Fueled by Green

It is a word, a phrase, a way of life that most have become either accustomed to or have heard endless earfuls about: green. Companies are playing their part in continuing the green effort, Coca-Cola in particular.

Recently, Coca-Cola, working with the World Wildlife Federation and Momentum Phillipines, installed a 60-by-60-foot billboard in Manila, Phillippines, made of living plants. It is the first plant billboard in the country. This particular billboard is very different than most, it actually helps absorb carbon dioxide, on average 13 pounds a year. The billboard uses 3,600 pots of Fukien tea plants, which are potted in a mixture of industrial byproducts and organic fertilizers. They are maintained by an efficient drip irrigation system called trickle irrigation or micro-irrigation. The “green” effort doesn’t stop there, recycled Coca-Cola bottles were used as pots.

As a part of the company’s “Live Positively” commitment (a commitment to make a positive difference in the world by incorporating sustainability into everything they do), Coke celebrated their 125th anniversary earlier this year with the largest building illumination ever created. Their headquarters tower in Atlanta displayed nearly 1 million lumens of light. How is that green, you ask. The emissions from this event will be offset in support of Georgia’s Valley Wood Carbon Sequestration Project.

In a world of print, digital, tv and radio – advertisers are picking up the green trend. Creativity breeds ways to infuse green into design and into new and developing campaigns; saving the world, one billboard at a time. It goes without saying – but I shall remind you, behind every great idea, is a great agency. Congrats to Momentum Philippines for a job well done.