Seeking a Better Place: Sustainability in the CPG Industry

추심경호적지방(追寻更好的地方): 유포장적소비품적산업적가지속발전(有包装的消费品的产业的可持续发展)

For us, there is virtually no distinction between being a responsible citizen and a successful business... they are one and the same for Wal-Mart today." ~ Lee Scott, al-Mart CEO after the 2005 Katrina disaster; cited in Green to Gold (Esty and Winston 2006). Lee Scott's statement signaled a new era in sustainability as manufacturers and retailers around the globe watched the world's largest mass merchandiser confirm its intentions with respect to sustainability. For decades, the environmental movement has grown, slowly bleeding over into the corporate world. Companies have been born, products have been created, academic journals have been launched, and government initiatives have been undertaken - all in the pursuit of sustainability (Peattie and Crane 2005). While progress has been admittedly slower than some may desire, the emergence and entrance of environmentally concerned mass merchandisers has done much to help with sustainable efforts. To better understand this movement, we incorporate the perspectives of both executives and consumers involved in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. This research relies on three underlying themes: (1) Conceptual and anecdotal evidence suggests that companies undertake sustainability initiatives for a plethora of reasons, (2) The number of sustainability initiatives continues to increase in the consumer packaged goods industries, and (3) That it is, therefore, necessary to explore the role that sustainability plays in the minds of consumers. In light of these themes, surveys were administered to and completed by 143 college students and 101 business executives to assess a number of variables in regards to sustainability including willingness-to-pay, behavioral intentions, attitudes, willingness-to-pay, and preferences. Survey results indicate that the top three reasons why executives believe sustainability to be important include (1) the opportunity for profitability, (2) the fulfillment of an obligation to the environment, and (3) a responsibility to customers and shareholders. College students identified the top three reasons as (1) a responsibility to the environment, (2) an indebtedness to future generations, and (3) an effective management of resources. While the rationale for supporting sustainability efforts differed between college students and executives, the executives and consumers reported similar responses for the majority of the remaining sustainability issues. Furthermore, when we asked consumers to assess the importance of six key issues (healthcare, economy, education, crime, government spending, and environment) previously identified as important to consumers by Gallup Poll, protecting the environment only ranked fourth out of the six (Carlson 2005). While all six of these issues were identified as important, the top three that emerged as most important were (1) improvements in education, (2) the economy, and (3) health care. As the pursuit and incorporation of sustainability continues to evolve, so too will the expected outcomes. New definitions of performance that reflect the social/business benefits as well as the lengthened implementation period are relevant and warranted (Ehrenfeld 2005; Hitchcock and Willard 2006). We identified three primary categories of outcomes based on a literature review of both anecdotal and conceptual expectations of sustainability: (1) improvements in constituent satisfaction, (2) differentiation opportunities, and (3) financial rewards. Within each of these categories, several specific outcomes were identified resulting in eleven different outcomes arising from sustainability initiatives. Our survey results indicate that the top five most likely outcomes for companies that pursue sustainability are: (1) green consumers will be more satisfied, (2) company image will be better, (3) corporate responsibility will be enhanced, (4) energy costs will be reduced, and (5) products will be more innovative. Additionally, to better understand the interesting intersection between the environmental "identity" of a consumer and the willingness to manifest that identity with marketplace purchases, we extended prior research developed by Experian Research (2008). Accordingly, respondents were categorized as one of four types of green consumers (Behavioral Greens, Think Greens, Potential Greens, or True Browns) to garner a better understanding of the green consumer in addition to assisting with a more effective interpretation of results. We assessed these consumers' willingness to engage in eco-friendly behavior by evaluating three options: (1) shopping at retailers that support environmental initiatives, (2) paying more for products that protect the environment, and (3) paying higher taxes so the government can support environmental initiatives. Think Greens expressed the greatest willingness to change, followed by Behavioral Greens, Potential Greens, and True Browns. These differences were all significant at p<.01. Further Conclusions and Implications We have undertaken a descriptive study which seeks to enhance our understanding of the strategic domain of sustainability. Specifically, this research fills a gap in the literature by comparing and contrasting the sustainability views of business executives and consumers with specific regard to preferences, intentions, willingness-to-pay, behavior, and attitudes. For practitioners, much can be gained from a strategic standpoint. In addition to the many results already reported, respondents also reported than willing to pay more for products that protect the environment. Other specific results indicate that female respondents consistently communicate a stronger willingness than males to pay more for these products and to shop at eco-friendly retailers. Knowing this additional information, practitioners can now have a more specific market in which to target and communicate their sustainability efforts. While this research is only an initial step towards understanding similarities and differences among practitioners and consumers regarding sustainability, it presents original findings that contribute to both practice and research. Future research should be directed toward examining other variables affecting this relationship, as well as other specific industries.

"对我们而言, 成为一名负责的公民和一份成功的事业之间没有区别.....他们对今天的沃尔玛是完全一样的." Lee Scott, 沃尔玛的CEO在2005年卡崔琳娜飓风灾难之后(Esty and Winston 2006) Lee Scott的声明标志着可持续发展的一个新的时代. 作为一个被全球生产商和零售商所关注的全世界最大规模的经销商确认了他们的可持续发展的意图. 近十年来, 环保运动不断增长, 并扩展到全世界. 公司已经诞生, 产品已被创造, 学术期刊 已经展开, 政府已经承诺—所有这一切都在追求可持续发展(Peattie and Crane 2005). 虽然进展的确比一些人渴望的慢了一些, 但是很多大规模的经销商已经为环保做出了可持续发展的努力. 为了更好的理解这个运动我们同时提供高管和消费者参与的有包装的消费品产业的角度. 该研究依赖于三个潜在主题: (1)概念和证据表明,公司为很多理由进行可持续发展 (2)在有包装的消费品行业中, 可持续发展活动的数量在持续增长 (3), 因此, 必须探索可持续发展在消费者意识中起的作用. 根据这些主题, 143名大学生和101名企业高管参加了调查来评估一系列的有关可持续发展的变量包括愿意支付, 行为意图, 态度和偏好. 结果显示高层管理者相信可持续发展的三个最主要的原因是(1)盈利能力的机会; (2)以实现对环境的义务; (3)对顾客和股东负责. 大学生的三大原因: (1)对环境的责任; (2)为子孙后代负责, 和(3):一种有效的管理资源. 虽然企业高管和大学生对支持可持续发展的理由不同, 但是企业高管和消费者的报告显示了对剩下大部分的可持续发展问题的相似性. 另外, 当我们要求消费者去评估6个关键问题的重要性时(医疗保健, 经济, 教育, 犯罪, 政府支出, 和环境), 保护环境仅排在第四位(Carlson 2005). 这6个问题都被认为是重要的, 三个最重要的是(1)改善教育;(2)本地区的经济发展,以及(3)卫生保健. 为了可持续发展的持续性, 我们也将预期结果. 反映社会, 企业利益表现的新定义和执行期的延长同样被揭示出来(Ehrenfeld 2005; Hitchcock and Willard 2006). 基于文献我们发现了三个基本范畴的结果:(1)改进组成的满意度, (2)分化的机会, 以及(3)金融奖励. 在每一种分类中, 我们发现从可持续发展活动中导致11种不同结果的几个特定的结果. 我们的调查结果表明,最有可能的结果最高的前五项依序为公司的可持续发展追求的是:(1)绿色的消费者将会更令人满意;(2)公司形象会更好, (3)公司的责任将得到加强, (4)会降低能源成本;(5)产品将会更多的创新. 另外, 为更好的理解消费者的环境 "身份" 和在市场购买中愿意显示出这个 "身份" 的有趣的交集, 我们扩展了以前Experian Research(2008) 的研究. 因此,受访者分为四个不同类型的绿色消费者(行为绿色,想法绿色, 潜在绿色, 或真正褐色)来获得更好的理解绿色消费者. 我们评估这些消费者愿意从事环保行为评估三种选择. (1)购物零售商支持环保措施;(2)支付更多来保护环境, 以及(3)支付更高的税收,政府可以支持环保措施. 想法绿色消费者表示最愿意改变, 紧随其后的是行为绿色消费者, 潜在绿色消费者和褐色消费者. 这些差异都是显著的(p<.01). 结论和启示我们采用描述性研究, 旨在促进我们理解战略领域的可持续性. 确切地说, 该研究以特定的偏好, 意图, 愿意支付, 行为和态度填补了进行比较与对比的持续性的商业管理者和消费者意见的文献的空白, 对从业人员, 能获得一个战略观点. 此外, 许多结果已经说明, 受访者愿意为产品付出更多来保护环境. 其他特定的结果表明, 女性受访者始终比男性强愿意交流, 为这些产品付更多的钱, 在环保的零售商. 了解这些额外的信息, 实践者现在有了更多的特定市场, 对目标和交流他们为可持续发展所做出的努力. 虽然这项研究仅仅是最初的一步了解实践者和消费者对于可持续发展的异同, 我们的结果对实践与研究都有帮助. 未来的研究应向测试其他变量的影响关系, 以及其他特殊行业.