To what extent should organisations seek to influence the behaviour of the consumers of their product or service – and how much influence do they have?
There are many well know examples of initiatives where companies have sought to influence their consumers. Some use direct messaging, for example responsible drinking straplines on advertisements for alcoholic drinks. Others provide information to enable users to make informed decisions, for example the traffic light system on food packaging that is designed to provide easily understood nutritional guidance. However, it is not always easy to assess the success of these interventions in changing behaviour. Pleasingly, in this edition, we are able to report on a successful campaign that has indeed had a positive impact. The messages in the UK’s supermarkets aimed at reducing the consumption of single-use bags has resulted in a reduction in the total number of bags given out by 41% since figures were first recorded in 2006; evidence of a marked and continuing change in consumer behaviour. Other organisations have sought to influence consumers beyond the direct impact of their products. For example, you can now pop into Marks and Spencer for a solar panel in addition to socks and sandwiches.
The acid test of these initiatives is whether they have an impact on consumers in the face of other pressures and influences. With 44% of consumers saying that environmental factors would have an influence on what mobile phone they purchase, O2 launched an eco rating on 25th August to enable consumers to make informed choices about the environmental impact of different handsets. Whilst it is easy to claim that you would make the green choice when asked in a survey; will consumers really be persuaded away from the latest ‘must-have’ mobile by a less desirable, but more environmentally friendly phone?
Helen is a director at Corporate Citizenship. Email her at Helen.rushton@corporate-citizenship.com to discuss strategy, reporting, assurance, stakeholder engagement and community investment.
O2 launches UK’s first eco mobile phone rating scheme
With 44% of consumers saying environmental factors would have an influence on their mobile phone purchase; O2 launched an eco rating on August 25. The Sony Ericsson Elm tops the list of 65 mobile phones from six manufacturers, rated 4.3 out of 5. The scores reflect the environmental impact of a mobile phone, how it helps people lead more sustainable lives and the ethical performance of the manufacturer. Eco rating has been developed in partnership with Forum for the Future, in close collaboration with handset manufacturers.
Marks & Spencer announced on September 1 that it is launching a range of Solar PV and Solar Thermal water heating solutions to help customers cut their carbon emissions and reduce their energy bills. M&S is one of the first retailers to offer solar energy packages that enable customers to take advantage of Feed-in-Tariffs. M&S will offer two solar packages, Solar Thermal and Solar PV, which will both include the installation of roof mounted solar panels that will contribute to customers’ home energy needs. Solar Thermal works by collecting daylight energy to heat a customer’s water supply, and packages will be available from £3,999. Solar PV works by collecting daylight energy and converting it into electricity for use within the home, with prices starting from £7,999.
Controversial new consumer group criticises green NGOs
A new US coalition called The Consumers Alliance for Global Prosperity (CAGP) was launched on August 26, describing itself as ‘an action-oriented alliance of advocacy groups that promotes economic growth and pro-consumer policies across the world’. The collation’s website outlines how it believes that industry, unions, and green NGO’s have joined together to raise prices and eliminate choices for consumers. The coalition has singled out The Forest Stewardship Council, Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil, WWF and the Fairtrade movement for particular criticism.
Climate Counts is a not-for-profit organisation scoring the world’s largest companies on their climate impact, with the aim of stimulating ‘corporate climate responsibility’ and conscious consumption. According to the latest Climate Counts scorecard, HSBC and Citigroup came highest in the commercial banking sector, Astra Zeneca in pharmaceuticals, and L’Oreal in household products. Climate Counts scored 47 of the top sector companies (by revenue) on their actions to address climate change. The companies are scored on a 0-to-100 point scale based on 22 criteria that measure companies’ efforts to assess their own climate footprint, reduce their emissions, support (or block) progress on major climate legislation, and communicate their efforts clearly and comprehensively to consumers. The toys and children’s equipment sector had the lowest overall sector score, and 8 of 14 of those companies scored zero points.
The ethical reputation of banks shows a smaller progress than other sectors, according to the Covalence Banking Sector Report 2010 released on September 1. The reasons include a low volume of positive news regarding products, as well as criticisms related to remunerations and gender discriminations. After two years of sharp decline, the EthicalQuote calculated for the banking sector has recovered an ascending path. However, whilst most other sectors have shown a better performance over the last year, banks only rank 14th out of 18 sectors in the July 2009 to June 2010 period. Back in 2007 banks were ranked 2nd. The research showed that banks are shy in demonstrating the social utility of their products and in presenting their innovations in this field. In most other sectors, sustainable products are central to corporate communication, notably cleantech, green and fair trade labelling in the food industry, or green cars. The current leader in the EthicalQuote Ranking is Technology, while Oil & Gas is last.
Facebook users tell social network site to get off coal
In a campaign that started in February to get Facebook to change its strategy to power its planned data centre in Prineville, Oregon, with renewable energy instead of coal, Greenpeace has garnered support from 500,000 Facebook users under its ‘Unfriend Coal’ campaign. With half a million signatures in hand, Greenpeace sent a letter to Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg on September 1, calling for the world’s largest social network to cut ties to coal-fired power at its new data centre. Kumi Naidoo, executive director of Greenpeace, wrote in the letter; ‘other cloud-based companies face similar choices and challenges as you do in building data centres, yet many are making smarter and cleaner investments’.
With the help of consumers, the UK’s supermarkets have continued to reduce the total number of bags given out by 41% since figures were first recorded in 2006, according to an announcement by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) on August 25. This figure compares to a 35% reduction recorded in 2009. In 2006 a total of 10.9 billion bags (including single-use bags, bags-for-life and reusable bags such as cotton and jute) were used. That number has since decreased by 4.5 billion to 6.5 billion per year in 2009/10, reducing the amount of material used in bags by 39,700 tonnes per year.
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