A strong theme running through these articles is the issue of transparency and communication. The Carbon Trust, for example, suggests that consumers might be unaware of the full carbon impacts of the goods they buy; while companies like Clorox are taking the move to disclose the ingredients of their products online.
According to a Bell Pottinger paper on consumer trends, UK shoppers are moving up the ‘ethical ladder’. With this they will be demanding more transparency on products, their ingredients and the companies that produce them. As their knowledge about the issues increases, so consumers will become more demanding and have higher expectations of how companies should behave. in light of this, businesses will need to become more transparent – working to disclose further information on their products, the ingredients used and where they are produced.
It is interesting that the MapChange 2010 study discussed in this section finds that some of the world’s largest companies are still struggling with communicating their environmental efforts to customers. Probably it’s partly due to the negative press we have seen some receive in the past years – companies could be nervous about communicating their Sustainability and CSR activity or the details of their products in fear of backlash.
I would suggest to companies, if you really are working towards becoming more responsible – be transparent, be proud and communicate it. We don’t expect you to turnaround all your activities overnight – however if you communicate in a transparent and honest manner with awareness that you still have a way to go, consumers will respond positively and support you along your journey.
Similarly, to consumers, if companies are working towards becoming more sustainable, let’s support them. Through communication of their activities we will all learn more, other companies will respond by increasing their behaviour too, consumers will demand more as their expectations increase and consequently the whole agenda will move forward.
Kate is a senior consultant at Corporate Citizenship. Email her at kate.wylie@corporate-citizenship.com to discuss ethical consumption, social media and digital communication.
Imports hide a third of UK emissions, warns Carbon Trust
British consumers could be generating a third more CO2 than they realise because the carbon footprint of imported goods is often hidden, according to the Carbon Trust, leading to calls for wider use of carbon labeling to hammer home the impact of imported goods. On 28 January, Tom Delay, chief executive of the trust, argued in an interview with the Financial Times that many attempts to measure UK carbon emissions failed to take into account the upstream impact of many goods and services. But the Carbon Trust estimates that carbon footprint figures could more than double if the amenities people rely on and the impact of imported goods was counted. Contact: The Carbon Trust www.carbontrust.co.uk
Carbon counting as important as calorie counting to Britain’s shoppers
Survey results published on 19 February by the Carbon Trust found that when asked about what they put in their shopping trolley, a quarter of people say it is not just carbohydrate but carbon that now influences their shopping habits. The news comes as irons by Morphy Richards become the latest products to carry the Carbon Reduction Label – a label that consumers can look for to know that the products they buy are having their carbon footprint reduced. Other staples such as Kingsmill bread, Walkers crisps and Tate & Lyle sugar, already bear the Carbon Reduction Label. Contact: The Carbon trust www.carbontrust.co.uk
Clorox comes clean with chemical content on website
In a bid to improve transparency about the environmental impact about its products, Clorox launched a new website on 1 February 2010 that details ingredients for more than 230 cleaning, disinfecting and auto care products. The website includes a glossary of terms for each ingredient. ‘We’re putting a framework around corporate social sustainability, and the website is central to our communications efforts,’ said Aileen Zerrudo, director of communications for corporate social responsibility at Clorox. The new website, which has been in development for six months, aims to help consumers understand the function of the chemicals. Contact: The Clorox Company www.investors.thecloroxcompany.com/
Consumers putting their wallets where their values are
The publication Communiqué by the Bell Pottinger Group in February, detailing its research into ethical consumerism, has some powerful messages for business leaders. The survey suggests that two thirds of consumers in Britain are working up an ethical ladder and putting their wallets where their values are. Three quarters of consumers want more (or better) information from brands about what they’re doing to be responsible. The other big finding is that in testing a range of ethical claims that brands make, consumers are substantively more interested in brands that deal directly with impacts that are material to the product/service they make or provide. Contact: The Bell Pottinger Group www.bell-pottinger.co.uk
Study shows wide gap between actual and perceived green efforts
The latest installment of MapChange 2010 – a joint effort survey from Change, a Canadian Consulting Firm, and the non-profit Climate Counts – was published in February and measured actual and perceived sustainability efforts of major consumer shipping, food service and banking companies, using a scale of 0-100. The results suggest some of the world’s largest companies are still struggling with communicating their environmental efforts to customers. While survey respondents chose Wendy’s, McDonald’s, United Parcel Service (UPS), Federal Express, Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase as the most sustainable brands, performance often lagged – sometimes by a large margin. Contact: Maddock Douglas www.maddockdouglas.com
Stars of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens List
On 2 March 2010 Corporate Responsibility Magazine (CRM) announced its 11th annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens List, based on publicly-available information. The list is based on over 360 data points of publicly-available information in seven categories, including environment, climate change, human rights, philanthropy, employee relations, financial performance, and governance. Top of the pile was HP, followed by Intel and General Mills in third place. Other companies making the top 10 were IBM, Kimberly-Clark, Abbott Labs, Bristol-Myers, Coca-Cola and Gap. According to CRM publisher Jay Whitehead, making the list is worth millions or even billions in increased shareholder and brand value. Contact: Corporate Responsibility Officer www.thecro.com
Consumers have minimal knowledge of corporate environmental performance
By partnering with Earthsense, which polled US consumers on their perception of corporate sustainability, and Trucost, which compiled a comprehensive quantitative assessment of companies’ global environmental impact, New Scientist magazine has discovered that US consumers only have a little knowledge of companies’ actual environmental performance. New Scientist magazine published its results on 17 February, finding that greater disclosure of companies’ environmental impacts will help investors and consumers to make choices that promote a green economy. At the same time, companies benefiting from underserved green reputations could be vulnerable to a consumer and investor backlash. Contact: NewScientist www.newscientist.com
Asda attempts to halt the rise of “throwaway fashion”
On 3 March, the George at Asda supermarket label unveiled a permanent 100 day ‘no quibble’ quality guarantee on its entire range of clothing in what it sees as a bid to halt the rise of ‘throwaway’ fashion. If customers are not completely satisfied with the quality of any item bought from the supermarket range, they will be entitled to a full refund regardless of how many times it may have been washed or worn. It was hoped the new policy would help encourage more shoppers to visit the stores. Contact: Asda www.your.asda.com
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