Transcript Ecolabelling Workshop: Marketing Sustainable Companies & Green

Ecolabelling Workshop:
Marketing Sustainable Companies
& Green Markets
Frederik Johanson
CEO | Partner
REACHLaw Environmental Ltd.
Copyright © 2010 REACHLaw Environmental Ltd. All rights reserved.
Sustainable Business & Green Markets
Eco-labelling & Green Markets
Case : Tourism Sector
Recap :
A “Green” business...
 Incorporates principles of reducing its environmental
impact
 Supplies environmentally friendly products and services
 Is “greener” than its competitors
 Has a strong sustainability and “Greening” commitment
when making e.g. business decisions.
 Sees a competitive advantage in being “green”
What is driving companies to become
more “Green” and Sustainable?
 Limited growth opportunities due to unsustainable operations
is forcing some companies to revert their attention on the
environmental and sustainability issues
 E.g. GHG emission reduction requirement drives companies to
invest in Cleaner Technologies
 Climate change has become the most significant environmental
risk targeted for tough global regulatory control
 Limited material resources are driving companies to be more
“material efficient”
...cont’d
 Governments / Communities are tightening the
requirements for waste, packaging material, chemical
exposure and pollution prevention, natural resource usage
 Stakeholders that are concerned and very conscious about
environmental issues:
 Investors and financial institutions ( ref. e.g. DJ sustainability
index )
 Insurance companies
 NGO’s
 General public, consumers
 “Peer pressure” from competing companies
This translates to:
• Companies / organisations have to start
implementing sustainability and greening
measures into company operations
• Realization that becoming sustainable and
green is not just about costs, it is also
about new business opportunities
Sustainable Business & Green Markets
Eco-labelling & Green Markets
Case : Tourism Sector
The ”jungle” of Eco-labels
Today there are more than 330
different Ecolabels globally in over
40 industry sectors...
More than a 1 000
EU Ecolabel licences
have been awarded
“The Flower”.
“The Flower”.
Distribution of EU Ecolabel licences
•
•
•
•
37% Tourist accommodation services
11% All-purpose and sanitary cleaners
9% Textile products
43 % Paper products, electronics, nonhazardous chemical products, ...
Ecolabelling and Green Markets
 Ecolabels are a Driver of Customer choice:
• An effective way of informing customers about the
environmental impacts of selected products.
• Enables consumers to choose between products that are
more sustainable and products that are less sustainable.
• An eco-label makes the customer more aware of the
environmental impact of the product.
…cont’d
 Ecolabelling promotes economic efficiency:
• Ecolabelling is generally cheaper to implement than
complying with regulatory controls.
→ By empowering customers and manufacturers to make
environmentally supportive decisions, the need for
regulation is kept to a minimum.
• Beneficial to both government and industry.
 Ecolabelling stimulates market development:
• Market moves towards greater environmental awareness,
especially for consumer products
…cont’d
 Encouraging continuous improvement:
• A dynamic market for Ecolabelled products encourages
corporate sustainable commitment
 Promoting certification:
• An environmental certification program is a seal of approval
which shows that a product meets a certain Ecolabel
standard.
• Provides customers with visible evidence of the product's
sustainability → Educational role for customers and
promotes competition among manufacturers.
General practices for marketing of ”The Flower”
• Avoid mixing the marketing for Ecolabelled products
and unlabelled products
• Keep to the truth: Do not claim that Ecolabelled
products are without environmental impact
→ Ecolabelled products just have less impact on the
environment than most similar products
• Avoid “Greenwashing”
Ecolabel visibility to the customers
Marketing tools:
• In your print & web information
• On your packaging
• On the product
• ....
...cont’d
Marketing channels:
• In your advertising
• Public relations and advertising
• Fairs and promotion events
• Employee communications
• Social media...
Ecolabel “branding” of a company
• The whole point of seeking for the Ecolabel is to
create a “brand” out of it for your company
The only way that the Ecolabel can benefit a company
is to really put effort on the marketing
Real competitive advantage
Greenwashing
“Greenwashing is a term describing the
deceptive use of green marketing in
order to promote a misleading
perception that a company's policies or
products (such as goods or services) are
environmentally friendly”
- Ref. Greenpeace
How to avoid “Greenwashing”:
Tips & Tricks
1. Highlight your product’s practical benefits (e.g. energy savings
in money over time) and only after that communicate its
environmental claims..
2. When competing against similar products, how you
communicate its "green" benefits and its relationship to the
environment is important... (case-by-case dependent)
3. Transparency: It is not what a company says, but what it does
not say about its products that most affects its brand image, be
transparent and don’t lie or exaggerate..
→ Implement a Communication strategy for reporting
sustainability information openly (e.g. Corporate Social
Responsibility Reporting )
The ultimate way to avoid
Greenwashing is to:
1. Stick to certified Ecolabels for your
Products & Services, and;
2. Raise the relevant eco-awareness of
the consumer
Trends:
Be Aware, Paradigm Shift
Approaching...
Today
Product Cost
and Quality
Financial
incentives
Raising of
Consumer
Environmental
awareness
“Trend drivers”
Limitation of
available
resources and eco
system
Rapid population
growth
Global
Regulatory
changes
Rise in number of
global middle- and
lower income
consumers
Consumer
Business
willingness to act
opportunities are
significantly reduced
for non-sustainable
companies
Consumer ability
and power to act
Only sustainable
products and
services survive..
The near future
“The leading businesses of the future
will be those whose core business
directly addresses global
challenges.”
– CEO World Business Council for Sustainable
Development (WBCSD)
Customer Targeting
• In the short run:
Consumer groups with high environmental
awareness and ability and willingness to act...
• In the long run:
Be sustainable and the consumers will turn to your
products & services, they have no other choice...
Sustainable Business & Green Markets
Eco-labelling & Green Markets
Case : Tourism Sector
Why Sustainability and Ecolabelling is becoming
important for the tourism sector
• The accommodation service sector (hotels, resorts, ...) is a
major consumer of resources and products.
• Daily consumption of water and power (Active 24 / 7 / 52)
• Consumption includes land, construction materials , furnishings,
cleaning supplies, food and equipment.
• This massive ongoing use of products and resources calls for a
need for green and sustainable actions to be taken
→ Opportunity to differentiate yourself by
promoting sustainable development
Examples of actions taken to create sustainable
Tourist accommodation services
•
•
•
•
•
•
Create and abide by Low Carbon policies
Promote and invest in Clean Technology
Promote sustainability changes in the supply chain
Invest in environmental education / awareness raising
Increase sustainability know-how in the tourists
Promote Marketing activities like Ecolabels to make the brand
stronger.
Example approach from a hotel to
offset GHG emissions
“Customers have the opportunity to make
contributions toward small amounts of clean
renewable energy. Though this turn-key solution,
the guests can positively impact the environment
during their stay and reduce their greenhouse gas
emissions for US 1.00 $ per night”.
Example: Offset your personal / company
emissions via the CarbonFund
Source: http://www.carbonfund.org
Thank You for Your Attention
Contact
Frederik Johanson
CEO | Partner
Tel: +358 (0) 400 595918
[email protected]
Address
REACHLaw Environmental
Keilaranta 15
FI-02150 Espoo, Finland
www.reachlawenv.fi
Copyright © 2010 REACHLaw Environmental Ltd. All rights reserved.