Sustainability was seemingly all the rage just over a year ago. COP26 was the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow from 31st October 2021 to 13th November 2021. In the race to net zero, many countries made climate pledges and published high-level plans for how their economies could decarbonise. Fast forward just 14 months and with a Russian invasion of Ukraine, high energy prices and rampant inflation and suddenly it isn’t such a hot topic. With the UK Government conducting an auction for oil and gas drilling licences in the North Sea, it doesn’t look good for 2050. However, customers and consumers still care about sustainability. In fact, IBM[i] found that half of consumers are willing to pay a premium for perceived sustainable brands and products. In 2021, the UK Competition and Markets Authority issued an ultimatum[ii] to businesses to put an end to a perception of ‘greenwashing’. So, sustainability perception is all in the mind but is it a positive one?
Sustainability perception
Sustainability matters to us. In fact, more than half of the respondents in the survey mentioned above, said that it had become more important to them after COP26. Worryingly, only just over 1/3 of businesses have acted on their sustainability strategy – if they have one. So, is there money left on the table because customers do not perceive us as sustainable? You bet.
Annoyingly, here we have to recap on greenwashing. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, greenwashing is making people believe that your company is doing more to protect the environment than it really is. We suggest that the following is more apt, which is disinformation disseminated by an organisation so as to present an environmentally responsible public image. We prefer the latter definition because of the negative perception that most people have of greenwashing. The advertising world has so far done a mediocre job of resisting internal deficiencies on sustainability. Some are getting away with green claims and others are found out, casting them in a negative light. Just like brand perception, the value in this is ultimately the ‘front of mind’ position that you seek and the value that the customer is willing to pay for a product or service.
Perception is all in the mind
It goes without saying that perception is a cognitive process. In other words, it is the way something is interpreted or understood. We all like to think that perception is ‘fixed’ when in fact it is relatively fluid. Our context, including our experiences and emotional state, may alter our perception. If you just left a sustainability conference and viewed a greenwashing ad, it may make you angry. If you depend on the service, it may make you wince but you carry on consuming it. In some ways, many of us have become so used to seeing outlandish environmental claims that we no longer respond. However, as the importance of sustainability increases in the minds of customers, so will their scrutiny of your claims. They may perceive you as ‘green’ today but that can easily be erased.
Sustainable brand perception
Since many brands take years to establish as a service or solution to your pain or a product that enhances your life, many would do little to jeopardise that. Some brands even have substantial financial valuations on their balance sheet. Other brands, via careful brand management, have taken them to the highest market capitalisation globally. Yet, many marketing and PR teams think they can get away with ecological and sustainability claims that are untrue. After all, who is really going to prove otherwise? In the same way that a sports star or celebrity ambassador represents a brand, so too will sustainability in the future. As customers become savvier regarding sustainability and investors push for greater transparency, greenwashing becomes a significant brand risk. The value attached to such risks are substantial, as Drax discovered after supply chain revelations[iii].
Perhaps we will see a return to the net zero climate goals we saw at COP26 at COP28.
Positive sustainability perception
There is no secret to being sustainable. It involves using less of the resources of our planet so that they persist in the long-term. Burning fossil fuels, single-use plastics, pollution of waterways, burying household waste and deforesting for wood, cattle grazing and palm oil is unsustainable. Let’s not confuse these with ethical initiatives such as fairtrade, which do not directly ensure sustainability.
We know that when a brand ambassador gets into trouble, the brand quickly distances themselves. This is to ensure that the negative perception of the star does not become associated with the brand. Similarly, a brand that claims to have 100% sustainable packaging best not be caught using wood from a newly deforested area. Additionally, neither should they be caught with discarded waste packaging in the public eye. A positive perception means that the customer feels content about your sustainability work. They non-consciously respond in a positive way because they believe that you care as much about the environment as they do. In summary, it isn’t rocket science. If you are genuinely sustainable and the customer values that, they may pay a premium for your product or service and feel good about it.
Check your sustainability perception
Think Beyond offers scientific studies and research to understand perception and associations for your customers. Whether it is your brand, your advertising, your customer experience, your packaging or your DEI initiatives, we can measure it and help you improve. As a boutique management consultancy, we focus on what you need to succeed. We are agile and innovative in what we do, getting to work so that you can perform at your best.
If you would like to measure your sustainability perception, simply reach out via e-mail.. Alternatively, just pop in a few details online and we will arrange an intro call.
Finally, check out our latest award win for use of technology to measure perception.
[ii] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/greenwashing-cma-puts-businesses-on-notice
[iii] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-63089348