Dr. Candace Adams was featured in the April/May issue of Connecting Northwest Arkansas as part of a cover feature on sustainability

A portion of the feature appears below. For the full article, please click here (registration required)

Consumers say show them the ‘green’-backs

A solid business case exists for many sustainability practices, which explains why they are being pursued with such zeal. A similar phenomenon soon could unfold with consumers, where, as is the case with business, money can be a powerful incentive to influence widespread behavior change.

That appears to be the situation unfolding now based on new consumer research released in conjunction with Procter & Gamble’s recently announced Future Friendly initiative, which seeks to educate consumers about how the use of P&G brands can help them achieve savings in water, waste and energy. P&G commissioned Ipsos Public Affairs to conduct a telephone sur¬vey of 1,000 consumers Jan. 29 to 31 that explored their perceptions, attitudes and behaviors relating to the environment.

A majority of those surveyed (58% to 64%) felt they are well-informed about how to reduce waste in their homes and save water and energy, yet when asked about factors preventing them from living a more environmentally friendly lifestyle, 37% said they lacked knowledge about what to do.

Of particular interest to marketers were findings that suggested nearly 2-out-of-3 people would switch to a brand that helped them reduce waste and save water and energy, while more than 2-out-of-3 would likely recommend such a product. Persuading them to do so will require an educational effort though, because economic conditions make it difficult for some consumers to make purchases beyond opening price-point goods, even if a more expensive item saves them money in the long run.

According to Candace Adams, president of global retail strategy at the shopper insights firm Smart Revenue, there is a segment of shoppers who will follow through on their environmental convictions regardless of the economic situation, but there are other shoppers who are unable to follow through on their convictions because they are strapped for cash due to economic circumstances. “It’s not that they don’t care,” Adams said. “I don’t think the message is getting across to shoppers because there is a big gap as it relates to education. There is an opportunity to expand the number of people who are concerned about the environment and buy accordingly.”

P&G is counting on it, and by expanding Future Friendly throughout the United States, the nation’s largest brand marketer is mounting a merchandising initiative of considerable scale that could see the company expand its share if shoppers behave in a manner consistent with the Ipsos survey findings. “We see a growing environmental consciousness among mainstream consumers,” said Maurice Coffey, marketing director for Future Friendly. “Through this new expanded brand platform, we will help remove the confusion and show consumers how simple choices can lead to meaningful results.”

The program will show consumers how to save money using P&G brands, and involves products specially labeled with a Future Friendly logo, and a marketing campaign that includes public relations, a national TV campaign, extensive social me¬dia, coupons and partnerships with well-known conservation ex¬perts. The initiative also involves point-of-sale communications with in-store signage and educational displays appearing this month in 15,000 grocery and club stores.

Future Friendly is a program that began in 2007 in the United Kingdom and Canada, and it has been in place in the test market of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for the past year.