Fishburn Hedges

22.11.2011

'Green consumerism’, to many diehard activists, is an outright contradiction in terms. Since our addiction to ‘stuff’ first landed us in this mess, you can see, on one level, that they’ve got a point.

But the truth is humans are hardwired to make, grow, exchange, and treasure ‘things’. This has been so since man began. Even (you might argue, especially) during times of hardship, this is a habit that shows little sign of altogether abating.

So brands can play a pivotal role in making a greener, cleaner, more sustainable future. And with consumer actions accounting for three quarters of UK carbon emissions, creating greener companies that truly connect with consumers is clearly critical to this success.

Making sustainability stick with the CEO

But how to do it? There are two dimensions.

The corporate part of this is easy to value, objectively rationalise, and therefore justify to the boss and the wider business. Getting ahead of regulation, reducing operational costs, and mitigating impacts to the supply chain are tangible, strategic considerations that you can sell to the CEO.

The sticking point is the softer, consumer part: brand teams remain unconvinced about the sales-power of sustainability messaging. We now have the paradoxical problem of ‘green marketing’ having become itself a damaged brand. For marketing-led, consumer brands, this can result in companies restricting the extent of their CR ambitions.

The same conversation keeps emerging, whether in CR Committee meetings, brand strategy workshops, or campaign events like last night’s Climate Week launch.

‘Green marketing’ now a damaged brand

The reason behind this problem is more cock-up than conspiracy; less to do with the cynical side-effects of corporate greenwash than clumsy, uncreative communication.  Brands haven’t yet succeeded in mastering the art of articulating sustainability in language that inspires purchase.

The main fault is assuming that being ‘green’ is reason enough for a product to be deemed a ‘decisive good’ by consumers. But in practice, ‘green’ means very little and too much to be mean anything at all.

A second – and connected – mistake is forgetting the fundamental fact that consumers approach brands as potential buyers first, enlightened global citizens somewhere further down the line. They want to know how a product benefits them, before the planet.

Commercial case for CR values

These two points together result in brands missing out on simple, tangible wins, such as being able to show consumers how by using less energy the product will save them more money; or by being produced from better quality, natural ingredients will improve their health and wellbeing. The latter is particularly potent: health remains the number one reason people buy greener products, and healthier products tend to command the highest premiums.

Underscoring these immediate and personal benefits with social and environmental values can broaden and deepen consumers’ positive view of the brand and business as a whole. This is where good business and doing good intersect. Progressive commercial strategy aligning with smart, longterm reading of changing cultural psychology.

And the significance of this can’t be overstated in an era of shifting social values, where brands solely focused on profit will become short-change to those who stand for something bigger and more meaningful.

Posted by Phil Drew