Can you sell sustainability to customers ?

Sustainable Life Media have done it again, with a great new SLM Insights research report called The SHIFT Report : Definng Sustainability and Selling it to Customers. With a title like that, how could your interest not be piqued ? The report promises to answer some of the most difficult questions facing brands today, including :

**  what is the alignment between my brand's positioning and our sustainability story?

**  what's my audience's relationship with sustainability?

**  what are the characteristics of a socially responsible brand for consumers today?

These questions cut to the chase and the report offers very keen insights and answers.

The SHIFT report was produced as a collaboration between Sustainable Life Media and Ci, a sustainability research and brand consultancy and is the result of a survey of 5,000 North American adults. The big thing that the report conclusively confirms is that consumers regard sustainability as more than just "green". for them, it's a collection of issues which are much broader than protecting the environment. In fact, the report identifies four colours of consumer perception about sustainability:

Orange - Personal (balanced life, feeling connected, personal well-being)

Yellow - Spiritual (higher purpose and meaning to life beyond material possessions)

Green - Environmental (eco-fashion, global warming, pollution, recycling etc)

Blue - Social (fair trade, treatment of employees, community involvement etc)

(Wonder why they didn't pick shocking pink?)(OK, I know, it's too shocking).

In fact, the top 5 sustainability issues that consumers associated with sustainability were orange, yellow and blue. Not even a tiny splatter of green until  you get to the ninth sustainabillty issue on the list.

The overriding conclusion from this research is that sustainability is a cultural shift and not just a passing trend. with 64% of respondents confirming they have a general concern for society and planet and want to be part of a better world. Funnily enough, 64 % (maybe the same 64%, maybe not) picked honest communication and transparency as the most significant characteristic they look for in determining whether a product is sustainable or not, 61% mention that reusable packaging is a very big plus and 57% look for a "Made Locally" label. TV advertising is still a key place for consumers to learn about new brands, whilst 67% of North Americans want to know about the socially responsible behaviour of brands before they buy them.

The report goes on to define the four keys to sustainable brand communications and the four barriers to conscious consumption which are time, knowledge, price and pressure . This is important because at least part of the complex explanation for consumers not buying sustainably is lack of knowledge, or, I assume, inability to compute the information that is available. Finally,  the SHIFT report talks about the Sustainability Passion Index (SPI) which categorizes consumers into 5 types according to their positioning on the commitment-to sustainability consumption spectrum, providing clues as to how to market to them.

All of this is important for those engaged in selling brands and the positioning of brands to meet consumer expectations and aspirations. There is no doubt in my mind that we are experiencing a cultural shift, though I suspect it is still in the early stages. Perhaps part of this shift will see us moving in the direction of much more accessible, legible, comprehensible, and focused sustainability communications with consumers. It still amazes me that we do not see many sustainability messages on actual consumer products. United Airlines realized that they have a captive audience for their sustainability message  on their flights and ensure that every seat pocket is equipped with a CSR report alongside the vomit-bag. Ahem. I am sure that's not intentional and that there is no causal relationship between these two. Haha. Sorry, United. But the point is, sustainability is a message which has to be taken to where the consumer is. With so many brands on the supermarket and big-box shelves, and consumers wanting to know more, surely some form of communication in the brand package could be worthwhile. Perhaps is is only a matter of time until we see Sustainability Reports by brand rather than by Company, or at least, in addition to  overall company reports. The new Barcoo system which offers  consumers a price comparison, test reports, health, green and sustainability information about the manufacturing company at the click of an app may well serve to meet consumers' information needs about the company behind the brand, though not necessarily about the sustainability of the brand itself. If I were a manufacturing company, I would make completely sure that I control what gets into that barcode app through proactive and transparent communications. 

Anyway, for the time being, I haven't tested Chunky Monkey with the new barcode system. I wonder where that places me on the Sustainability Passion Index.

elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainabilty Reporter, HR Professional, Ice Cream Addict. Author of CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing responsible business practices Contact me via www.twitter.com/elainecohen  on Twitter or via my business website www.b-yond.biz/en  (BeyondBusiness, - CSR consulting and Sustainability Reporting firm)

19 textile sector companies sustainability profiles

Alongside the very worthwhile Sustainability Initiatives study benchmarking of 100 top-notch Companies and what they are doing to save the planet and us, Sustainable Life Media also released at the end of last month another fascinating report entitled: "Exporting Textiles: March to Sustainability. Preview of the coming decade: Textile Supply chain Sustainability Plans by Brands and Retailers." And as if that title weren't long enough, it has a subtitle: "Getting Manufacturers to Create Business Value through GHG (Energy), Water and Waste Conservation". The report was produced by cKinetics, and supported by SLM and Nitra. Anyway, now we know what it's all about, let's take a look.

We start off with a bit of context taken from the intro-page: "The 1990s was about the march towards manufacturing quality as the textile industry worldwide raced to adopt lean manufacturing and ISO driven quality practices. The 2000s were about ensuring ethical sourcing and labour practices. The coming decade is going to be about sustainability and optimally using natural resources to generate value in the textile supply chain. This report previews activities already underway that are harbingers of this coming movement." The report examines aspects of sustainability which concern the textile supply chain from the raw material (natural fiber or man made fiber) to the point that it is converted to finished product. The focus in the report is primarily on energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, water and chemcial footprints and logistics. This is important as, the report says, the textile industry is the number one fresh water polluter on the planet, and is high in carbon intensity. In India, for example, 10% of the country's energy is consumed by the textile industry. 10% . Think about that for a minute................ OK. Stop. Move on.

The report provides detailed profiles of brands and their supply chain sustainability initiatives of 19 leading textile sector companies. Those that have programs under way are: Adidas, Carrefour, Gap Inc, H&M, Ikea, Levi Strauss, Marks and Spencer, Nike, Otto, Walmart, Continental Clothing. Those companies whose (supply chain environmentl) initiatives are at the planning stage are: Phillips-van-Heusen, Timberland, Inditex, Grupo Cortefiel, John Lewis Partnership,  Primark, Lindex and Tesco.  None of the Companies studies are in the unfortunate position of not having anything in progress or in the pipeline, which is a good thing, I suppose.

A few interesting initiatives: Gap are extending their environmental footprinting assessment right throughout the supply chain , including the mills that convert cotton into fabrics. This is great. Marks and Spencer are going big on Fairtrade cotton with a target of 20 million garments by 2012. Levi Strauss have extended Global Effluent Emissions guidelines to second tier suppliers. And more and more .....

The report profiles each of these manufacturers using the following parameters:

*  Overall approach and key initiatives

*  Aspects of supply chain sustainability the Company measures (eg energy, water, emissions etc)

*  Standards and Frameworks used (eg GRI, GHG PRotocol, Oeko-Tex or proprietary framework)

*  Sustainability intiatives relative to the Company's suppliers.

Some Company reports are highly detailed, with some, such as Primark and Lindex, did not fill a page.

(NB: The report does not analyse reported data or benchmark or rank Company performance; it describes what the Company is doing and which processes it has adopted). (Sorry, I know you all like rankings, but this report doesn't go there. Hah! Gotcha!)

In addition, the report summarizes the provisions of the key standards and certifications for sustainability (environmental) initiatives in the textile supply chain and ends up with some predictions. The report's key conclusion is that "evidence pointing to a new wave of sustainability is quite clear". The report predicts that (environmental) sustainability intiatives in the textile supply chain will be adopted by all major players, and will become a differentiating factor in supplier selection.

I might add a couple of predictions myself:

First, the word "traceability" will necessarily be on the lips of every manufacturer sourcing textiles and suppliers will need to be able to operate systems which give total supply chain transparency and accountability.

Second, manufacturers will need to change their own internal procedures. It will not be enough to require suppliers to be more environmentally friendly. Manufacturers will need to review the way they manage consumer demand and production planning which in turn affects the way suppliers can respond, and impacts the production, waste and logistics activities. Whether or not the 18 companies benchmarked will succumb to the pressures of slow fashion remains to be seen, but even if they continue fast fast fast fashion, they will have to start doing it a little differently to generate greater total supply chain effiiencies.

Third, as a result of all these brilliant supply chain efficiencies, manufacturers will pay their suppliers a fair wage and also share their supply chain savings with consumers, and we will all be able to afford a new wardrobe about six times a year. Oops. You don't believe that, do you ? Just kidding. :) Only 5 times a year.

The big advantage of this report is the ability to review 19 of the top players in the sector side by side and gain an overall  insight into what is driving environmental sustainability initatives in this sector. The textile sector is fascinating and contains many lessons for different industries. The challenges of environmental sustainability in the massively complex textile supply chains are incredible. This report is a useful addition to our body of knowledge and hopefully will serve to accelerate progress.

By the way, most of  the data provided in this report was sourced from Corporate Responsibility Reports. YEAH!  I told you CSR reports were good for something!

elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainabilty Reporter, HR Professional, Ice Cream Addict. Contact me via www.twitter.com/elainecohen  on Twitter or via my business website www.b-yond.biz/en  (BeyondBusiness, an inspired CSR consulting and Sustainability Reporting firm)

100 companies benchmarked for CSR initatives

There are so many reports on CSR and Sustainability published by so many different people, companies and groups that it is hard to keep up with all of them. I find myself having to skim many of them, and even that's usually not before around 2 in the morning. Many offer minimal net additional value to the wealth of words and numbers reaching my screen. So when a report is produced that makes me stop everything and study deeply, I am thankful because it means I am learning something new and important that contributes to my knowedge and thinking about sustainability, and that makes me a better consultant, a better CSR blogger and a more critical and contributing member of the professional CSR community. This was my experience with the new Sustainability Initiatives 2009 Report from SLM Insights, a division of Sustainable Life Media, and Zumer.com. An Exec Sum can be downloaded here.

This report analyses over 6,000 individual sustainability iniatives from 100 companies in 10 sectors, producing detailed results showing: the relative rankings of each company in each sector based on the quantitative (cost-reduction driven) initiatives and qualitative (revenue-generating) initiatives.  There is also a comparison of the nature of the initiatives in each sector, showing where most  companies are putting their time and energies. The sectors analysed (and the three top-ranked companies in each sector)  are:

*  airlines ( Quantas, British Airways, Cathay Pacific)

*  alcoholic beverages (Anheuser Busch, Foster's Group, InBev)

*  automotive (Daimler, Honda, Toyota)

*  clothing (Gap, H&M, Inditex)

*  consumer electronics (Sony, Samsung, Toshiba)

*  diversified foods (Nestle, Kraft Foods, Danone)

*  footwear (Timberland, Adidas, Puma)

*  oil and gas (Royal dutch Shell, Total, Suncor)

*  paper products (Weyerhaueser, Norske SKkog, Catalyst)

*  personal household (Procter and Gamble, Kimberley Clark, SC Johnson)

Each sector is a mini-report in itself, and offers a comparable study of the focus and achievements against 38 different data points accross 4 categories:

*  Environmental Initiatives

   (leading iniatives here are GHG reduction, energy use and impact of products on the environment)

*  Social Responsibility Activities

   (leading initiatives here are community impact, employee benefits and  employee health and safety)

*  Product Responsibility Activities

   (leading initatives here are consumer health and safety, customerr satisfaction and marketing ethics)

*  Corporate Citizenship activities

   (leading initiatives here are transparency of political contributions, anti-corruption and CEO compensation).

What is also interesting in this report is the feedback from 1,700  consumers surveyed. In each of the consumer goods sectors, consumers were asked what is important to them,  data that can be contrasted with wthere the sector is actually focussing its efforts. In the Personal Household Goods sector, for example, energy efficiency is of most interest to consumers (42%) whereas the sector focuses 17% of its efforts in this area, with GHG reduction and material use being prominent iniatives. In the consumer electronics sector, consumers are most intersted in recycled materials used in product manufacture (48%) rather than the level of GHG emissions. Overall this report shows there is "significant discord between industry activity and consumer demand". A stark contrast reported in this context  is that Companies see community giving as an integral part of their sustainability program whereas consumers see corporate philanthropy as "old fashioned" , rarely affecting their purchasing decision. These are most interesting insights which could assist compaines in considering how their sustainability efforts address consumer  concerns, rather than more generic sustainability considerations, for added consumer engagement.

Findings and conclusions from this report are multiple. Some are:

Consumer interest in sustainability initiatives differed across industries - as a result, companies must address the specific consumer pain-points  for each industry

Minimal inter-industry collaboration occurred; opportunity exists for companies to share and learn best practices

Consumers only prioritize GHG emissions reductions in categories where there is a direct, visible output, for example in the automitive sector, where fuel efficiency was mentioned by 81% of consumers and GHG Emissions levels by a further 16%. In the clothing and apparel sector, for example, GHG emissions were not mentioned by consumers.

Waste reduction and recycling is an increasing priority

Companies are reporting on their sustainability activity more frequently and releasing shorter, targeted reports as a result

Companies are prioritizing supply chain efficiencies and seeking ways to reduce costs by improving energy use, water use and waste recycling programs

and perhaps one of the most significant conclusions of all, and one of the most disturbing, is this:

Few companies view sustainability as a core part of their global strategy; most still view sustainability policy as a means to mitigate risk and achieve operational efficiencies.

This means that CSR and sustainability is still at the level of short-term project-focused thinking and less at the level of creating true long term triple bottom line value - but more about this in my editorial for CSRwire.com  which will be published later this month.

I have lots more to say about the implications and insights this report raises and hope to find time to blog more with specific insights in coming days/weeks. In the meantime, these headlines should serve to give you an an appreciation for the richness of this study.

elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainabilty Reporter, HR Professional, Ice Cream Addict. Contact me via www.twitter.com/elainecohen  on Twitter or via my business website www.b-yond.biz/en  (BeyondBusiness, an inspired CSR consulting and Sustainability Reporting firm)