sustainable innovation
- Sustainable innovation facilitates the diffusion of sustainable products and solutions into the marketplace.
Triple bottle line sustainability
= Allowing economic activity to rise while reducing resource use and reducing environmental impact
- environmental, economic, and social benefits
- Pattern → economic prosperity increase = decrease in environmental quality
decoupling
= disconnecting economic growth and environmental impact so that one no longer depends on the other
- Using resources more productively and redesigning production systems
International and national laws
Encourage companies to focus on aspects other than shareholder value and financial performance → transparency of corporate sustainability and transparent sustainability assurance
Sustainability reporting
- 4 aspects of performance: economic, environmental, social, governance
- Reliability of report requires accurate data gathering over a long period of time
sustainability reporting: benefits for manufacturers
- Builds trust - transparency about environmental impact can reduce reputational risks, and demonstrate leadership, openness, and accountability
- Many growing companies see sustainability reporting as means to drive greater innovation through their businesses and products to create competitive advantage → better reputation improves customer brand loyalty
sustainability reporting: benefits for customers
Benefits for consumers: they want to know whether a company is performing in a globally responsible way from an env. perspective
Product stewardship
= an env. management strat that means whoever designs, produces, sells, or uses a product takes full responsibility for minimizing the product’s env. impacts throughout all stages of product life cycle
- Requires all stakeholders involved in making, buying, selling, or handling equipment to take responsibility for minimizing env., health, and safety impact
- E.g. organic foods, bioplastics, and forest stewardship
Product stewardship: manufacturers
- usually have the greatest ability so greatest responsibility → e.g. reducing use of toxic substances, designing for reuse and recycling, and creating take-back programs.
Essentials to creating competitive advantage = maximum resource productivity and demonstrated corporate citizenship
Product stewardship: retailers
- sector with th closest tie to consumers → have th ability to prefer product providers who offer greater env. performance to educating consumers on how to choose environmentally friendly products, enabling consumers return of products for recycling
Product stewardship: consumers
The responsibility of using and disposing of products responsibly → without consumer engagement there is no “closing the loop” so they must take responsibility for buying choices, use, and efficiency of products.
Eco-warriors
Actively demonstrate on environmental issues – protest anything damaging the env. (e.g. animal cruelty and pollution)
- Greenpeace = an env. organization that actively supports the protests and usually organize or join them (e.g. members chaining themselves to tress and throwing red paint on fur coats)
Eco-champions
Battle env. issues within organizations → a team of counselors from all parties to listen to ideas and work together to tackle the probs
- Group usually looks into what we consume, what energy we produce and use up, how we get around, and how we can reduce and dispose of our waste
Eco-fans (adopts)
Enthusiastically adopt environmentally friendly practices as consumers → someone who accepts all new tech advancements for green design on market
- Will but almost anything environmentally friendly & never buy a harmful product
Eco-phobes (resents)
Resent talking about environmental protection → people who are against helping the env. And purposefully go against ecological movements
Believe ecological problems are irrelevant
- E.g. George Bush who refused to sign the Kyoto agreement
Eco-labeling
A legal organization grants an eco-label to a product → label means that the product is very environmentally friendly
- Enable the customer to compare products and make informed decisions
Eco-labeling: Advantages
Advantages of eco-labeling
- For consumers: the labels are easy to use and trustworthy
- For manufacturers: offers a competitive advantage → if it looks eco-friendly and doesn’t cost much more it’s more likely to be bought
- Labels encourage the raising of environmental performance → if all eco-friendly products sell well there will be more companies switching
Eco-labeling: Disadvantages
Disadvantages of eco-labeling
- Manufacturers might be tempted to make exaggerated or misleading claims (making them look better than they are) so instead of raising standards it systematically undermines all eco-friendly products
Energy labelling schemes
- European Union: if a company manufactures or sells household electrical equipment it must have the energy efficiency rating label
- Australia: “The Good Environmental Choice Label” is the only environmental labeling program → it indicates the environmental performance of a product during its life cycle
Creating a market for sustainable products
- Largest opportunities to capture shoppers interested in green products; Building awareness, educating consumers, easier to find and recognize green products, enhancing in-store communication, and inspiring shoppers at store shelf
- Create a market for sustainable products
- Pricing considerations, stimulating demand for green products, and production of green products
Pricing considerations
Green products are usually more expensive but can be decreased as more companies start using triple-bottom-line sustainability
Stimulating demand for green products
- Businesses can use academics, pressure groups, and the media to highlight current environmental crisis → raises awareness to reduce overall consumption of environmentally damaging products
- Engage in open dialogue with public, consumers, and gov - how society vies consumption
- Encourage consumers to think about how lifestyle choices impact the env., recognize sustainability implications of consumption, and reduce reliance on products
- Pay attention to market niches and demand to decide which green products to promote
- Market green products as a way to build a responsible identity and lifestyle
- Consumers buy products as a way to fulfill needs so marketing them as “save the planet” encourages consumers to fulfill their needs
Production of green products
Green plastic product = recyclable
Sustainable products use bio-plastic made from plants or mushrooms and is made locally in factories that use solar power instead of plastic made from nonrenewable resources
Pressure groups
- Direct action: physically attempting to hinder an activity that is seen as wrong or draw attention to environmentally damaging activity through spectacular public actions
- Indirect action: promotion of issues through education, debate, and calculated lobbying → indirect action is usually behind direct action
