15 seems to be the magic number for ushering in a new era of climate-conscious marketers
The opening event at COP-15
The 15 warmest years on record since 1856 have occurred in the last 15 years, according to the U.K. Meteorological Office and the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia for the World Meteorological Organization.
It was a mere 15 years ago that an environmentalist wouldn’t dare be in the same room as a Fortune 500 executive. But now, as the recent UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen has shown (COP-15), the convergence en masse of climate specialists and private sector leaders from all over the world reveals that this unlikely partnership is actively involved in integrating climate consciousness into the business model of multinationals as well as small, local businesses alike.
While COP-15 did not result in the intended agreement on greenhouse gas emissions, meetings like the Climate Group’s Climate Leaders Summit showcased the extent to which both small and large private sector players have adopted greener business strategy and practices and developed greener products and services across all industries.
Since marketing contributes much of the vision behind business strategy, it has to be ahead of the eight ball, evaluating consumer and business perceptions about corporate America’s role in addressing the challenge of climate change. After all, sound business strategy is driven by understanding and reflecting target audience’s perceptions.
And an emerging set of studies is showing just how climate conscious consumer audiences are becoming.
A recent BMGG survey reveals that 95 percent of the more than 6,400 shoppers surveyed are open to considering green products, 67 percent of shoppers looked for green products, only 47 percent actually found them and 22 percent purchased some green products on their shopping trip (courtesy of Environmental Leader). This suggests that demand is ahead of supply by a substantial margin and opportunities for new products and services abound.
Tendwatching.com tells us that making it easy for consumers to be green is one of the top 10 trends of 2010. They call it “Ec0-Easy.”
According to the Washington Post, landfill waste was down by 30% in 2009. Robbin Griggs-Lawrence of the Huffington Post explains that consumers are becoming less trashy and more conscious about packaging. “As we consume less, our carbon footprints will get smaller. We’ll buy less, so we’ll waste less packaging,” says Griggs-Lawrence.
But perhaps one of the most interesting insights on this trend comes from Diana Verde Nieto, CEO of Clownfish, a division of Aegis Media (one of the world’s fastest growing marketing communications group). “When brand entertainment is based on the things that really matter, consumers volunteer their attention. It is a move from interruption to attraction.” Read more about this interesting concept at http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/05/20/csr-called-the-new-branded-content/.
