, and people in everyday life use energy, the auto and energy industries are for the most part actively against implementation of new legislation that could effect change, such as rules to set average mileage per car at 35 MPH and mandates requiring utilities produce 15% of electricity through renewable sources by 2020, Markey said.

“But while Detroit is fighting it, there’s no denying that change is possible,” Markey said. “There is a lot of institutional inertia. A lot of companies are using their PR firms to fight change.”

Yet energy efficiency is in fact a marketing opportunity, said Markey, given that all the leaders on college campuses today are being very active in pushing for change. At the University of Florida, for instance, Markey said students pushed against the initial wishes of university officials to enact a small student fee to go toward creating a wind turbine, ultimately raising about $25,000.

“Increasingly [environmental activists are] going to be a larger and larger audience in our country,” Markey said. “I think the polling is so overwhelming that politicians are going to vote against that change at their peril.”

Plus, he noted, many energy efficient products, from cars to lightbulbs, have the false reputation of being virtuous but requiring financial sacrifice.

“Light bulbs that have five times the efficiency but cost twice as much — this is not a sacrifice,” and companies are starting to appreciate the marketing opportunities such products present, Markey concluded.

Speakers at a session of Target Green this morning on “Clean Tech and Public Policy” noted that partnerships among businesses, government agencies, advocacy groups and others are key to bringing about meaningful change in the consumption of energy, emission of CO2, and related public education efforts, if environmental experts are correct in estimating that the world has about 10 years before the pace of global warming becomes too fast too reverse.

Kateri Callahan, president of the Alliance to Save Energy, laid out the reasons “why”: in the US, for instance, gas and oil prices are at record levels and petroleum imports are at 60% and rising. Then she discussed “how”: In employing “clean technologies,” the first step is R&D, then incentives must be offered to get people to buy the products, accompanied by a public education campaign, and then finally standards can be set by regulators or governments to make sure superior products are favored in the marketplace.

“You need the public element to make those products take ahold,” Callahan said.

In some cases, the impact of the government might not always be welcomed by the private sector, making for something of an involuntary partnership. But as Mike Stanton, chairman of the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers noted in the case of gas-mileage standards for cars, change is coming whether people like it or not.

We’re just over a week away from PRWeek’s Target Green conference. There’s still plenty of time to register, however. Full details available here.

WASHINGTON, DC: Edward J. Markey (D-MA), chairman, Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming will serve as morning keynote PRWeek’s Target Green conference, on October 3^rd in Washington, DC.

Beth Lowery, VP energy, environment, and safety policy, General Motors is the afternoon keynote.

Remarks from the 16^th-term congressman and GM’s “chief environmental officer” will highlight the day-long event, which also features speakers from Procter & Gamble; Gap, Inc.; Discovery Communications; Treehugger.com; Canon; the US Green Building Council; AMD, Clear Channel; and the Environmental Protection Agency. To register, click here. To read more about the conference, click here.

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We have finalized the schedule; click here to view it.

We are delighted to announce that Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA), chairman, Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming has agreed to be our morning keynote. Only two more days left to register under the early bird special.

Prior to serving as CEO of the AIAM, Stanton was VP, government and international affairs and director of federal government affairs at the American Automobile Manufacturers Association. Here is information on AIAM’s green efforts.

Here are the expected panels for our Target Green conference.

Panel: Green Entertainment
As the public becomes more attuned to eco-sustainable issues, entertainment and media companies are providing more content to meet that interest. There are common themes, but organizations tailor their content and messaging differently, based on the demo-and psychographics of their audiences. Panelists will discuss their programming and how they’re connecting with existing and new consumers.

Featuring: Annie Howell, SVP of communications and public affairs and talent management for Planet Green, Discovery Channel and Lynn Brindell, SVP marketing, The Weather Channel

Panel: Brokering a public partnership
Programs like the EPA’s Energy Star, the Dept. of Energy’s EERE, and the Department of Commerce’s green suppliers network affords companies and organizations an opportunity to partner with government agencies in a win-win relationship that benefits the environment. Representatives from each government agency will discuss how companies can opt into the government’s voluntary efficiency programs, as well as communicate their involvement.
Featuring: Rick Otis, deputy associate administrator, Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation US Environmental Protection Agency; Mark Bailey, acting program manager, Weatherization and Intergovernmental Program Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, US Department of Energy; and Alex Folk, center operations manager, National Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturers Extension Partnership Green Suppliers Network.

More after the jump Read more »