Terry Kellogg, director of 1% for the Planet, answers questions | Grist | InterActivist

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Terry Kellogg, director of 1% for the Planet.

How does your organization decide which groups will get the money you raise? -- Bernard Weintraub, Nyack, N.Y.

Our members give directly to organizations that they choose from a list of environmental groups we maintain on our website. Our intent is not to be restrictive with the list or to identify only the "best" groups out there. We simply want to ensure that our members are supporting environmental causes (so that their consumers are in turn assured of the same thing). Our searchable database of "approved" organizations also provides transparency, and is used by our members to find organizations that fit their interests.

How do you spread the word about 1% for the Planet to potential members? -- Name not provided

Our members are very good at getting the word out to would-be members. Our logo is easy to spot on a Jack Johnson CD, Patagonia hang-tag, or a Clif Nectar bar. And products from just these three members account for many millions of impressions each year. We're often mentioned in press related to our members, and we generate our own unique stories as well. Going forward, we'll be putting more resources into our own marketing efforts.

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Are your donors all based in the United States, or is the effort international? -- Bernard Weintraub, Nyack, N.Y.

Of our 200+ members, more than 30 are from 11 countries outside the U.S. We also have an office in Australia to promote the organization there.

What reaction do you get when you propose to business owners that they donate 1 percent of their profits to environmental organizations? -- Name not provided

If it were just 1 percent of profits, it would be an easier sell. We're talking about one percent of total sales. It's a very high bar, and it's designed to be tough to reach. If it weren't, our members wouldn't be worth going out of your way to find. 1% companies are committed to an extraordinarily high level of performance, and that's what sets them apart.

We've grown by more than 100 percent in the last eight months, but we're still young, and I believe that growth rate will continue. We're in talks with a number of large companies. The more people who demonstrate they care, the more companies we'll bring on board.

In a perfect world, would you ask for a higher percentage from companies, or would it be just as effective to increase the number of companies that are donating? How was the 1 percent number settled on, as opposed to, say, 2 percent? -- Name not provided

You could get to the same monetary value either way. But in the long run, it's better to get more companies involved. We want to hit the point at which there's no excuse for not participating because so many others have shown that it can be done.

In the '90s, a few progressive companies committed themselves to 10 percent of pre-tax profits. As far as I know, Patagonia was the first major company to say 10 percent of pre-tax or 1 percent of sales, whichever is greater. The 1 percent level is fundamentally different than 10 percent of profits, because it commits a company to give whether or not it makes money.

Are there companies that are on the edge of becoming members of 1% that we can pressure? If so, what's the best way, in your opinion, to pressure them? -- Name not provided

Great question. There are several. But I am reluctant to instigate a barrage of emails (which is, by the way, the best place to start). That's your job. Contact your favorite companies -- the ones you think should be involved but aren't, the ones that have made a commitment to doing the right thing. We'll focus on the next tier later.

Do you audit companies to see if they're actually giving 1 percent of sales to environmental causes? -- Name not provided

You bet. We look at their tax returns and the receipts from organizations that they give to every year.

What do you drive, and how many miles to a gallon of gasoline do you get? -- Kay Citron, Lilburn, Ga.

Our Outback averages 25 mpg; 29 on the highway if I keep it under 65.

In a world where the average consumer only has the patience to listen to issues and problems that can be explained in one sentence, what do you see as the future of our economy and environment? Will we just have to wait until we are forced into conservation? But by then won't it be too late? -- Jessica Wolford, Los Angeles, Calif.

I have been down that road and there are no good answers at the end. The most important thing is to be clear about the state of the world you want. Be systematic and data-driven in developing your vision and figuring out what it'll take to achieve. Then get busy making it happen, one step at a time.

What's your take on Wal-Mart's recent greening campaign? Do you think their "environmental agenda" is responding to their customer base or to some other influence? -- Peter Olmsted, Lancaster, Pa.

One of the first campaigns I got involved with was trying to keep Wal-Mart out of Vermont. I am deeply saddened by the effect they've had on small towns ... But did you catch this quote from their CEO in Forbes?

"There will be a day of reckoning for retailers. If somebody wakes up and finds out that children that are down the river from that factory where you save three cents a foot in the cost of garden hose are developing cancers at significant rates -- so that the American public can save three cents a foot -- those things won't be tolerated, and they shouldn't be tolerated."

This guy gets it better than most. How much he can actually get done will have a lot to do with how consumers respond.

Questions from Grist editors | Questions from readers

All for One and One for All

Terry Kellogg, director of 1% for the Planet, answers readers' questions