This month’s articles highlight an interesting divide in today’s sustainability scene: while companies are striving to find innovative ways to engage consumers, the latter seem to be granting their trust to long-standing institutions, based on values unrelated to innovation.
If the way to consumers’ hearts is through long-term commitment to customer service and employee satisfaction – as demonstrated by John Lewis Partnership, Boots, and M&S – what is the point of innovating on consumer engagement?
The answer might be found by looking at the examples featured in this section, from treadmill-powered hotels to toys educating children on renewable energy. All of them show the increasing importance of making it fun for the public to do the right thing. We have made a clear step away from campaigns fuelled by guilt and are entering a new era of positive and exciting sustainability activities.
A recent viral campaign by Volkswagen demonstrated that 66% more people will use the stairs if these are turned into a giant piano. Vending machines are being turned into gambling machines operated by old cans instead of coins, and young people are receiving exclusive concert tickets by volunteering in the community.
What companies are seeking with these initiatives is not the type of trust which Reputation UK is measuring in its survey. They are building relationships at a new level, positioning themselves as the playful friend, helping consumers achieve their own social and environmental ambitions while entertaining them. These actions are developing new types of relationships, and putting new companies as key players on the sustainability map.
Some might see this as yet another expectation adding to companies’ ‘to-do’ list. However, it offers fantastic opportunities for new and inventive players, and more importantly it could be the solution everyone is looking for to engage sceptics, finally awakening their interest in sustainability.
Myriam is a consultant at Corporate Citizenship Email her at Myriam.galopin@corporate-citizenship.com to discuss campaigns, responsible sourcing and community investment.
Guests power hotel through exercise bikes
The Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers has introduced electricity producing bicycles in its gym for guests to use, with guests able to monitor their electricity generation via iPhones mounted on the handle bars. Avid fitness fans can also, from June, race against the hotel’s solar system in a bid to produce the most electricity. Anyone producing 10 watt hours of electricity or more will be given a locally produced complimentary meal. The bikes were installed on 19 April and will be run for a year, with rollout to all Crowne Plaza hotels in the UK if successful. Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers aims to become carbon neutral and other environmentally responsible technology used throughout the hotel includes a groundwater-based cooling and heating system, low energy lighting and hand dryers and the largest solar panel park in Northern Europe to be integrated into a building.
New restaurant chain puts carbon footprinting on the menu
A new international restaurant chain is making carbon footprinting the centerpiece of its menu. Owned by the Oswal Group Global, Otarian is a quick service vegetarian restaurant claiming to be the first global restaurant chain to carbon footprint every menu item to internationally recognised standards. Each item on the menu has had its ‘cradle to grave’ carbon footprint calculated – from sourcing the raw materials for each ingredient right through to disposal of the product. The owners aim to highlight the environmental benefits of reducing meat consumption and the footprint of each menu item is therefore shown alongside the footprint of a comparable meat dish. Additional sustainable measures by the company include: a no air freight policy; 98% of restaurant waste composted or recycled; all packaging compostable, recyclable or reusable; and use of sustainable materials in the restaurant design. The restaurant opened its first outlet in New York on 19 April, with outlets in London due to open in June.
LEGO have added a Renewable Energy Set to its Education range as a supplement to the LEGO Simple and Motorized Mechanisms Set. The set is aimed at introducing the concepts of renewable energy to students, allowing them to explore various energy sources through building models such as a solar powered car and a wind turbine. The set includes a solar panel, blades, a motor/generator and a LEGO energy meter with integrated energy storage. Activity packs encourage investigation of energy supply, transfer, accumulation, conversion, and consumption; and use of measurements and data analysis to describe and explain outcomes through hands-on activities and real-life models.
The Reputation Institute released the results of their UK Global Pulse consumer survey on 5 May which looks at the reputation of the 140 largest UK companies. The company list was made up of those most visible to consumers and with the largest revenues. The top 10 was dominated by big high street names, with Boots the Chemist the most admired and John Lewis Partnership, Marks & Spencer, Debenhams and Morrisons close behind. Dairy Milk-maker Cadbury, bought by American conglomerate Kraft earlier this year, came third. Utility companies Thames Water, Severn Trent and Scottish and Southern Energy, the state-controlled RBS and Lloyds TSB and British American Tobacco (BAT) and Imperial Tobacco, came bottom in the survey of 5,500 consumers.
National Poll: opinion divided in wake of BP oil spill
A National survey released 6 May, which polled 1,312 consumers across the US, showed divided opinion over BP in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The survey found 20.1% of Americans said they will reduce their gas consumption in response to the oil spill, while 13.2% said they would stop buying BP gas. About three in 10 Americans – 28% – said the spill has made them dislike BP, but their ‘opinion might improve if they can do more to clean up the mess and make amends’. Conversely, 37.5% said it had not affected their opinion of the company in any way. And 17.4% said it makes them ‘respect the company for taking responsibility for the accident and clean-up’.
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