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European Management Journal Vol. 20, No. 2, pp.

109127, 2002
2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.
Pergamon
Printed in Great Britain
0263-2373/02 $22.00 + 0.00 PII: S0263-2373(02)00022-1
Moving Business/Industry
Towards Sustainable
Consumption:
The Role of NGOs
NANCY KONG, Yale University
OLIVER SALZMANN, IMD, Lausanne
ULRICH STEGER, IMD, Lausanne
AILEEN IONESCU-SOMERS, IMD, Lausanne
The negative environmental impact of current con-
sumption patterns is increasing and becoming more
evident. Household/consumer behavior plays a sig-
nicant role in shaping these patterns. A growing
number of non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) are focusing on this issue. The paper
1
examines how NGOs could play an important role
as partners to business/industry in promoting sus-
tainable consumption. It exhibits a number of mini
case studies on innovative partnerships for product
development, labeling, green purchasing, etc. Two
essential factors for success have been identied: (1)
Consumers need to feel empowered to make a dif-
ference through their behavior. (2) They should also
be able to improve their quality of life. Further-
more, direct consumer outreach and partnerships
with retailers are recommended as effective means
of changing consumption patterns. 2002
Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.
Keywords: NGO, Partnerships, Environment, Sus-
tainable development, Consumers, Households
Introduction
Sustainable consumption poses unique challenges to
each of the economic sectors private, public and
government. At the household level, it might mean
buying less in the short run, but ultimately it requires
some signicant changes in lifestyle. The question is,
Are people willing to change or let go of their current
European Management Journal Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 109127, April 2002 109
behaviors? To the business/industry sector, sus-
tainable consumption means the greening of the
supply chain, producing more environmentally
friendly or eco-efcient products, and providing con-
sumers with information about sustainable consump-
tion through advertising, marketing and product
information. But what are the incentives to take these
steps? Is there a triple bottom line? To the govern-
ment, sustainable consumption means using policy
tools to encourage the private and public sectors to
achieve sustainable production and consumption.
Above all, the problem requires a common solution
the coming together of all the stakeholders to devise
viable strategies to tackle the problem of todays con-
sumption trends.
As a rst step in trying to broach the topic of chang-
ing household behavior toward more sustainable pat-
terns of consumption, we would like to examine the
role of non-government organizations (NGOs) in
inuencing such behavioral changes. NGOs have
been playing a powerful role in sustainable develop-
ment, particularly in their partnerships with key
stakeholders, in serving the needs of individuals and
communities. Many of these NGOs are developing a
more sophisticated understanding of environmental
problems, based on sound scientic research and are
developing effective strategies to solve environmen-
tal problems through strategic partnerships.
This paper seeks to identify initiatives and projects
between NGOs and other key stakeholders,
especially households and businesses, to promote
Consumers simply did not
seem willing to pay more for
higher recycled content
MOVING BUSINESS/INDUSTRY TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
sustainable consumption. Using mini case studies, it
explores the questions:
How are NGOs educating households to change
their consumption behavior?
How can NGOs be potential partners to businesses
in promoting sustainable consumption (i.e. serve
as a catalyst for a relationship between
households/consumers and businesses)?
Finally, we will try to identify the salient factors for
success, future trends and needs, and the potential
for further rolling out these partnerships.
Strategic Confrontation and
Empowerment
Confrontational approaches are still quite common
for NGOs in pointing out problems to business, but
NGOs are increasingly developing more strategic
ways to force companies to listen. They are now
encouraging the public to exercise its shareholder
power. Investment can be seen as the next most
direct link between households
and businesses after purchasing
power. Investment is not con-
sumption per se. However, it is
an essential part of household
behavior. Changing the way a
person invests in a sense is
changing individual behavior,
and NGOs are gradually seeing shareholder power
as a lever to encourage businesses to adopt more sus-
tainable practices. Friends of the Earths (FoEs)
Green Paycheck Campaign
2
tells people how to
screen their investments and use their shareholder
power so that money becomes a tool for change. It
informs individuals how to confront companies
through shareholder advocacy. Co-Op America
3
in
the US has an extensive Shareholder Action Network
(SAN) program. (See section below for an example
in the soft drinks industry.)
These NGOs and others like them are working side
by side with socially responsible investment (SRI)
groups to encourage and inform shareholders to
exercise their power. And investors seem interested
in taking on a more active role, at least in demanding
more SRI, which is now one of the fastest-growing
investment sectors, with 44 SRI funds worth more
than 3.3 billion (Financial Times, 2001).
Educating Shareholders and Using
Shareholder Power to Bring About
Change (Plastics News, 2000)
The soft drinks industry is currently under pressure
from its investors to increase the recycled content of
European Management Journal Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 109127, April 2002 110
PET bottles and stop opposing bottle bills in certain
States in the US that require a higher recycling rate.
SRI groups (including Walden Asset Management,
the Educational Foundation of America and Domni
Social Investments) holding about US$50 million in
Coca-Cola Co. led a shareholder resolution in Nov-
ember 2000 asking the company to use 25% recycled
content in its bottles10 times what it uses now. A
similar resolution was also led with PepsiCo Inc.
NGOs such as GrassRoots Recycling Network
(GRRN), a national network of waste reduction acti-
vists and professionals running the campaign for
Zero Waste in the US, also plan to continue and
expand the campaign by working with Coca-Cola
and targeting Pepsi. GRRN is leading non-prot par-
ticipation in a new business/environmentalist
alliance called Businesses and Environmentalists
Allied for Recycling (BEAR) and introducing share-
holder resolutions.
4
Since the early 1990s, Coca-Cola has had an ongoing
program to conduct research on PET recycling tech-
nologies that cost no more for consumers. In 1991 the
company introduced the rst plastic soft drinks
bottles with recycled content
but was forced to stop after two
years because of costs.
5
Coca-
Cola and its suppliers have
continued to fund research to
develop new PET recycling
technologies. According to a
Coca-Cola spokesperson, The
company has been exceeding its goal of using 10%
recycled content in one of every four of its PET
bottles,(Plastics News, 2000) but the company
declines to comment on the exact targets that can
be reached.
While Coke, with its year 2000 appointment of a new
CEO, Douglas Daft, is willing to engage in more open
dialog with its shareholders, Pepsi is still reluctant.
Part of the problem is that technology is not available
to allow these companies to make plastic bottles with
recycled content at an affordable price. The ironic
part of the story is that consumers simply did not
seem willing to pay more for higher recycled content.
At the end of 2000, the Educational Foundation of
America, which owns about $550,000 in Coke stocks,
hired the As You Sow Foundation to negotiate a
recycling deal with the soft drinks companies. The
foundation hopes to motivate the owners of 10% of
the shares in Coke and Pepsi to vote for the resol-
ution. This is a good referendum for shareholders
and a good chance to educate them, said Mackerron
as he pointed out the foundations recent success in
persuading home improvement giant Home Depot to
phase out the sale of old-growth lumber. We think
this demonstrates that shareholder activism does
workand it makes good business sense [to
change](Plastics News, 2000).
MOVING BUSINESS/INDUSTRY TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
Some key lessons from the alliance:
Shareholdings must be somewhat substantial to
have clout.
Availability of technologies and cost are major
bottlenecks for change.
It is difcult to convince consumers to pay more
for recycling. (Is a quality of life issue at stake?)
Company character and management leadership
make a difference.
Banding together (environmental organizations,
funds and foundations) to increase shareholder
power in terms of percentage of holdings is a stra-
tegic move.
Close engagement and open dialogs are essential
to progress and resolution.
From Confrontation to Innovative
Partnerships
NGOs are gradually steering away from confron-
tation to focus more on forming proactive partner-
ships with business/industry. However, the level
and depth of engagement between NGOs and com-
panies still varies. Partnerships can take the form of
ad hoc opportunistic coalitions or they may involve
common problem solving or the lending of credibility
through the use of, say, logos (Steger, 2000).
Where a partnership is formed between a business
and an NGO, the issues addressed still revolve
mainly around sustainable production of products
and services. The issue of sustainable consumption
and changing consumption behavior is often over-
looked from a business perspective. As a result,
NGOs canand often dorun their consumer and
business campaigns separately when addressing the
topic of sustainable consumption. Many NGOs pro-
vide information over the Internet on how to green
a household or how to be a greener consumer; the
majority of these NGOs also have business greening
programs, looking at corporate responsibility, apply-
ing industrial ecology concepts to production, etc.
However, even though the NGO-business partner-
ships are proactive and aimed at common problem
solving, there is often little or no interaction
between such programs and their consumer out-
reach campaigns in terms of combining consumer
needs and business priorities. Clearly, there is a lack
of strategic approach in this area.
Creating Demand from the Supply Side
Sustainable consumption is about satisfying the
needs and the quality of life aspirations of house-
holds and individuals through the use of sustainably
produced products and services in a sustainable
manner. Therefore, engaging the two sidesdemand
European Management Journal Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 109127, April 2002 111
and supplyin a common dialog or at least address-
ing the needs of both sides, is a priority in promoting
sustainable consumption which some NGOs can and
should act upon. There are several innovative pro-
jects in which NGOs and businesses are working
together to inuence, or even create, demand by
developing innovative and sustainable products.
Even though the idea of creating demand or staying
ahead of the market is not new to business/industry,
working with NGOs to develop sustainable products
is certainly a new venture. Moreover, the range of
projects and products that these NGOs are able to
propose is tremendous. All sectors of a households
basic needs (such as food and housing) can be
covered.
First on the list is a close one-on-one partnership
between an NGO and a household products com-
pany. (A similar, but more dated, example is Green-
peaces cooperation with German refrigeration rms
to create the Greenfreeze Refrigerator to tackle the
problem of CFCs and ozone depletion) (Verheul and
Vergragt, 1995.)
Partners in New Product Development:
SC Johnson and AIE (Alston and Roberts,
1999)
Players
In 1995 the Alliance for Environmental Innovation
(AEI), a highly respected environmental organization
with a track record of achieving innovative solutions
with companies like McDonalds, UPS, Starbucks and
Bristol Myers, teamed up with SC Johnson & Son,
Inc., one of the worlds leading providers of quality
cleaning, maintenance and storage products for
households. They set up a joint taskforce to integrate
environmental decision making into new product
development.
AEI saw SC Johnson as a promising partner because
its record of concern for the environment and its
leadership in product formulation and marketing
offered opportunities to further integrate environ-
mental considerations at each stage of product devel-
opment. It received no nancial support from SC
Johnson and barred the company from using its
name in any advertising or promotional material.
SC Johnson was also eager to join forces with AEI. A
market-driven company, SC Johnson believes in
launching products to better serve the needs of con-
sumers, especially in catering to their growing health
and environmental concerns. This unique partner-
ship has aided SC Johnson by linking consumer and
company environmental objectives more closely to
the new product development process through con-
sumer research and creating a new product design
No brand currently in the
market has achieved high
recognition for being
environmentally
responsible.
MOVING BUSINESS/INDUSTRY TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
framework, along with tools to measure the environ-
mental performance of its products.
Activities
The work was based on a joint agreement that the
earlier environmental objectives are introduced in the
overall product development process, the greater the
resulting environmental and business benet (Alston
and Roberts, 1999) A taskforce was formed; it
included several scientists (a scientist from AEI
joined SC Johnsons new product team, bringing an
environmental perspective to decisions made early in
the development process), a marketing specialist, a
research analyst from AEI, and members of the
environmental, product development, product safety
and marketing staff at SC Johnson.
Outcome
A potential market
AEI helped design and interpret a major market
study by a product development team at SC
Johnson and found that over 75% of consumers
will take some action on environmental issues
that affect them personally. Environmental pro-
duct concepts are most successful when the
environment is articulated in terms of the con-
sumers personal, home or
community environment.
The research showed that
there is latent and real con-
sumer desire for products
with environmental fea-
tures and no brand cur-
rently in the market has
achieved high recognition
for being environmentally
responsible.
According to Victoria Mills of AEI, the study also
suggests a much bigger opportunity to address
the environmental concerns of the mainstream
consumer, and second, it offers new insights on
how to translate those concerns into purchasing
behavior.
Translating health into an environmental focus
addressing consumer needs
Sensing that health is the biggest rising concern
among consumers, SC Johnson created a new line
of products catering to allergy sufferers. The joint
product development team came up with pro-
ducts that eliminated allergens and chemical
treatments. The products also contained reduced
levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and
extended product life through reusability, dura-
bility and long-lasting formulation. Such pro-
ducts are in response to consumer needs, as
identied through AEIs consumer research, but
also embody strategies for environmental
improvement (see Appendix A Table 2).
European Management Journal Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 109127, April 2002 112
Avoiding cost
Redesigning products after they are launched is
usually expensive, time-consuming and, above
all, avoidable if due consideration is given early
in product development. If the environmental
strategy is implemented early: 1) meeting
environmental goals is less cumbersome and 2)
the resulting products are more responsive to
consumer needs.
Breaking down the green wall
Organizational barriers are often considered to be
the greatest barriers to environmental manage-
ment. This is because information to help product
design achieve environmental objectives is often
widely scattered within a company, with very
little communication between the business teams
product developers and the corporate environ-
mental staff, who have the know-how and are
responsible for the environmental performance of
products. AEI brought together the different
departments at SC Johnson to engage in the
design process, explicitly aligning environmen-
tal concerns with key business goals, and design-
ing consistency into the overall company man-
agement system(Alston and Roberts, 1999).
A new tool to measure product environmental
performance
AEI helped develop metrics that are specic indi-
cators of a products environmental performance
(see Appendix A Table 3). These metrics measure
aspects of a products
environmental impact
across each stage of the pro-
ducts life cycle. The metric
scores are benchmarked to
encourage systemic con-
tinuous improvement of the
products. The rate of
improvement over time is
also assessed and different
products and product
designs that serve the same function are com-
pared. The resulting computer-based environ-
mental product design system, which SC Johnson
named STEP (Success Through Environmental
Progress), has been integrated into the companys
intranet. It was critical that everyone in the
organization involved in product development
whether in marketing, R&D, product formulation
or packaging engineeringbe able to use the tool
regardless of the extent of their environmental
knowledge, commented Dr Richard Denison,
senior scientist for the AEI.
Success
AEI helped the company identify consumers
environmental preferences.
AEI also helped the company realize that it has a
great opportunity to change consumption
behavior and that there is a clear link between the
MOVING BUSINESS/INDUSTRY TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
design of a product and its sustainable consump-
tion and use once consumers have bought it.
AEI will make publicly available the general nat-
ure of tools and methods developed to support
environmentally responsible product design.
A new strategy for marketing environmentally
friendly products was proposed.
New products with quantiably higher eco-
efciency have been introduced (i.e. the new
Glade Plug-ins last 50% longer and have 16 times
less packaging waste than competing products).
Environmental performance of products in SC
Johnsons core air care, insect control and home
cleaning business in the US was assessed and
reported using STEP starting January 1999. This
procedure was later rolled out sequentially to
other regions of the world. All project teams
worldwide have been trained in the STEP tool.
For all new and re-staged products, project teams
will be actively encouraged to make environmen-
tal performance improvements against current SC
Johnson benchmarks, to be measured by STEP.
The next project is a demonstration of both technical
and social innovation in providing solutions for
future housing. An NGO has been successful in
bringing together the various stakeholders and dem-
onstrating that having multiple partners is most
necessary to develop innovative solutions. The pro-
ject illustrates that NGOs can and should partner
with each other to gain funding and technical sup-
port as well as maximizing credibility. Consumers
are also given a choice with this new product.
Sustainable Housing: Beddington Zero
Energy Development (BedZED)
(Beddington is a village in the borough of Sutton,
southern England)
Players
BioRegional Development Group is an environmen-
tal organization that works on projects to bring local
sustainability into mainstream business and industry.
It was responsible for sustainability issues relating to
the BedZED project. It worked closely with the archi-
tect and engineers on developing an integrated trans-
portation plan, the selection of construction
materials, energy and waste efciency, renewable
energy supply and ethical nancing.
Main stakeholders:
Local government, London Borough of Sutton.
BedZED is seen to provide solutions to many of
the problems facing planners and politicians as
they try to meet the increasing demand for hous-
ing in the 21st century.
European Management Journal Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 109127, April 2002 113
Leading architects and engineers, with Bill Duns-
ter, a well-known green designer.
The Peabody Trust, Londons largest housing
association, with a focus on providing low-
income housing.
The project faced initial hardships because it was
such a new idea and there were many misconcep-
tions about green design. However, WWF-Inter-
national, a funding partner of BioRegional, greatly
contributed to the success of the BedZED project by
providing technical advice and lobbying support in
securing the site for development. (The bid for the
site was well below what others had offered.) WWF
has contributed Sfr 25,000 to Sfr 30,000 per year to
the group for about ve to six years.
7
The funding
support has also brought name recognition to the
group, which was established in 1994. WWF is wil-
ling to support BioRegional projects as a whole
because its initiatives in forest conservation and cli-
mate change help WWF realize its Global Priority
goals.
Outcome
The 82-home estate is regarded as a model of how
London could be made more environmentally
friendly in the future. In fact, it is the largest housing
development in Europe to reduce CO
2
emissions
(Evening Standard, 2001).
BedZED offers a systems solution to the challenge of
sustainable living within the urban environment. It
integrates environmental, social and economic needs
and brings together proven strategies to reduce
energy, water and car use. It is a demonstration of:
Environmental technologies in all aspects of living.
Social innovations in high density housing.
Its mix of living and workspace cuts down on
commuting and helps boost the local economy.
The mix of homesfor sale and rentat afford-
able, market rates will attract both high and low
incomes, which are the basis of socially inclusive
communities.
Life cycle analysis from site selection and construc-
tion to operation and end of life of buildinga
cradle-to-cradle approach.
Creative use of brownelds, maintaining green
space and protecting biodiversity.
The rst model home opened in April 2001; building
was scheduled to nish by the end of 2001; 1000
people have already expressed an interest in buying.
BedZED will enable local authorities to achieve sus-
tainable development in Sutton by:
Meeting local policies promoting a model
approach to energy conscious development.
Offering ways to meet planning, housing, trans-
Food/nutrition in
particular are responsible for
42% of the total ecological
footprint in Western
Europe
MOVING BUSINESS/INDUSTRY TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
port and local Agenda 21 targets, while combining
environmental, social and economic benets.
Achieving recycling targets of 80% by 2005.
Implementing a sustainable transport strategy.
Exceeding targets on home energy efciency.
Prospects
BedZED showed stakeholders that going green is not
just a luxury that only the well-off can afford. In fact,
Peabody Trust tenants are mostly on low incomes
and could really benet from these energy-efcient
yet affordable homes through saving on energy and
water bills. The selling prices of these homes would
be comparable to those of conventional homes in the
area. Building an estate with such attention to sourc-
ing of materials, fuel efciency and the lifestyle of the
future residents isnt expensive, but it does require
planning and enthusiasm, commented Malcolm Kirk
of Peabody Trust. Jo Taylor of
BioRegional agreed, The point
about BedZED is that it will
make it so easy to reduce con-
sumptionIts just going to be
very easy to live, be comfort-
able and be green. Architect
Bill Dunster added, It allows
individuals to make a differ-
ence to problems like global
warming through their choice
of home. BioRegional will work to secure further
sites for BedZED developments.
BedZED will be a model approach to future housing
in urban areas. For example, population in the US is
expected to increase by 37 million in 15 years and
about 1.5 million new homes per year will be built
and furnished. With studies showing that 87% of
home buyers consider the energy efciency of a new
home (American Demographics, 2001). there needs to
be a more comprehensive approach to housing, and
an NGO in this case has led the way with a pilot
project in the planning, design and implementation
of such an approach.
Food and nutrition are a basic necessity of life. How-
ever, the environmental consequences of food con-
sumption, which is directly linked to production, are
quite enormous. According to the WWF 2000: Living
Planet Report, food/nutrition in particular are respon-
sible for 42% of the total ecological footprint in West-
ern Europe, twice as much as the footprint of build-
ing and living (21%) and three times more than that
of mobility (14%) (WWF-Switzerland, 2000).
Besides the issue of the sustainability of food pro-
duction and consumption, there are other growing
concerns among consumers, such as food safety and
the emergence of genetically modied foods. WWF-
Switzerland launched the Food for the Living Planet
Campaign in 2000 on a national level in Switzerland.
European Management Journal Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 109127, April 2002 114
Like other environmental organizations, such as
Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, WWF-Switzer-
land also has a goal of protecting the health of con-
sumers and the environment. However, unlike the
others, it has a much more comprehensive approach
to consumption. Instead of just focusing on one
particular issue, such as GMOs or pesticide use, it
wishes to target changing food consumption and
peoples eating patternsit is striving to create a
green demand for eating.
WWF-Switzerlands Food for the Living
Planet Campaign
Players
Known worldwide by its panda logo, the World
Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
is one of the worlds largest
independent conservation
organizations. It was estab-
lished in 1961 and today has
almost 5 million supporters and
a global network active in more
than 90 countries. WWFs mis-
sion is to:
Conserve the worlds bio-
logical diversity.
Ensure that the use of renewable natural resources
is sustainable.
Promote the reduction of pollution and wasteful
consumption.
Activities
Need-eld approach
WWF-Switzerland believes that the supply-
demand chain is structured according to the
needs and wants of consumers (to attain a certain
quality of life) and that these needs and wants
should be satised along with environmental
needs. Therefore, it is important to understand
the needs of consumers (or consumer values),
which include taste, health, convenience, animal
welfare and ecology.
Inuencing and changing markets and lifestyles
WWFs focus includes the three main sectors of
household consumption 1) food; 2) housing and
living; and 3) mobility. Through scientic analy-
sis, WWF has identied that rst on the European
agenda is the food footprint. In its Food for the
Living Planet Campaign, WWF-Switzerland aims
for a 10% reduction of the nutrition footprint
within ve years.
A new campaign focus with specic targets
Instead of publishing more consumer infor-
mation and lobbying for change in agricultural
MOVING BUSINESS/INDUSTRY TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
policies and pointing the nger at companies,
which has been its strategy for the past 10 years,
WWF is engaging the retail sector to offer new
and more sustainable food products and linking
changing food consumption to its Global Pri-
orities in climate change, oceans, species and for-
ests. WWF has set specic targets in order to miti-
gate problems within each of its Global Priorities.
Goals are set for Switzerland and for the whole
EU for the years 2001 to 2005 (see Appendix B
Table 4).
-WWF-Switzerland is currently working with 40
companies in the retail and food services sector.
Since 56% of total food expenditure is in the retail
sector, it has become a priority to focus on the
retail sector through more communication and
innovative partnerships to provide sustainable
products (organic, seasonal, regional, certied,
fair trade).
-WWF has also begun cooperating with the cater-
ing business, since 44% of food expenditure is on
catering/restaurants and other food services
(WWF-Switzerland, 2000). The NGO has worked
closely and creatively with food services to
design, for example, WWF Weeks for the menu
and one permanent WWF dish. It is also working
with high-end gourmet restaurants to gather
media attention and set trends for fashionable
diets. It is helping the sector to increase its offer-
ing of organic and regional products.
Using labels to inform purchasing decisions
Informing consumers about the impact of wood
products on forests worldwide and how they can
stop deforestation through buying only wood
products carrying the FSC (Forest Stewardship
Council) eco-label. Using advertisements and cel-
ebrity endorsements as part of its strategy.
Educating consumers about overshing in sh-
eries today and how they can stop overshing
through buying seafood that carries the MSC
(Marine Stewardship Council) label or eating out
in restaurants that serve environmentally fri-
endly seafood.
Encouraging and working with retailers and food
services to procure more of these labeled pro-
ducts.
Evaluating eco-labels, especially for food pro-
ducts, and encouraging sound purchases.
Success
According to Marcel Odermatt of WWF-Switzerland
(Odermatt, 2001), the campaign has been successful
in driving market demand for organic products,
especially in Switzerland. However, because the cam-
paign is still relatively new, it is difcult to gauge
its overall success and attribute the change in eating
patterns that has occurred solely to the campaigning
effort. There are certainly outside factors, such as
BSE, to consider. The campaign follows a linear
European Management Journal Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 109127, April 2002 115
model of outreach, where direct feedback from
households is probably absent. Consumers are fed
the information, but their behavior does not always
reect the intended outcome of the campaign. Engag-
ing in direct consumer/household outreach (such as
workshops and other grassroots campaigning
activities) is crucial to the success of the campaign.
However, WWF seems to focus more on working
with the retail sector and outreach to consumers
mainly through media contact.
The project below, an academic research initiative,
illustrates a potential new strategy for NGOs to
engage many stakeholders in developing sustainable
scenarios and strategies for future households and
sustainable consumption. It seems a more compre-
hensive strategy in that it directly engages both busi-
nesses and consumers at the same time.
The SusHouse Project: Strategies for
Sustainable Shopping, Cooking and
Eating (SCE) (Young et al., 2000; Quist et al.,
1999).
The SusHouse (Strategies towards the Sustainable
Household) project was an EU-funded research pro-
ject (running from January 1998 to June 2000) that
aimed to develop and evaluate strategies to encour-
age more sustainable household activities. The pro-
ject assumed that a combination of technological, cul-
tural and institutional changes was necessary to
achieve a factor of 20 improvement in environmental
impacts and explored what and how households
could contribute. The project aimed to use work-
shops to gain broad stakeholder participation in the
construction and assessment of sustainable living
scenarios.
Players
The SCE experts from different stakeholder groups
who participated in the workshops emphasized that
sustainability from the point of view of the house-
hold implies a view of the whole SCE supply chain.
In the British and Dutch workshops there were rep-
resentatives from:
Consumer and environmental NGOs (e.g. Con-
sumers Association, UK; Dutch Centre for
Nutrition).
Food service sector (e.g. Dutch Branch Organiza-
tion for Catering).
Retail and wholesale (e.g. Tesco Stores).
Kitchen equipment manufacturers (e.g. Electrolux
Industrial Design Centre, UK; Philips DAPDom-
estic Appliances and Personal Care, NL).
Food producers (e.g. National Farmers Union,
UK; Unilever, NL).
It is still not clear how
companies can run ads to
encourage sustainable
consumption.
MOVING BUSINESS/INDUSTRY TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
Research and consultancy (e.g. Open University,
University of Ulster, Institute of Food Research,
UK; Delft University, SWOKA Institute for Stra-
tegic Consumer Studies, NL).
Government (e.g. MAFFMinistry of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Foodconsumer panel, UK;
Governmental Program for Sustainable Techno-
logical Development, NL).
Activities
The SCE focus is on all aspects of food consumption,
from agriculture, through food processing, shopping,
home storing, cooking and eating, to the disposal of
waste and consumer durables. It involves issues of
nutritional balance and adequacy, and incorporates
strong cultural and emotional aspects. It includes
decisions of household members inuencing con-
sumption and purchasing patterns and determining:
The balance between eating in and eating
out/home delivery/take-away.
The timing and types of meals eaten.
The balance between pre-prepared and unpre-
pared food.
The organization of cooking and shopping.
How much food is grown in hobby gardens and
how much is bought.
These decisions of household members have direct
implications for the following sectors:
Food service (eating out ver-
sus take-away and home
delivery).
Retail (purchase from super-
markets or smaller food
retailers, direct purchase
from wholesalers, direct pur-
chase from growers).
Food processing (different patterns of household
eating will change the balance between different
processing methods).
At a typical scenario-building workshop, after a brief
and informal introduction, participants took part in
a creative brainstorming session on ways to achieve
sustainability in SCE. This represented the diversi-
cation phase. In the following convergence phase,
groups of participants divided the ideas into more or
less coherent clusters, which were then further elab-
orated into concrete proposals for new products and
services as well as required cultural and insti-
tutional changes.
The workshops results were subsequently developed
by research teams into design-orienting scenarios
(DOSs). Each DOS provided a snapshot of a person
living in that particular scenario in the year 2050
(refer to Appendix C Table 5 for examples). For each
DOS, three assessments were conducted:
European Management Journal Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 109127, April 2002 116
Environmental reductions, for example in pestic-
ide use, packaging, water and energy usage, and
food transport. The environmental assessment
used indicators to assess if the DOSs achieved a
Factor 20 reduction in household environmental
impacts.
Economic credibility, for example localization of
agriculture supply; move away from large super-
markets to many smaller local shops; different
types of supply chains possible (local and green,
and global large scale).
Consumer acceptance, for example likes and dis-
likes.
Strategy workshops then developed strategies and
policies to start to move society towards the DOSs.
They focused on developing implementation
methods, ways stakeholders could cooperate,
research agendas (for lacking knowledge) and con-
crete short-term follow-up. Strategies and policy rec-
ommendations from three workshops included ideas
such as:
Local and green: local credit cards to reward local
people shopping locally; using tax on pesticides
for organic growers subsidies; multifunctional
communal kitchens, for example at schools;
reverse out of town planning trends by applying
taxes; and refurbish the town infrastructure,
including creating markets.
Virtual shopping: incentive schemes for online
shopping, local public access Internet equipment
installed in houses and com-
munity centers; tax parking
spaces at supermarkets, pro-
vide storage on street; legis-
lation for food supplier to
collect waste.
High-tech eating: disposal
taxes for appliances; meter
energy use and award
rebates for under-use; compulsory disclosure in
stores of running costs of an appliance over its life-
time; returnable fridges with deposits; compulsory
home economics and life skills at school, including
energy efciency.
Success and Prospects
The SusHouse project offered a model approach in
engaging different stakeholders in a discussion for
sustainable solutions for households. This was a
rather more comprehensive approach than simply
engaging one or two sectors of the economy and
involved feedback from all the relevant players. The
early involvement of consumers and/or their rep-
resentatives in the design and innovation process
was crucial, especially since the aim was to change
consumption patterns. Developing a realistic scenario
that most households will buy into remains a key
concern.
MOVING BUSINESS/INDUSTRY TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
Media as a Partner and Tool
The media can be viewed as an industry that pro-
vides products, although ephemeral, that can gre-
atly inuence and shape peoples values and aspir-
ations. Media contribute to the development of the
recent consumer culture...(The Media, 2001).
NGOs can inuence the media to create more sus-
tainable products that send out a different mess-
age.
7
However, NGOs need to make the issue clear,
which is not easy when it comes to dening sus-
tainable consumption. The media prefer to feature
news, rather than reporting on gradual changes.
The media can contribute to shifts in consumer
behavior, but consumers may not be interested in, or
capable of, absorbing complex information about
their consumption. Companies like Chevron and BP
have used the media to portray their environmental
image. These ads can all indirectly inform consumers
about environmental issues and that they are
important. However, it is still not clear how compa-
nies can run ads to encourage sustainable consump-
tion.
Since NGO partnerships with companies receive a
fair amount of attention, because big companies tend
to have a higher media prole, there may be opport-
unities for NGOs running ad campaigns targeting
sustainable consumption
8
to ask companies for spon-
sorship. Depending on the content of the ad, compa-
nies might be interested in the prospect of greening
their own image.
Even though some people argue that ads can only
spread awareness and not change behavior, ads are,
nonetheless, a starting point. Not many media cur-
rently promote sustainable consumption.
The new media (e.g. the Internet, interactive TV),
however, are changing consumerism, giving con-
sumers new powers. Sources of information about
products and companies are more easily accessible.
New media also provide new opportunities to con-
sume. Electronic payment methods could increase
spending. Overall, the environmental impacts are
still uncertain.
The Internet
Green Shopping Made Easy
Many e-commerce sites, such as care2.com, shopfor-
change.com, iGive.com, are devoted to all-green
shopping with a percentage of the prot donated to
non-prot organizations like Environmental Defense
and the National Wildlife Federation. A search on
Google for green products retrieves 8500 hits; a
whole range of household products advertised as
European Management Journal Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 109127, April 2002 117
green is also on offer. This puts green shopping right
at our ngertips. However, does this mean that we
are in fact consuming more? What about the energy
impact of shipping?
NGOs Using the Internet to Empower
Households
http://www.topten.ch/ is a site supplying product
information on environmental standards and rec-
ommendations of the best-performing products (cars,
home appliances, building materials, etc.)
www.formyworld.org is the site of a partnership of
non-prot environmental organizations, including
Environmental Defense and the National Wildlife
Federation. This environmental website can be per-
sonalized to a neighborhood/environment and
teaches individuals about taking action. ForMyWorld
provides seven different content channels, covering
everything from buying green cars to wildlife and
global climate change. Content partners include aca-
demic databases, publishers and independent news
services. A group of editorial advisors including dis-
tinguished environmentalists, scientists, public policy
experts and journalists helps guide the development
of ForMyWorld.
NGOs Linking Households to Businesses
Through the Net
www.betterchoice.ch is an interactive website cur-
rently under development by WWF-Switzerland. It
includes a section where the individual can check his
or her lifestyle. Consumers can post items on online
bulletins, and the site also links consumers to busi-
nesses through virtual dialogues between the two.
Third-Party Assessment
Labeling as a Means and Tool
What does labeling mean in the eyes of the consumer
and how does it satisfy needs and help consumers
achieve a better quality of life? Moreover, will it
allow consumers to move towards sustainable con-
sumption? While the answers are not clear, since
most labeling schemes have only recently come to be
popularly accepted, we can, however, say that cred-
ible labeling is a form of empowerment in the eyes
of the consumer, and the consumer needs to perceive
it as such. With information and knowledge pro-
vided on a label, consumers nally have the infor-
mation to choose which brands or products they
would like to support. This is a strategy that seems
to be more effective than providing information in a
newspaper article about buying or not buying certain
products because of their environmental impacts.
No individual or national
government has sufcient
personal interest to prevent
overshing
MOVING BUSINESS/INDUSTRY TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
In a novel approach, WWF has worked with
business/industry to design labeling schemes and
help launch independent certication bodies. This
illustrates the high level of commitment from both
sides and gives them the opportunity to see the prob-
lem through each others eyes. For businesses, there
is a true incentive to use these types of labeling
schemes to solve future supply problems. The press-
ure to nd a solution has increasingly come from the
demand side, as retailers and consumers are becom-
ing more and more aware of sustainability issues
through NGO campaigning and educational pro-
grams.
Condence in such labels must be instilled by run-
ning campaigns to educate all stakeholders about the
logos and what supporting them means. Credibility
of the logo and information
along with the credibility of the
different stakeholders involved
and their level of partici-
pationare all important fac-
tors in determining the success
of a label.
Through a labeling scheme, the
NGO is essentially doing three things:
1. Creating a green market demand by educating
wholesale and retail businesses about the impor-
tance of sustainability as a long-term business
strategy.
2. Creating a sustainable supply by leading whole-
salers and retailers to put pressure on their sup-
pliers to change existing ways of harvest.
3. Creating a green market demand at the household
level by educating and empowering consumers
with a different and sustainable set of choices.
Labeling has become a strategy for WWF since its
success with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC),
which was created in 1993 when it led a coalition of
NGOs, businesses and government entities to protect
the worlds forests. In another labeling scheme, for
the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the chal-
lenges were very different.
Best Practice in Stakeholder
Management: The Marine Stewardship
Council (MSC) (Steger, 2000)
The shing industry provides a perfect example of
cooperation between NGOs and corporations.
Although the depletion of sh stocks will have a
negative impact on the growing world population,
sh are still freely available and can be commercially
exploited. Even though everybody involved has at
least some understanding that they are heading for
a collective catastrophe, no individual or national
government has sufcient personal interest to pre-
European Management Journal Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 109127, April 2002 118
vent overshing. In addition, most governments
oppose shing restrictions because of the subsequent
job losses. Given this environment, two leaders from
very different businesses decided to tackle this
pressing problem together. In 1997 Unilever, a lead-
ing consumer goods manufacturer and the largest
seller of sh sticks in the world, and the World Wide
Fund for Nature (WWF) started the MSC. The aim of
the MSC was to establish a certication scheme for
sustainable shing.
Unilever and WWF had different goals for starting
the MSC. For Unilever, it was a way to protect mar-
ket share and ensure long-term survival. Moreover,
the company expected some spillover in
goodwill/corporate citizenship among its con-
sumers. For the WWF, it also implied entering new
ground. Michael Sutton, the
WWF co-coordinator of the
MSC, explained: We had to
change the rules of the game.
People had to come to us
because they needed our com-
petence and reputation if they
were looking for new ways of
problem solving and substi-
tutes for regulations. I believed that governments
were not able to stop the overshing. Therefore, we
had to develop long-term solutions, which were
environmentally necessary. The next step was to cre-
ate economic incentives in order to make them politi-
cally feasible. One thing was certain: where industry
and the market led, governments were likely to fol-
low.
While establishing the MSC, the challenge for the
WWF was to keep the sandals without moving too
close to the suits. After all, the WWF was an
environmental NGO and its most important asset
its credibilitywas on the line. After the MSC was
founded in 1997, both stakeholders soon realized
they were in the same boat. The MSC carefully
developed its criteria for sustainable shing in close
cooperation with industry and conservation experts.
Nevertheless, the set of criteria underwent a con-
siderable testing phase in real life before it was
implemented. In March 2000, the MSC introduced its
rst certied sh using the certication scheme for
sustainable shing.
Key Learning Points
Immense scrutiny from other stakeholders should
be expected (even Greenpeace failed to support
the MSC) and stresses the importance of estab-
lishing an independent organization as soon as
possible.
Creating a standard and communicating it to the
market requires a lot of media attention (the MSC
organized a road show in nine countries).
MOVING BUSINESS/INDUSTRY TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
Maintaining credibility requires constant manage-
ment attention.
Time is running against you.
There is a constant trade-off between short-term com-
mitments to satisfying shareholders and long-term
commitment to social change.
Instead of backing off after the MSC became inde-
pendent in 1999 (as Unilever did), WWF continues to
play a strong supportive role in campaigning, moni-
toring progress, engaging stakeholders and lending
its credibility to MSC activities. Through its Endang-
ered Seas Campaign,
9
WWF is currently working
with shers and local communities, businesses and
retailers, as well as governments and environmental
organizations, to:
Safeguard sheries and marine biological diversity
by establishing marine protected areas.
Reduce wasteful government subsidies that con-
tribute to overshing.
Create market incentives for sustainable shing
through the MSC certication initiative.
Since the scheme is still very young, WWF has not
yet begun a full-range campaign in terms of con-
sumer outreach. Its current main focus is public
awareness. Complementary efforts aim to target the
retail sector to procure MSC labeled products. Many
retailers, in turn, urge their suppliers to apply for
MSC certication.
However, the process does not simply end with the
certication: The certifying authority may require
further corrective actions to be taken within a speci-
ed timescale. In the case of the New Zealand Hoki
Fishery, one of the worlds largest white sh sh-
eries, measures to further reduce seals by catch were
required. NGOs play an important role in holding the
company responsible for these corrections. Retaining
MSC certication has become a particular concern for
the shery because of the demonstrated commitment
from the retail sector. Many European retailers have
proclaimed that they will not purchase from the Hoki
shery until the required corrective actions have
been taken.
It can be concluded that certication standards and
capacities required for their implementation are
important factors for success. Tangible benets such
as price premium or improved market access (in
relation to the cost) also play a major role.
Most of the debate on MSC today is not on why but
how. Conservationists and industry have begun to
realize the same objective: Protecting the marine
environment to ensure that sh stocks remain at a
sustainable level (May, 2001).
European Management Journal Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 109127, April 2002 119
Product Testing and the Role of Non-Environmental
NGOs
Besides labeling, disclosure of product information
through, for example, product testing allows con-
sumers to compare quantitative facts and gures to
make a balanced choice between products. Most
importantly, this information provides a concrete
link between a purchasing decision and its environ-
mental impact.
NGOs such as consumer organizations, which might
not have a specic environmental agenda, can still
play an important role in providing information on:
Life cycles of domestic appliances (e.g., washing
machines, televisions, computers and coffee-
makers) to improve consumer advice on replacing,
repairing, upgrading or recycling these appliances.
Testing for the environmental impact of products
(e.g., cars, refrigerators, household chemicals, etc.)
and developing standardized checklists and
methods for environmental aspects in comparative
testing programs.
Producer-generated environmental claims, includ-
ing drawing up a best practice list to prevent mis-
leading advertising.
According to Consumers International, many con-
sumer organizations have ofcially adopted a com-
mitment to sustainability in their mission statement
(The Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Sweden and
Norway).
10
There are over 260 consumer interest
organizations in almost 120 countries. Consumer
organizations already have considerable experience
in assessing the performance of products and ser-
vices. Their magazines, websites and other publi-
cations have a large number of subscribers.
(Consumer Reports in the US has ve million sub-
scribers and its TV reports reach millions more. Con-
sumentengids in The Netherlands goes to one in eight
Dutch households.)
In addition to formal organizations, extensive net-
works of members of consumer, business and
government organizations can be effective in encour-
aging green purchasing.
Green Purchasing Network of Japan
11
Established in February 1996, the Green Purchasing
Network (GPN) promotes green purchasing among
consumers, businesses and governmental organiza-
tions in Japan.
Players
It has about 2150 member organizations, including
NEC, Matsushita (Panasonic), Sony, Fuji Xerox, Toy-
ota, Honda, Nippon Steel, Canon, JVC, Nissan, Ricoh,
MOVING BUSINESS/INDUSTRY TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
Mitsubishi corporation, NKK, WWF-Japan and the
Japanese Consumers Cooperative Union. (In total
there are 1610 companies, 310 governmental entities
and 236 NGOs/cooperatives.)
Activities
The GPN has set out three green purchasing prin-
ciples:
1. Note the environmental impact of a product at all
stages of its life cycle, considering such things as
emission of harmful chemicals, reusability and/or
recyclability, waste disposal and sustainability of
resources.
2. Consider the environmental performance of cor-
porations and distributors.
3. Gather environmental information before purchas-
ing a product.
The GPN has drawn up specic purchasing guide-
lines for each type of product, based on the basic
principles. To date it has completed the guidelines
for:
Copying and printing paper
Copiers, printers, fax machines
Personal computers
Stationery and ofce supplies
Air conditioners
Lighting apparatus and lamps
Motor cars
Refrigerators
Washing machines
Ofce furniture
The guidelines for copying machines, for example,
address energy consumption, two-sided copy func-
tions, recyclable designs, ozone emission, collection
and recycling of used products and cartridges, and
the use of reusable parts and recycled materials. The
GPN is currently developing guidelines for TV sets,
uniforms and work wear; guidelines for hotels and
printing services are planned for the future.
The GPN also publishes Environmental Data Books
containing quantitative/qualitative environmental
information on each product in accordance with the
purchasing guidelines to help purchasers compare
and select products.
Promotion of Green Purchasing
Since green purchasing power needs to be big
enough to change industry through the market, pro-
moting the implementation of green purchasing is
crucial to GPN activities. Strategies include:
Holding nationwide and regional seminars and
exhibitions throughout the country.
European Management Journal Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 109127, April 2002 120
Presenting success stories of green purchasing.
Awarding commendations to excellent members
practicing green purchasing.
Conducting a survey on the current status of green
purchasing and on consumers awareness.
Publishing newsletters.
Carrying out public relations activities focused on
the mass media, etc.
Success
GPN guidelines and Data Books have inuenced the
industries. This is not only because many purchasers
use the guidelines and data books to help them make
their decision, but also because it is the rst time that
a companys products have been compared with
competitors products from an environmental point
of view.
Findings and Conclusions
The Presented Approaches
As illustrated in a range of projects above, many
well-recognized NGOs are becoming increasingly
keen on engaging businesses and pushing them and
households to change current consumption patterns
and move towards greater sustainability. Some of the
interesting approaches of NGOs today are:
Using strategic means to point out the problems
A growing number of NGOs are encouraging
households to exercise their power as share-
holders. Such campaigns can be a powerful tool
in changing business policies if shareholder
power is substantial and raises public awareness.
However, consumption patterns are likely to
remain unaffected unless negotiations result in
product/service stewardship that may drive new
market demand.
Assessing environmental impacts of products
This is the most passive form of inuence, since
products are already created, out in the market
and ready to be consumed. However, product
assessment is still able to exert indirect pressure
on the companies that make the products. NGOs,
such as consumer organizations that already test
products will be able to rank productsand even
servicesbased on their environmental perform-
ance and impacts. Consumers will then be able
to choose which products or brands they would
like to purchase.
Greening the supply of products and services
Some NGOs are involved in designing and
developing innovative products that will either
change the way people consume or minimize the
environmental impacts of consumption. The con-
sumer remains passive and is simply offered an
MOVING BUSINESS/INDUSTRY TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
alternative of more sustainable consumption.
Choice is seen as empowerment.
Focusing on market forces: creating a green
demand that will drive changes in supply
Providing information through labels empowers
consumers to make an informed choice. Instead
of directly targeting consumers, targeting the
retail sector seems to be a rising priority in cam-
paigning strategy.
Forming extensive networks of different stake-
holders
Encouraging stakeholders to act together is a
strategy that generates more clout to steer the
market in a certain direction. NGOs often enter
into coalitions with other NGOs, businesses and
public entities to highlight problems and jointly
look for solutions that will work for at least the
majority.
Factors for Success
The success of these approaches in changing con-
sumption behavior depends on two important fac-
tors:
1. How much consumers feel empowered to make a
difference through their purchasing decision.
2. How the act of purchasing or not purchasing will
affect (i.e. improve) consumers quality of life.
People believe that they need to consume in order to
achieve a certain quality of life. If theyre offered the
chance to consume less or consume with less impact
but still retain the sameor even an improved
quality of life, provided the price is right, they will
take up the offer. The true motivation behind stra-
tegic and proactive partnerships between
business/industry and NGOs is to look for ways to
offer households the opportunity to consume differ-
ently (not necessarily less, but with less environmen-
tal impact) through social innovations and better
technologies. Furthermore, this is a cyclical process.
Businesses can create demand through product stew-
ardship and consumers in turn drive demand, tech-
nological innovation and business development.
Success of the partnership and project activities will
further depend on other factors listed below:
For Partnerships
Credibility of actors
Willingness and commitment
Networking potential
Focus on retail.
For Project Activities
Level of transparency
Systems approach
Interactive tools.
Project integration at all levels.
European Management Journal Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 109127, April 2002 121
Finally, there must be some criteria, metrics or indi-
cators to evaluate the success of these partnerships
and projects. Here we propose the following:
The level of direct consumer/household contact
and involvement.
Systems change that will effect changes in other
potential players.
Up-front thinking: considerations at the early
stage of the development process.
Evidence of changing consumption patterns.
Broad stakeholder involvement (networking).
Decreased environmental burden (measured by
indicators) (Vergragt, 1998).
Economically credible (drives competition and
increases employment) (Vergragt, 1998).
Consumer acceptance (having focus groups)
(Vergragt, 1998).
Table 1 below illustrates how these criteria could be
used to evaluate the approaches that are currently
employed by NGOs in working with
business/industry to promote sustainable consump-
tion. It is a crude analysis and needs further rene-
ment and to identify appropriate (quantiable) indi-
cators. Nonetheless, it gives a sense of which
approaches seem more likely to make a difference for
households and businesses in terms of changing their
current consumption behavior and lessening the
impact of consumption. The simple analysis shows
that the various approaches suggested for creating
green demand seem the most effective and credible.
Future Needs
NGOs are moving away from preaching asceticism
and/or abstinence towards trendsetting and/or cre-
ating new fashions in consumption; they are reaching
out to the public with a different focus, which may
seem more acceptable (easily marketed) to con-
sumers. This point needs to be stressed more to both
households and businesses.
Sustainable consumption is still currently targeted in
a disjointed way. NGOs should make and strengthen
the link between raising awareness among con-
sumers and partnership with businesses. There must
be more focus on consumption issues from NGOs
(such as WWF in targeting consumption as a solution
to all its Global Priorities), as well as from businesses,
which can contribute to the solution through product
stewardship and service orientation. Consumption
may be minimized if we gradually shift from a pro-
duct-oriented society to one that is more service-ori-
ented. Services currently targeted are in the areas of
nance and leisure/travel. Companies, together with
NGOs, should explore options for developing more
services, such as leasing, as in the example of carpet
leasing,
12
sharing and product take-back.
Because of the volume of information, it needs to
be standardized and consolidated. For example, a
rising issue with information disclosure and product
MOVING BUSINESS/INDUSTRY TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
Table 1 Evaluation of Some Common NGO Approaches Using the Proposed Criteria
a
,
b
Assessing
Creating green
Greening the supply environmental
Confrontation using demand (labeling,
end (SC Johnson & impacts of products
shareholder power GPN, BedZED,
AEI) (consumer
SusHouse)
organizations)
The level of direct consumer/
1 1 1 0
household involvement
Systems change that will
effect changes in players
0 1 0 1
other than the parties
involved
Up-front thinking:
considerations at the early
0 1 1 0
stage of the development
process
Evidence of changing
0 1 1 1
consumption patterns
Broad stakeholder
0 1 0 0
involvement (networking)
Decreased environmental
burden (measured by 0 1 1 0
indicators)
Economically credible (drives
competition and increases 0 1 1 1
employment)
Consumer acceptance
1 1 1 1
(having focus groups)
a
0 indicates very little or no impact or inuence.
b
1 indicates some or potential impact or inuence.
labeling schemes is that consumers today face an
array of information from many different sources,
especially with the increasing number of environ-
mental organizations that may champion different
labeling schemes. Much of the information could be
obscure, inaccessible, partisan or contested. This
makes standardization all the more important and is
why bigger organizations can achieve more credi-
bility in the eyes of all stakeholders if they take on
the role of evaluating the different labeling schemes.
There should be more direct outreach to households
and businesses, especially the retail sector, which is
European Management Journal Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 109127, April 2002 122
seen more or less as the gatekeeper to household
consumers. There needs to be feedback from both to
gauge how successful the disseminated information
is in changing consumption behavior and, at the
same time, consumer needs could be addressed.
Stakeholder workshops are denitely a starting
point.
Acknowledgements
The article was initiated by the European Round Table for
Regulatory Reform, a group of Research Institutes and Euro-
pean companies moderated by Professor Ulrich Steger.
MOVING BUSINESS/INDUSTRY TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
Appendix A
SC Johnson and AEI in New Product
Development
Table 2 Mapping Environmental Strategies to Product Attributes
a
Objective Product attribute
Conserve materials Reduction or elimination of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
Reduce chemicals Physical products: vacuum cleaner bags and bedding encasements
Extend product life Durability of physical products, concentration of chemical formulations
Focus on function Reducing allergens through physical barriers as well as chemical
a
Alston and Roberts (1999).
Table 3 Environmental Metrics
a
Environmental health Dispersivity
Volatile organic chemical
Missing data
content
Bad actor chemicals Resource utilization
Packaging energy utilization Virgin material content
Nonrecyclable materials
Pallet under-utilization
content
a
Ibid.
European Management Journal Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 109127, April 2002 123
MOVING BUSINESS/INDUSTRY TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
Appendix B
Example from WWF-Switzerlands Food
for a Living Planet Campaign
13
Climate Change
In industrialized countries such as Switzerland
nutrition is responsible for 20% of total greenhouse
gas emissions. Air transportation, greenhouse pro-
duction and meat consumption constitute the great-
est threat to the climate (Jungbluth, 2000). According
to estimates, 85% of the climate relevance of the
whole nutrition sector goes back to animal pro-
ducts.
14
In this context the following development is
especially worrying:
From 1950 to 1999 worldwide meat consumption
rose from 44 million tons to 217 million tons. In
the same period per capita meat consumption rose
from 16 kg to 36 kg (Brown, 2000).
From 1950 to 1991 world trade grew 11-fold and
is up to one-fth of world output at the moment
(French, 1995).
From 1950 to 1998 air freight soared from 730
million ton-kilometres to 99 billion ton-kilometres
carried (French, 2000).
European Management Journal Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 109127, April 2002 124
Data from Coop and Migros, the two leading super-
market chains in Switzerland which together have
45% market share of all food commerce in the coun-
try, underline this development. Some products such
as lamb from New Zealand, beef from the US and
overseas vegetables (asparagus, green beans, etc.) are
generally transported by airplane. Furthermore 65%
of the vegetables sold are grown in greenhouses.
15
Goals (20012005)
Switzerland:
To reduce the consumption of food transported by
airplane from 0.6% to 0.5%.
To reduce the consumption of greenhouse-grown
vegetables from 65% to 55%.
To reduce meat consumption from 53 kg per
person/year to 48 kg per person/year.
EU:
To observe the same targets concerning air trans-
port and greenhouse production as in Switzerland.
To reduce meat consumption from 63 kg per
person/year (WWF-Switzerland, 2001).
MOVING BUSINESS/INDUSTRY TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
Appendix C
Table 4 Design Orienting Scenarios Developed from Ideas in the Stakeholder Workshops
a,b
Design Orienting Scenarios UK The Netherlands
Local & Green X X
Food is supplied from local, organic sources. People eat in corner eating-houses or
purchase food in local shops to prepare and eat at home. People prefer unprocessed
foods and do not use ready-made meals or convenience products.
High-Tech Eating X X
The household contains various high-tech pieces of equipment for storing, cooking,
eating and waste disposal, e.g. smart cooker that either reads the smart packaging
on the food or scans the bar code from the bulk food packaging for cooking
information; an intelligent eco-efcient fridge. Water and energy are re-used as much
as possible in the house. All appliances are either rented because they are so
expensive or, if they are bought, the appliances lifetime energy has to be bought at
the same time.
Neighborhood Food Center (Super-Rant) X
At meal times household members go to the Super-Rant, which combines elements of
the modern supermarket and restaurant and where they can have an individual
catering subscription to the neighborhood cook and can eat together or take the meal
home. In the supermarket part of the Super-Rant people can do their food shopping.
Many people have dispensed with a full kitchen; only the fridge, microwave, kettle and
coffee machine are left.
Virtual Shopping X
Food is selected and purchased using interactive Net shopping in virtual reality from
home. The food is either delivered direct to the household or to the households local
street distributor.
a
Young et al (2000)
b
Quist et al (1999)
European Management Journal Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 109127, April 2002 125
MOVING BUSINESS/INDUSTRY TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
Notes
1. The co-authors are all members of the MIBE (Managing
the International Business Environment) project at IMD in
Lausanne, Switzerland, which is lead by Professor
Ulrich Steger.
2. http://www.foe.org under International Program
3. http://www.coopamerica.org
4. http://www.grrn.org/zerowaste/articles/campaign
zw.html
5. http://www.thecoca-
colacompany.com/environment/index.html
6. Interview with Jean-Paul Jeanrenaud of WWF-Inter-
national, February 20, 2001.
7. The Center for a New American Dream in the US, a non-
prot organization, has already reached over 100 million
people by learning how to tell a story in a way that res-
onates deeply with the public and the media. To date, it has
been featured in news sources such as Time, CNN, The New
York Times, USA Today, CBS This Morning, National Public
Radio, PBS, Country Living, McCalls, Mothering, Parents,
Sierra and Family Circle. It believes that coverage by such a
wide variety of media is a vital part of the Centers effort
to reach into the heart of mainstream America and shift cul-
tural attitudes about consumption.
8. See Earth Communications at http://www.earthcomm.
org for a public announcement clip on consumption.
9. Brochure and information available from WWF-
International.
10. http://www.consumersinternational.org
11. http://www.wnn.or.jp/wnn-eco/gpne/
12. http://www.interfaceinc.com/us/company/sustainability
/frontpage.asp
13. The Ecological Footprint of Food. WWF-Switzerland,
2000.
14. Enquete Kommission zum Schutz der Erdatmosphare des
deutschen Bundestages 1995, S. 1323. According to this
report, one-quarter of the greenhouse gas emissions could
be avoided if meat consumption was reduced to a sus-
tainable level.
15. 1999 data from Migros (Fausta Borsani)
European Management Journal Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 109127, April 2002 126
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MOVING BUSINESS/INDUSTRY TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION
NANCY KONG, Yale Uni- OLIVER SALZMANN,
versity, School of Forestry and IMD, chemin de Bellerive 23,
Environmental Studies, 285 P.O. Box 915, CH-1001 Lau-
Prospect Street, New Haven, sanne, Switzerland. E-mail:
Connecticut 0651, USA. E- Oliver.Salzmann@imd.ch
mail: nancy.kong@yale.edu
Oliver Salzmann is Research
Nancy Kong is undertaking Associate in IMDs corporate
post-graduate work at Yale sustain- ability initiative and
University. Previously, she undertaking doctoral research
was an Intern on IMDs cor- on sustainable consumption
porate sustainability initiative patterns.
in 2001. Her current research
focuses on industrial ecology applied to environmental
policy-making.
ULRICH STEGER, IMD, AILEEN IONESCU-
chemin de Bellerive 23, P.O. SOMERS, IMD, chemin de
Box 915, CH-1001 Lausanne, Bellerive 23, P.O. Box 915,
Switzerland. E-mail: Steger- CH-1001 Lausanne, Switzer-
@imd.ch land. E-mail: A.Ionescu-
somers@imd.ch.
Ulrich Steger is Alcan Pro-
fessor of Environmental Man- Aileen Ionescu-Somers is Pro-
agement at IMD and Direc- gram Manager of IMDs cor-
tor of IMDs corporate porate sustainability initiat-
sustainable development ive. Previously, she was Head
initiative as well as its Part- of International Projects at
nership Programs with the World Wide Fund for
DaimlerChrysler. He has published extensively; his most Nature. She is also undertaking doctoral research into cor-
recent book is Environmental Management Systems: porate social responsibility.
Progress or Hot Air? (Faz Verlag, 2000).
European Management Journal Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 109127, April 2002 127

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