While I was perusing a recent issue of The Sporting News, I reached a personal tipping point regarding the use of the word “green.”

I noticed several ads in the magazine all making the same—you guessed it—green claim. In the breakneck scramble to make environment an important part of their positioning, companies and organizations have managed to eliminate many elements that add differentiating personalities to their communications.

This all has led me to the following conclusion: While a message of environmental stewardship and sustainability is an important part of any communication in the 21st century, we need a new word. “Green” is too simple and has, to a certain extent, made for lazy communications. Simply creating a cool green logo (with a leaf or a tree, no doubt), attaching the word “green” to communications and moving on to the next project (probably with more green positioning) seems good enough for many in our business.

Since sustainability is a key part of every reputation management plan we create for our clients, I pay close attention to green messages and how they are executed. The sheer volume of green claims that are made today have sapped the word of all meaning, integrity and credibility.

I have the perfect solution. Let’s each of us come up with our own word. A new word. A better word. Please.