Developing branding and labelling sustainable products and services
Developing, branding and labelling sustainable products and services Alternative ways of thinking about and using the market mechanism is the primary ecocentric ”tool”. 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
Aim of lecture • To provide basic knowledge about different ways to integrate the concept of sustainability in the product/service development process. • To provide basic knowledge about how to integrate the concept of sustainability in market communication (branding, labelling schemes). 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
Ottman 1998 • ”Many eco-products available on the market today represent small enhancements; • Packaging is reduced, refilled or recycled, • Cars are equipped with catalytic converters and recyclable material, • Washing machines save water and energy… Much needed improvement but not enough to solve sustainability problems Anthropocentric paradigm 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
Sustainable product development from an ecocentric perspective (Ottman) • Go beyond recycling, re-use, repair and recovery – find products and services that restore the planets stock of resources and /or contribute to sustainable development. • Finding products and services that contribute to sustainability problems require creative minds and innovative cultures. • Outrageous goals! 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
Sustainable products and services - Guiding concepts • Dematerialisation – manufacturing/ selling services instead of products will reduce energy and material use. • Performance sales – functional orientation – solution supplier instead of product supplier. • Consumption without ownership - renting, sharing, pooling, leasing, from eco-efficiency to sufficiency. 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
Sustainable product and services = sustainable solutions (Belz and Peattie, 2009) • ”When customers seek to satisfy a need the solution might be provided by material products or immaterial services. Sustainable products and services offer solutions to customer problems as well as to socio-ecological problems. We define sustainable products and services as offerings that satisfy customer needs and significantly improve the social and environmental performance along the whole life cycle in comparison to conventional competening offers” Dual focus, continous improvement 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
Sustainable solutions development • A broader perspective on products - examining the entire life-cycle of products. • Aims at a reduction of materials and energy consumption by extension of use or intensification of use. • Long-lived products which leads to less products being produced (vs planned obsolescence: built-in, technological, psychological) • Change in ownership structure. 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
Holistic systems approach to customer solutions Cradle-to-cradle, a circular throughput economy instead of a linear one. No more extraction of raw materials, instead closed-loop approach using recycled materials. https: //www. ellenmacarthurfoundation. org/circulareconomy/overview/concept https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=z. CRKv. Dyy. Hm. I Design for the environment (DSE). Products that are easy to disassemble at the end of their life cycle, i. e. design for recycle, repair, remanufacture and reuse. Design products where materials in harmony with natural cycles and systems can be used (this option will be more financial favorable as oil becomes more scarce) Bioplastics, timber 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
Sustainable product/service development – success factors • Explicit and clear sustainable product strategy – its role in overall strategy. Organisation structure, responsibilities, and market areas of interest. • Top management support – co-ordinating environmental manager. • In-company system for environmental performance measurement. • Partnership with important stakeholders. 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
5 strategies for establishing credibility for sustainable branding and marketing (Ottman, 2011) • Walk you talk; visible and comitted CEO, empower employees, be proactive • Be transparent; report the good and the bad (see Patagonia Footprint Chronicles) • Do not mislead; Be specific, do not overstate, provide complete information, tell the whole story • Enlist the support of third parties; Choose labels wisely, educate, be relevant • Promote responsible consumption; 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
How to communicate sustainable claims credibly options? • Specific claims are more effective than general claims. For example, 100% biodegradable vs. earth friendly. This holds for both product and corporate advertising. • Combined general and specific claims are the most effective. For example, ozone friendly due to no CFCs. Similarly, combined product and company advertising reinforce each other. • Focusing on traditional consumer benefits like quality is more successful than focusing on CSR issues. For example, fair trade coffee that often focus on quality rather than workers’ rights. • Directly link sales to philanthropic donations (e. g. , for every product sold) has been found to be positively evaluated by consumers (in a U. S. setting). It is in these cases important that the cause that benefits from the marketing campaign is linked to the company’s core activities. 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
The marketing of a sustainable solution? • What solution? • How to communicate the sustainable message? branding, labelling 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
Sustainability branding • Sustainable products and services (Sps) offer solutions to customer problems as well as to socio-ecological problems. • First generation Sps big focus socio-ecological problems, neglecting satisfaction of consumer needs. • Second generation Sps Identifying and empasizing the inherent consumer value of socioecological attributes, including efficiency and cost-effectiveness, health and safety, convenience, symbolism and status 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
Sustainablity branding • Corporate brand or product brand • The performativity of sustainable branding 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
Labelling or not? • Several studies have shown that consumers respond positively to labels. • However, this requires that consumers recognize and trust the label, and that they attach importance to what the label represents. • When the same information is communicated via a third party source and a company source the purchase intentions were higher when the third party source provided the information. • Third party positive information about the company’s CSR activities improve consumers’ attitudes and even purchase intensions. 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
Labelling and marketing 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
Standardised environmental information (Emma Rex, 2008) • ISO Type I – Environmental labelling Indicates that the product has met the criteria set by a certified thirdparty organization • ISO Type II – Self-declared environmental claims Indicates that a company volunteers environmental information about its products • ISO Type III – Environmental declarations Indicates that the environmental effects of a product throughout its life cycle - from raw material procurement through manufacturing, transport, use, disposal, and recycling - are analyzed using LCA methodology and that the results of such analyses are published as quantitative data. The accuracy and reliability of the claimed data must be verified before being made public. 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
Type I – Eco- and Fair Trade labelling • • Qualitative Voluntary Positive Multiple criteria based: indicating overall environmental preferability of a product • Aggregated information • Revision of criteria. • Third party programme licence (fee) authorises the use 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
The Fair Trade label www. fairtrade. org. uk 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
Type II – Self-declared environmental claims • Qualitative • Statements and symbols made by manufacturers, importers, distributors, retailers… • No independent third-party certification. • Bans the use of vague claims as eco-friendly, sustainable, green. • Regulates how specific terms may be used ( e. g. compostable, degradable). 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
Type III Environmental declaration (EPD) • Quantified environmental data for a product (impact categories) • Based on LCA • Methodology used is standardised in ”PSR” (product specific requirements) • No weighing (aggregation) • Independent verification • A declaration, no performance levels www. environdec. com 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
LCA – Life cycle assessment • A tool for calculating the environmental impact of a product/service from ”cradle to grave”. • Used for identifying environmental hot-spots, learn about products and processes and identify improvment possibilities (influence decisionmaking in products development, purchasing, investments) • Market communication e. g. EPD 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
The life cycle model • Resource input (land, energy, raw material) • Emissions output (air, water, land) • In the phases of: raw material aquisition, transport, manufacture, use, disposal. 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
”The life cycle procedure” • • Goal and scope definition Inventory analysis Impact assessment Interpretation 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
The Life-Cycle Perspective on a consumer solution • Extraction of natural resources • Production of materials • Manufacturing of the product/service • Use of the product/service • Re-use and re-cycling • Landfill 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
Life-Cycle thinking in current practice • Design for environment • Eco-labelling (environmental differentiation) • Environmental product policy 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
Problematizing Life-cycle concept • Toxic substances are not included. • Functional units are subjective. • Adresses one pillar of the sustainability concept – a green product may be social costly and a financial disaster. • Industry initiated concept (knowledge interest). 2020 -11 -02 www. handels. gu. se
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