Years ago I ran a focus group on sustainability in the North of England. Back then we still had to establish that something called climate change needed tackling. And that plastic pollution was an issue. We then turned to the question of what we could all do about it. Silence. People looked at their hands.
“Well, the government should sort it out,” someone finally volunteered. “And large companies should do more. They should do something about pollution, and they should make it easier for us to buy products that don’t mess up the environment.”
In the 15 years since that group, many corporates have taken up the green challenge. They do more to reduce energy consumption and plastic use, and dutifully go public with it in their regular reports. Sustainability has left its CSR niche to also become part of innovation funnels and marcomms plans. Brands targeting Millennials, Gen Z and more affluent older consumers run product lines and comms highlighting green efforts. The topic has become far more mainstream. Cue H&M’s ‘conscious products’, Coca Cola’s recycling campaign and Ikea’s Sustainable Living project, etc.
Of course, corporates expect scrutiny from the media and brace themselves for negative PR. However, they are still often taken aback when they encounter cynicism first-hand from consumers.
What’s happening here?
Well, as far as corporate employees are concerned, their organisations really are trying to do the right thing - and they believe consumers should recognise those efforts. They may even feel that when sustainability costs the company more, customers will understand the need to pass that on through increased prices. And, surely, they must recognise that everyone needs to play their part to tackle climate change?
But companies often don’t quite understand where their customers are coming from. In truth, left to their own devices, consumers are quite passive. And while they can be made to care about sustainability, they actually see buying ‘green’ as morally good behaviour that ought to be rewarded.
This is something Pret-a-Manger in the UK and France and German café chain Backwerk, among others, tap into when they offer their consumers discounts for bringing re-usable coffee cups into stores. H&M’s in-store recycling initiative works on similar lines.
By getting their customers to do the right thing, these brands create a feel-good experience. And that there’s added bonus that they get to wear a moral halo themselves.
Ikea goes a step further by giving its customers tips on how to live more sustainably and, in the process, gently pushes some of its products. Coca Cola’s Glacéau Smart Water focuses on the clever innovation needed to produce 100% recycled bottles – which in turn makes its customers feel smart for buying into the brand, as such deriving intrinsic reward for a greener purchase.
In a similar vein Thinktank have found that electric vehicle drivers can feel savvy, and even slightly smug. Because they’ve discovered that the cars others associate with inconvenience and expense actually accelerate incredibly quickly and are really fun to drive – while also being cheaper to run. And if the EV in question is a Tesla, the purchase also brings status. Consumers are buying into a brand that is high tech and innovative, not (just) green in a worthy ‘let’s save the planet’ way.
This takes us on to a key point. Environmental marketing needs to be blended in with and fit other brand values. Greenness alone is too weak to be the core of a brand equity – the mainstream don’t care quite enough, more environmentally conscious consumers are likely to be more critical/cynical, and in any case ‘sustainable’ on its own is becoming more and more of a hygiene factor than a distinct strategy.
So, what are the lessons, especially for mainstream brands, in the sustainability space?
1 Customers think sustainability is more your responsibility than theirs. If you want them to appreciate that your brand is making green efforts, don’t put the onus on them, don’t lecture – enable them.
2 Highlight your own credentials, but focus more on applauding your customers for theirs. Make them feel rewarded for doing the right thing – and at the same time create a feel-good factor around your brand.
3 Sustainability is not a substitute for good marketing thinking, or great products. If you want your take to be remembered, start from a distinctive point of view. Think about how green fits with your existing brand and product values. Then weave it in to motivate consumer choice.
Sabine Stork is a founding partner of Thinktank International Research