Is sustainability finally coming of age? What is it exactly? In this article we look at what the new UK coalition government and the EU have in mind. We look at some of the steps Britain’s top grocery firms are initiating and we assess what impact this will have on the shopping basket and the way we shop.
There is a new Board Director in town called the Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Director, or the (CRS Director). Judging by the amount of EU legislation surrounding this appointment, this post carries with it a great deal of corporate success and expectation. A quick Google tells me that this is not just a flash in the pan appointment to be morphed into the human resource portfolio, like health and safety or the E-commerce Director who is now to be found in IT or Marketing. This appointment is core to the direction of any customer driven business.
Sustainability is here to stay. And the proof is in the announcement made by Tesco’s concerning the replacement of their fridge doors for some of the more climate friendly variety. Or the announcement by Warburton’s that they have appointed their first CRS Director
Integral to this strategy is the belief that shoppers choice can be driven by sustainability. Even in these austere times people still want to buy ‘green’. We are becoming more antagonistic towards wasteful packaging on the shop floor as we wrestle with ‘dog food multi-pack’ shrink wrapped to resemble the prizing open of old drain covers, or shopping bags that, whilst biodegradable, split at the first gust of wind.
But we shoppers are also noticing the lorries that deliver our food and the mile the food travelsadding to the carbon foot print of our shopping baskets. Lemons from Israel in the winter are being replaced by locally grown alternatives. Kiwi fruit from Malawi are seeing a decline as we look for British substitutes.
Its not just the sandal wearing bearded stereo types from yesterday that is driving this change. This environmental movement is becoming more mainstream as Britain tunes in to recycling. Ill thought out regulation and ridiculous Council initiatives to catch us putting tins into general waste and visa versa are increasing our frustration at all the supermarket packaging we have to dispose of. Our change in behaviour is being driven by necessity. Councils are being incentivised by Central Government to prolong landfill sites and the EU are putting demands on the UK consumer to change buying behaviour.
Consumer companies are now looking at ways to reduce the climate change impact on all product ranges without reducing margin, quality or market share. ‘Green’ packaging solutions or product innovation, is at the core of this belief. And with over 20 EU policies impacting upon corporate performance, is it any wonder that manufactures and retailers alike are looking to lead the ‘green’ race.
According to the EU “To use the traditional definition, sustainable development is “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”, in other words ensuring that today’s growth does not jeopardise the growth possibilities of future generations. Sustainable development thus comprises three elements – economic, social and environmental – which have to be considered in equal measure at the political level. The strategy for sustainable development, adopted in 2001 and amended in 2005, is complemented inter alia by the principle of integrating environmental concerns with European policies which impact on the environment.”
With the signing of the Lisbon treaty in 2007 which came in to force in December 2009, the UK agreed to put sustainability at the heart of economic, social and environmental life. In simple terms whatever we use, must be reused for the benefit of future generations. Leaving behind a depleted earth will not sustain life in the future. The move away from fossil fuels and high carbon content goods and services is galvanising UK business today. UK Plc is being incentivised to change the way we live.
We can make a number of hypothetical leaps to determine where we will live tomorrow, and how we will live may increase or decrease the carbon debt accordingly. Over the next 10 years houses will be built that do not include space for cars, where public transport will be seen as the panacea for carbon offset. There is a strongly held belief by planners that we will buy our groceries and durable foods on-line, thus new housing estates will not need shops, or petrol station but houses and green spaces. The planners also believe that the distribution chain employed by companies today will change for the better, reducing the amount of lorries required for supermarket delivery.
For years companies have been sending employees home to work and with the introduction of ‘broadband for all’ across the UK this trend is only set to increase. Whilst the consumer continues to target ‘purchasing’ the supplier will continue to target the ‘shopper.’
The growth in on-line marketing has had a detrimental impact upon individual productivity. With diversionary time wasters such as FaceBook and Twitter, we have become a nation of ‘multi tasking magpie brains’ The generation entering the work place today have grown up on celebrity and ‘Big Brother’ with the need for immediate gratification apparently the motivation for everything that we do. But I would disagree with the Mail and the Express who appear to have a vendetta against social media. I believe that FaceBook has its place as does Twitter for the time being, and like AOL and Lycos they will all die the natural death of tired on-line brands.
Twitter is great ‘google baite’ and Facebook is a fantastic community tool. But here is a question when was the last time you spoke to anyone who bought anything because it was on Twitter, Hootsuite of Face Book. No me neither… but I can tell you of all the clubs and societies hat only exist because of Face Book and Twitter and that brings communities together.
But these are not business tools that will revolutionise the world. They are not economically sustainable. So where is the next Google coming from. Who knows, but as soon as it arrives we will be looking for the next ‘big thing’. And the next ‘big thing’ is here to stay its call sustainability. Or to put it another way, it’s the opportunity for the high street to come back in to fashion again. Why? Because mega brands will revert to the whole sale model to supply the staples we need, whilst the premium based retailers move closer to the shopper who don’t have cars, are home based and shop locally or on-line. The next big think is our leisure time. It’s the 24/7 culture of location independence that sustainability will develop, and this is why the CRS Director is key to the success of business today. In 20 years time we will be living our lives in a very different way from the way we do today.
To succeed the CRS Director has to be focussed on behavioural economics that builds a choice architecture around the business strategy of tomorrows suppliers. Now is a great time to develop on-line, outdoor and an social media campaigns to clarify consumer demand and buying behaviour. Target marketing has never been cheaper than it is today, so use it for tomorrow.