Which side of the bottom line are you standing on?

We’ve all heard manufacturers complain, “We’d like to be ‘eco,’ but are afraid our customers will reject the change,” or “Eco doesn’t sell.” That might have been so once, but not anymore.

As sociologist Paul Ray reported in his study of consumer attitudes, approximately a quarter of U.S. adults fit into a segment he tagged “Cultural Creatives.” Concern for the power and vocal willingness of this group to act on these attitudes was illustrated by a 2004 study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), researching concerns and strategies of today’s top executives.
Cultural Creatives consider themselves strongly aware of global warming, destruction of rain forests, overpopulation, lack of ecological sustainability, and exploitation of people in poorer countries. They want to see more positive action on these problems, and are more than willing and able to buy and invest according to their values. It’s these values, and the devastating effect a tarnished image has on brand equity, that the PWC study showed to be the number-one concern of the executives surveyed.

Businesses take note: Consumer activism works – and not to your advantage.

In Europe, responding to rate increases for rubbish removal, consumers staged a revolt. Rather than tote home packaging that would need to be disposed of on their dime, they repacked items purchased in reusable containers from home, and left the original packages piled at the end of the check-out line for the store to deal with.

This quiet revolution helped force the creation of producer responsibility laws. But rather than simply roll over and absorb the new costs, firms now having to dispose of their consumer and transport packaging themselves rather than pushing the problem down the distribution chain started selling their waste to the expanding recycling industry as a valuable resource – turning a disposal liability into a profit center. In addition, more attention was paid to reduce packaging needs overall, increasing per-unit profitability.

In the best of all worlds, according to general sustainability models, goods would be produced and consumed locally. In the real world of course, that’s not how it works. We live in a global economy, and not all communities are able to produce all the goods they need. But the fact that we’re transporting goods outside the reach of our own laws doesn’t mean manufacturers can, or should want to, produce products and waste with reckless abandon. Study after study shows there are sound bottom line arguments to be made for aligning profitability and positive image with sustainable business practices.

The price behind the sticker

Beyond landfills bursting at the seams, ills related to packaging abound. Consider forests laid bare by traditional cut-and-run clearcutting; the beloved dolphin Flipper (actually his cousin) washing up on a beach, starved to death by a plastic six-pack ring binding his mouth; and soda bottles and tampon applicators washing up on pristine shores. Not all award-winning design is viewed in a gallery. Is being part of the flotsam and jetsam on a beach the way you’re introducing your brand to a new audience?

This figure has been tossed around in marketing books over the years, but it’s estimated it costs as much as five times more to win a customer back than it did to attract them in the first place. Even if the actual figure is a fraction of that, it makes good economic sense to take great care with the image you’re conveying to your customers, past, present and future.

Everything we purchase, produce, deliver, and sell makes a statement about how we feel about the environment and ultimately the consumers we serve. What is your packaging saying about you?

“Companies with an eye on their ‘triple bottom-line’ – economic, environmental and social sustainability – outperformed their less fastidious peers on the stock market, according to a new index from Dow Jones and Sustainable Asset Management.” (Economist  – September, 1999)
So which side of the bottom line is  your company standing on?

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Checklist for Positive Change:

Learn about sustainable business practice and systems thinking before you start to specify materials and processes.
Having a list of “good” materials is only a small piece of the story.  Many very eco/sustainable materials, when used in the wrong application, could be worse overall than the “bad” material they are intended to replace. Doing things sustainably means understanding it’s a system, not a menu.

Create products that use recycled and sustainably renewable materials first.
Consumers are looking for manufacturers who are good corporate citizens. A great start is to use tree-free and recycled paper products (example: tree-free paper for user instructions or hang tags). Supporting the market for recycled paper encourages the shift toward a more sustainable pulp cycle. Or touting “Tree-Free” on your product is easier for the consumer to understand than the often-confusing disclosures of recycled content. If you use plastics, keep an eye on developments in bio-plastics (petroleum free, made from annual crops). There are a wide variety of solutions available right now, and more hitting the market every year.

Choose materials recycled in your target market, plus look for those that close the loop.
Stay familiar with the recycling rules for your markets’ curbside recycling programs. Not all areas take all materials. The consumer wants to feel good about the product purchase, make it easy for them. Look up recycling schemes at earth911.com.

Use common sense.
Concentrates use less transport energy than their ready-to-use counterparts. Prepared foods in aseptic packages can use less energy to stay fresh than frozen or refrigerated. If the product is plastic, is it adding a positive user feature, like shampoo in a shatter-proof bottle for safety? If it looks wasteful to you, it looks wasteful to the consumer. Creating oversized items to catch the consumer’s eye is a dangerous trap. Consumers consistently complain about things that are “too big” and have little sympathy for your shelf-space battles. Clever sells better than bigger.

Become an eco activist.
Consumers want to feel good about their purchases. Offer information about your efforts on your website, and refer to your efforts on your product or packaging. Make a big deal out of what you’re doing to encourage the consumer to participate in market change. Don’t just leverage positive consumer perception, make sustainability part of the systems thinking behind your competitive advantage.

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References:

Cultural Creatives
culturalcreatives.org

Article: “Environmental Branding Blocks Competitors”

The Independent Designers Network – Eco-packaging resource page
ecopackaging.net

“PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 2004 Sustainability Survey Report,” 2004 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, http://www.pwc.com
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Article first appeared in Package Design Magazine, November 2006, Sustainablity Update. Reprinted with permission.

PDM’s Sustainability Update is coordinated by:
Wendy Jedlicka, CPP— Jedlicka Design Ltd. (jedlicka.com), o2 International Network for Sustainable Design (o2.org & o2umw.org), Minneapolis College of Art and Design’s ground breaking Sustainable Design Certificate Program (mcad.edu/sustainable). Books: “Packaging Sustainability”  and “Sustainable Graphic Design”  (PackagingSustainability.info).