“Communication is key,” Stern says. “You have to communicate what you are doing and what the value is to the buyer. And you have to do it consistently across all channels of communication, from the website and advertising down to the store shelves.”

Office Depot offers a vast array of products with environmentally friendly elements, from recycled paper and low toxicity cleaners, to a complete line of private label green brands that can outfit an office from top to bottom. The company’s message and selection is consistent regardless of the economy, which customers have come to rely on, according to Yalmaz Siddiqui, the company’s director of environmental strategy. As a result, the company reports sales of products from its green catalog continue to grow.

“In a tough economy our clients are still looking for environmentally sustainable products that perform, and they know they can find a tremendous range of green items that are price competitive,” he says.

When it comes to product messaging for green products, price and performance are equally as important as the environmental qualities, agrees Stern. “The challenge in promoting green products today is proving their efficacy,” he says. “Consumers want to know if they will work as well as other products.”

Part of Office Depot’s approach to selling green products is recognizing that every buyer has a different idea of the definition. The company focuses its green marketing message primarily on its business customers who are often seeking specific criteria to meet certification requirements or corporate goals. It offers them a choice of 4,300 different products that feature green attributes, such as environmentally preferable furniture, technology, lighting, dishware, cleaning products and printer cartridges.

A core part of its communication strategy is its annual Green Book catalog, which this year features an entire supply cabinet outfitted with green products, along with educational content to help buyers learn more about greening their office in a cost effective manner.

The company works with customers to identify products that meet specific environmental goals or certification requirements, such as federal government mandates to purchase a certain percentage of recycled materials, or LEED specifications for non-toxic products. Once they know what the client needs to accomplish these goals, they help them choose products that best meet those criteria at the desired price point.

Office Depot also help buyers choose products that can strengthen their purchasing processes while still maintaining cost criteria, such as buying in bulk to improve their environmentally standing.

“Being aware of why our clients purchase green helps us help them identify solutions,” Siddiqui says. This is especially helpful for products that may not otherwise clearly communicate their green value, such as office furniture that features low volatile organic compounds (VOC) in its design, which is a key component for LEED certification.

“We reach out to our suppliers to learn about those attributes then we communicate them to our customers,” he says.

To help customers register their green purchases for LEED certification purposes, and to add further value to working with Office Depot, the company now offers a purchase-tracking tool that records green product purchases in a format that mimics LEED certification documentation requirements.

“It converts their historic spend to the exact template used by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC),” Siddiqui says. “It dramatically simplifies the paperwork for buyers because they don’t have to do it themselves.”

Office Depot also publicly honors those who make the biggest effort to buy green products through its annual Green Customer Award ceremony. This year the awards were presented during the USGBC Greenbuild International Conference & Expo to six customers, including law firm DLA Piper, Edelman public relations agency, and New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc.

“The rationale for these awards is partly to recognize customers for green purchasing, and partly to show that we are a seller of green products,” Siddiqui says, noting that at the recent awards ceremony several customers approached him to say they wanted to be on that podium next year – particularly if their competitors were winners. “It’s good recognition for individuals, and it’s an encouragement to other customers to make that transition.”

Whatever green products a company is offering, the message has to be consistent across all methods of communication, and product offerings have to support customer interests in cost, quality and environmental attributes.

“Whether the economy gets worse or better these products are not going away,” says Home Depot’s Jarvis. “Those retailers that carry green products through the hard times will establish themselves as the companies that care about the environment, and consumers will remember that.”

Sarah Fister Gale is a freelance writer based in Chicago.