|
Do Consumer Favor Sustainable Brands for Their Products and Services Needs? NYU Stern School Research Dives Deep into the Data For Answers Many people in consumer marketing are wondering! In these weekly commentaries the G&A Institute team offers media and experts’ shared perspectives on various issues and matters related to corporate sustainability, responsibility; and, sustainable, responsible and impact investing. In recent months the content frequently has focused on trends in the consumer market -- are consumers reacting to brand-facing companies positioning themselves as sustainability leaders? Is this a successful strategy? Worth the effort? Are consumers now favoring sustainable or green (or pick your term of definition) for their products & services at retail? Wondering? Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Tensie Whelan, professor at New York University Stern School of Business, and leader of the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business, and Randi Kronthal-Sacco, director of Corporate Outreach for the Center (and formerly with Johnson & Johnson) describe the results of their recent in-depth research project. This research centered on trying to answer the question -- do U.S. consumers actually purchase sustainably marketed products? (Spoiler alert: yes – you must read the HBR article to find out more.) Whelan and Kronthal-Sacco used volumes of data sets from bar scan codes at retail for food, drug, dollar, and mass merchandisers, looking at 36 categories and 71,000+ SKUs, accounting for 40% of consumer products goods (CPG) sales over a 5-year period. So, what did they find to be the largest share of sustainability-marketed products? Almost $1-in-$5 purchases at retail are for toilet tissue, facial tissue (think: forest products); milk, yogurt (the yield of countless dairy farmers); coffee (lots of attention on the global coffee-growing belt circling the Earth, and worker conditions therein); salty snacks (really?); and bottled juices (you notice that Coke and Pepsi and other beverage marketers are advertising their shift away from sugary drinks). At the bottom of market share: laundry care, floor cleaners and chocolate candy (accounting for a 5% share). Say Tensie and Randi: pay attention, marketers and those all along the retail value chain, from grower field and factory floor to shelf space. Consumers are voting with their dollars, for sustainable and against un-sustainable brands. Winners in the corporate sector include PepsiCo and Unilever; laggards include Kraft Heinz. (Unilever: think labels like Seventh Generation, Sundial Brands and Pukka Herbs.) And we are seeing in the many stories we bring you each week about consumers and sustainability, the future for sustainable CPG at retail is increasing – look at the apparel industry. The agora is alive and well with many more sustainably branded products on the shelves. That’s the good news for sustainability professionals. The NYU researchers used data from IRi (the research house for CGP, retail and health and beauty – information at: https://www.iriworldwide.com/en-US/Insights) Congratulations to our colleagues Tensie Whelan and Randi Kronthal-Sacco at NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business for sharing their insights and perspectives.
This Week's Top Stories Research: Actually, Consumers Do Buy Sustainable Products Global Sustainability: Continuing Forward Momentum! New Platform Hailed as ‘Netflix of Supply Chain Sustainability’ The Flying Dutchmen - How The Netherlands Wants To Make Aviation Sustainable 8 Characteristics Of Millennials That Support Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Sustainability & the World of Fashion� Does ‘Sustainable Fashion’ Really Mean Anything? 5 Sustainable And Stylish Furniture Brands In Europe How to Create Sustainable Fashion From Recycled Clothing
Quick Scan of the Headlines: Without swift action on climate change, heat waves could kill thousands in U.S. cities China’s economic census uncovers more fake data as officials promise ‘zero tolerance’ to data manipulation Headlines From the Corporate Sector Dow releases annual Sustainability Report Sustainability and the World of Auto Manufacturing… BMW joins sustainable natural rubber platform VW Is Closing in on Ford Deal on Electric, Autonomous Cars GM’s race to outflank Tesla may be stalling out
| NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS: ________________________________________ NEW G&A INSTITUTE ________________________________________ G&A Institute Sustainability Update™ Affording an Unaffordable Utility Upgrade
_________________________________________ Sector Study on Sustainability Materiality of the SDG Targets & GRI Indicators FLASH REPORT: 85% of S&P 500 Index® Companies Publish Sustainability Reports in 2017
________________________________________ _________________________________________
________________________________________ GRI'S USA, UK & IRELAND G&A Institute is the Data Partner for the Global Reporting Initiative's (GRI) in the USA, UK and Republic of Ireland. We identify, receive, collect, analyze, database, and communicate about every report issued in any of the 3 countries. Over the past 6+ years, G&A analyzed 6,000-plus sustainability reports in this pro bono role and databased 100+ important data points for each report. Find out more @ G&A's What's A Data Partner _________________________________________ Navigating the way to sustainability... All Rights Reserved | ||||||||||||
The Sustainability Highlights eNewsletter is prepared by Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc. based on continuous monitoring of trends and developments in Sustainability and ESG. Governance & Accountability Instiute is the "Sustainability Headquarters™" for clients in the corporate, investment, public and social sectors. Based in New York, G&A is a for-profit consulting organization providing a range of value-added strategies, services and resources related to ESG & sustainability to clients in the corporate and capital markets communities.For G&A's full range of services, click on each of the links below: For more information, contact Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc. (New York, New York) |