Ronald McDonald continues to inch ever so slightly towards a more socially responsible brand.

Starting in 1990 and working with Environmental Defense, McDonald’s eliminated 150,000 tons of packaging, replaced foam-plastic sandwich containers with paper wraps and recycled boxes, and made other packaging improvements in its restaurants and throughout its supply chain.

Next, taking cues from the first litigation attacks against “Big Food” in 2002, when McDonald’s was alleged to have caused the obesity and related health problems of two young customers in Perlman v. McDonald’s Corp., they started to promote salads and apples a little more vigorously alongside the Big Mac and double cheeseburgers.

In 2003, they implemented a global policy to reduce antibiotic use in chickens, cattle, and pigs — although such measures could be considered a drop in the bucket when it comes to the issues revolving around standardized food. Many argue that large-scale food production inherently compromises agricultural and biological diversity.

Numerous other milestones for the company along the way culminated this year in an Energy Star honor for smart energy management practices and investments throughout its operations that have resulted in significant energy and financial savings.

And today, we read that McDonald’s in Europe has successfully redesigned both its retail spaces to be more European friendly, and its menu, to accommodate local and regional tastes. Paying attention to local tastes has also helped McDonald’s overcome some of the cultural hurdles it faced in Europe as a large American fast-food chain. “The problem in Europe,” said David Kolpak, an investment manager at Victory Capital Management in Cleveland, Ohio, who owns McDonald’s shares in his portfolio “was the perception that any large U.S. brand has, which is bringing the American way of eating and marketing and invading the local culture.”

McDonald’s faces inherent environmental and social concerns with a business model that relies so implicitly on mega-economies of scale. So while the aspect of healthier local food economies may be an uphill battle for advocates of decentralized food production when it comes to McDonalds, we should still look for the chain to incorporate more local suppliers and local foods into their offerings, and healthier recipes with healthier ingredients. And it goes without saying that the chain needs to continue to address its global energy footprint.

As what we might call a brand with a “little bit of CSR”, it is the challenge of the corporate brand alchemists to present these sustainable aspects of the brand in an honest and genuine way, while still balancing the brand’s consumer facing dimensions of value and taste.

The “trend” green is dissipating and will go away soon. The more significant green will remain and flourish.

Right now, green is the color of friends, money, and conspicuous conservation. For several interrelated and comprehensive reasons, people en masse out there are taking to the idea of green. But the green magazine covers are already subsiding. The green tips columns have already begun to lose their attractive sheen. Today, Barry Bonds is the news, but his controversial steroid-fueled run for the home run crown has at its roots the essence of green. Which is integrity.

The wild run on ethics over the last 10 years in the corporate world, working in convergence with the ill effects of globalization, over consumption and terrorism, have fueled the seeds of conscious consumerism. And while these seeds have spawned a movement with a green glow, the media is far ahead of actual consumer behavior out there. Actual green behavior in the marketplace has barely begun, but its potential is limitless. Only when economies of scale provide us with affordable, good looking, affordable, high performance, affordable, great tasting, affordable, stylish, and affordable, goods and services that are environmentally or socially aware, will this movement stick on any scale.

Nonetheless, Americans in every demographic and psychographic segment—conscious consumers–want more accountability and integrity in their lives. And they have shown that they will manifest this desire more in the market than at the polls. They are seeking to regain control of their out-of-balance lives in the market because that is the one place they feel like they have true control.

So while the swell of the green halo is eclipsing, the roots of green will remain deeply seeded. The green newspaper stories and ads will diminish, but the need and desire for significant change will remain: our landfills aren’t getting any larger; our carbon emissions aren’t getting any smaller; our soil, air and water aren’t getting any cleaner; our natural resources aren’t renewing; our communities aren’t getting any stronger; our families aren’t feeling any safer or healthier; and our global community isn’t getting any more secure.

The companies and leaders that understand this and take steps to address these issues in the context of their business models, or within new business models, will win in the marketplace because that is what we are all seeking, and those are the companies and brands that we will support.

The new green will be simply social and environmental responsibility with accountability, and it will manifest itself in many different actions, words, and phrases. These are the stories that need to be told. The progressive, visionary companies that see this need and opportunity, and step up to deliver on it, will lead us into a brighter future.

Today’s egglog post presents readers with a rare case of blatant self-promotion acting under the guise of worthy “news”. The news is concurrent interviews from two dichotomized but harmonious publications with egg’s founder and creative director Marty McDonald. The reason we decided to throw caution to the wind and bury our modesty this one time is the serendipity of the situation: two publications, representing the present and the future of our industry, give cause to observe “green” and the trend towards recognition of issues surrounding sustainability in marketing and advertising.

one. a magazine is the periodical of the One Show, the annual award show for creativity that creative professionals in the industry pay homage to as the gold standard for elevated conceptual thinking amidst the sea of communications mediocrity.

The magazine is “…the professional home for advertising’s creative community. Each issue features interviews with the industry’s creative leaders and thinkers, unearthing the latest trends in advertising culture. With its behind-the-scenes coverage of the making of ads - including graphic and web design, directing, special-effects, and editing - the magazine is an index of industry standards for advertising professionals worldwide.”

Then, Sixty, is the student created publication of the Virginia Commonwealth University’s AdCenter, which, in this writer’s opinion, is the preeminent professional advertising program in the country. Sixty is an engrossing rag in its raw creativity and one that any imaginatively minded person can disappear into for a good while, and come out refreshed and inspired by the talent coming out of VCU. It’s energizing to see how such talent will infiltrate the legions of future ad professionals and keep them from becoming too comfortable.

Marty was interviewed by the veteran Warren Burger of one. a magazine, and the talented recent VCU graduate Brian Feeney of Sixty, in regards to what egg is doing on the green front in brand development and advertising. Dichotomy-wise, it is quite reassuring to see that the industry as a whole is paying closer attention to sustainability and actively taking a role in some cases to support these issues, both from the top down and the bottom up. It is exciting to see that large agencies are now developing green strategy departments and green consumer experts, and that the ad schools are also paying close attention to developments on the sustainability front. We know too that Seattle’s Cornish College for the Arts and School of Visual Concepts are both very engaged with issues surrounding sustainability

Recognizing the self-destructive path we were forging for ourselves, the vision for egg was to use the astonishing systematic power and force of marketing to, in effect, heal thyself. But as a smaller player, we can only do so much good. The future of our industry, as well as that of our economy, environment and overall society, will have to rely on the concept of sustainable and integrity-based business models, supported by ethical marketers.