Q. Anne, you’ve been in the business of marketing conservation programs at Seattle City Light for a long time. How long has it been, and how did you get involved with doing the work?

I’ve been with Seattle City Light since 1982 in the same section, Residential Conservation in the Conservation Resources Division – although the name of the division has changed a few times over the years. I started out as an energy auditor. My first job was to visit people’s homes and conduct free home energy audits. We also marketed the Home Energy Loan Program which offered generous discounts on contractor-installed insulation and windows.

I worked my way through the ranks from auditor, field supervisor and finally to a marketing position, where I’ve been for the last 20 years. I love my job. In 1989, I took on Compact Fluorescent lighting. It was exciting technology that had huge potential to save energy. What we didn’t realize is that CFLs’ four main problems - acceptability, affordability, accessibility and availability – would take 15 years to fix. It seemed like they’d never catch on, but now CFLs are everywhere, and they are cheap.

Q. Does conservation, green, and sustainable all mean the same thing?

Green and sustainable are interchangeable. I think green is just easier to say.

Conservation is one part of sustainability - using resources wisely and well. Energy and water is where the word conservation is most often used.

A note on conservation. It’s one of those words used so much that you don’t know exactly what it means sometimes. During the oil embargo in the 70s, the concept of conservation had a negative connotation - remember Jimmy Carter’s speech to the nation, and he was wearing a sweater? He meant well, but he presented conservation as a sacrifice and gave it a bad name. We’re getting around that misperception now by using a different word – green or sustainable.

Q. What do you think of the apparently sudden interest in things green and/or sustainable?

After the oil embargo ended and our disenchantment with conservation began, we overused energy in the 80s. In the 90s we could see the result of that, and now in this decade we have to take action. In the U.S. we have a culture of fads, and I hope this is not one of them. Some people who became aware of conservation methods in the 70s have sustained their interest, and now it’s part of popular culture again, thanks to the popularity of Al Gore’s movie. The green movement is taking advantage of good marketing - taking a product and reinventing it and making it sound new. Such as a toothbrush. Or TV dinners. You can have a marketing fad, but often it’s based on a product that’s been around for a long time. We’ve been conserving since the 1970’s, but we’re giving it a new spin in order to reach the masses.

Q. Whatever it’s called, it’s big and getting bigger on the West Coast. Do you think that’s true country-wide?

I think the West Coast is 10 – 15 years ahead of a lot of the rest of the country. The Northwest, especially, has been a pioneer. You’ll see green getting bigger in the Northeast and some in the Southwest. But not as much in the heartland.

Q. Is there a best way to promote conservation? Has marketing methodology changed since you got into the business?

There have been a lot more studies done in how to change people’s minds. It’s much more sophisticated now.

In the 80s and 90s, we addressed the customer perspective of, “What’s in it for me,” by demonstrating the comfort, convenience and money savings of conservation methods.

Current research shows that people will say that their choices are based on environmental reasons, but their actions don’t always show that yet, exactly. That means we use a full complement of messages to try to reach customers. An example is when I purchased an EnergyStar washing machine. I wanted to do good, but I also was cognizant of the many benefits of the machine. The machine cost more, but I bought it at a discount store and I got a rebate to save money. It saves money and energy to use, over the old style top loading machines, and it gets my clothes cleaner. I can tell myself that I bought it only because it was the right thing to do, but the personal benefits had a big effect on my purchasing decision. So people who buy light bulbs may be concerned about the environment, but if you want them to purchase CFLs, you have to have products that are pleasing and economical to use.

Q. You’ve been involved in so many exciting projects. Tell us about some. What are you working on now?

Still CFLs and home lighting. But I am so thrilled that CFL’s are more main stream than ever before. But we have a long way to go. In our latest lighting survey we found a socket saturation rate of about 19%. That means 80% of sockets still have incandescent light bulbs in them. To address this gap, we started a CFL discount program called “Twist & Save” last June. We had a goal of selling 250,000 by the end of 2007. The program began six months behind its original start date, but amazingly, we sold half a million CFL’s - twice our goal in half the time.

Q. What’s your prognostication of where green goes from here?

People are going to get sick of the word green. To combat word fatigue, we need to stay focused on differentiating the products that truly are green. I believe the biggest focus vis a vis green in 2008 and 2009 will be on renewable energy.

Q. If someone wants to do promotions or PR for conservation or things green, how should they go about it?

Shadow people at their work. Join PR and marketing networking groups. Do an internship. At Seattle City Light, we just brought on five interns to work in our conservation division, and they are terrific! Get out there and make appointments for informational interviews with PR people who love what they do. Who doesn’t like to talk about their passion? It’s a great way to meet the movers and shakers in the business.

Q. What are the most important qualities a person can bring to the table?

Here are my five things:

• Enthusiasm or passion
• Creativity
• Attention to detail (because as we all know, the devil is in the details)
• A people person – you have to sincerely like people and be interested in helping to solve their problems
• Ability to prioritize your work. This can be challenging for idea people, but if you can’t do it, you’re sunk.