50 Shades of Green
Nowadays, every savvy company has a web page or initiative running on sustainability. ‘Being green’ is considered to be part of business, albeit a 'necessary evil’ for some. So how can you distinguish yourself as a marketeer of a company that really is making steps towards a sustainable business?
Greenwashing is the order of the day, with companies trying to delude customers with fancy pictures and clever slogans. The harsh truth is that many companies are still struggling to fit sustainability in the core of their business. “Doing business by doing good” is still too far-stretched for most, or they simply don’t know where to start.
As the truly committed marketeer or passionate advocate that you must be to find yourself reading this article, we want to help you steer clear of pitfalls on your way to guide your company towards sustainable business. We know, you must be under pressure and your internal targets often do not even take into account any ‘green mission’ your organisation may have. We also recognize that you often get objections to more sustainable choices leading to arguments about pricing or investments needed.
However, and you must sense this by now, there is no going back to the ‘conventional’ way of doing business. Especially not after CoVid19, which has shown consumers on a global scale that the current economy is failing big time.
Here are some of the persuasive tactics you can use in your favor:
Under 35’s are increasingly willing to go the extra mile for a sustainable product. A staggering 80% would be willing to pay more and make a difference with their purchase. Compare this to the commonly quoted 20% of consumers in most research papers five years ago. Your audience knows that every euro is a vote.
Sustainability offers so many more ways for interaction with your customers. Seize this idea and look for opportunities to engage your customer in your product or packaging. Packaging really is the vehicle for your storytelling. Sometimes, the packaging really even tells the story in itself. Think about building customer loyalty through returnable packaging or product-as-a-service models. Use this increased customer data to work on better traceability and improve your business even more! One way to do that is optimize your automated supply chain.
Use a roadmap. It is fine to start with low-hanging fruit but don’t let it stop there. In these times of high transparency and digital interconnectivity, one step forward is no longer enough to have a convincing story. Marketing plays a vital role in raising ambitions and making sustainability more than just veneer on your website. We can not stress this enough: YOU have the power to change things within your company! Encourage your director and board to include sustainability
in company targets and make people accountable for actions. For real change to happen, we need Leaders of Change. We need guts and persistence. We don’t need the niche markets or small sub brands to show disruptive innovations, we need the BIG brands with BIG volumes to shift entire industries!
Legislation is on the way. The European Commission is preparing directives to include a minimum percentage of already-used or recycled materials. A CO2 tax and plastics tax are in the making to reflect true pricing.
Using recycled materials is not difficult. Contrary to what you may hear:
it is not hard to switch to recycled plastics;
consistent quality and supply can be provided. In fact, there is an abundance of great recycled material out there, in vast quantities;
price fluctuations are less than with virgin plastics and will be subject to tax reductions in the future;
recycled content will have impact on the range of colours available, sometimes only little, though, and this is where clever marketing can help; o smell can be different from ‘virgin plastics’, mainly in the sense that it does not smell like petroleum.
Why should you take our advice? Well, we know we can not recycle our way out of a “throwaway society”. We need disruptive innovations. Fast. But from a marketing point of view, who wouldn’t want to be seen as THE go-to company that sells amazing, innovative products which are also good for the planet?
The biggest change is to be made in people’s heads. You can guess who is best to influence this... CEOs certainly, ... AND marketeers! The power of persuasion comes with storytelling and standing for what you believe in.
So we call upon all the amazing powerful minds in marketing. Steer your company in the right direction. Make your voices heard. Educate yourself about how to make that switch happen.
You could do it during CoVid19-times. We are sure you can do it for this challenge, which is to be the biggest challenge of all: creating a sustainable planet for all. Not just for all mankind. But for all living beings that are part of our ecosystem too, and will help to keep us alive.
Aim to leave this world a better place than you found it in. Be the driving force to change your company around. Steer it in the right direction. Steer. Or be steered. Because change will be coming, whether you like it or not.