Get Going with GreenClosing the Sustainability Gap

Ogilvy Earth is the global sustainability practice within the Ogilvy & Mather Group.

We help brands harness the power of sustainability, through strategic planning and communications.

We work with visionary companies that are looking to make sustainability a growth driver for both their business and the communities they serve.

There is a yawning gap between people’s claimed and actual sustainable

behavior.

At Ogilvy Earth, we call it the Sustainability Gap.

Claimed behavior

• 50% said they use renewable energy at home

• 38% said they used alternative automobile fuel

• 52% said they avoided using plastic bagsResearch by Landor Associates, 2008.

A problem with research

Put the question in a survey, and respondents will tick the answers that make them look good.

Claiming to be green is the politically correct thing to say.

When people claim they are green, it is because they already have the knowledge that they need to change their behaviors.

They are concerned, but they feel powerless.

Whose responsibility?

• China’s green stimulus, announced in 2009, is simply the largest in the world, with USD 221 billion - 34% of the total stimulus package - committed until 2020.

% Power Obligation

Action

Government

65.8 56.7 42.7

Corporations

10.6 25.8 15.8

Individuals 23.5 17.5 41.3Quantitative study amongst 1300 respondents across China.

Whose responsibility?

• China’s green stimulus, announced in 2009, is simply the largest in the world, with USD 221 billion - 34% of the total stimulus package - committed until 2020.

% Power Obligation

Action

Government

65.8 56.7 42.7

Corporations

10.6 25.8 15.8

Individuals 23.5 17.5 41.3Quantitative study amongst 1300 respondents across China.

A focus on compliance, cost & image

• 84% companies said that environment protection is important to them because it is a legal requirement

• 79% said it was a brand image necessity

• Only 19% said they were promoting the sales of environment friendly productsChinese companies in the 21st century, A survey of Social Responsibility & Sustainability of Chinese companies, Worldwide Fund for Nature, April 2010

53% of our respondents said that the green options in the marketplace were too expensive.

Regular Eco-friendly/Organic

400 3200Regular vs bamboo frame bicycle

27 138 3 kg of fresh vegetables

18-26 588 pack roll of toilet paper

300 750Double occupancy per weekend night

A willingness to act

• 67% believe that their efforts did count

• 69% said that if environment friendly products were available at the same price point, they would purchase them

• Not entirely closed to the idea of paying a small premium– 71% are happy to pay up to 10% more

Time & money as barriers

If they had more time If they had more money

37% would ride a bike to work

27% would use cloth nappies

42% would save electricity

38% would hang clothes out to dry

29% would buy energy saving appliances

42% would buy eco-friendly detergents

45% would drive a hybrid / electric car

A sense of entitlement

• “We’re only beginning to enjoy the fruits of our prosperity, and you want us to stop?”

• 55% of our respondents are driven by convenience for their purchases

Only 18.6% said they would limit consumption.

Official, formal discourse

• Accurate vocabulary played back

• School based, formal learning– 40% learned about

sustainability in school• Showcases: Olympics,

Expo– These emphasize

government role

Chinese consumers are confronted by an overload of claims and certifications that they feel they cannot trust.

The idealism of Green Heroes

The badge that the Eco-chic wear

Creates a distance

But there’s hope.

The opportunity

• 90.7% believe that the sustainability movement is on the upswing

• 78% said they would rather be given guidelines on how to live a sustainable life & do it themselves, than it be legislated

• 80% would like to receive recognition from their peers for their positive green behaviors

... easier pathways to embrace the sustainability opportunity.

… greater recognition and positive reinforcement of good behaviors.

… to come up with solutions together.

…to assume greater responsibility for our actions.

We need

The solutions lie in understanding the everyday lives of people.

The answers are embedded in their overall consumption ethic.

24 families and young individuals 3 cities

Whilst engaging with the subjects, it became clear to us that no matter how ‘misguided’ or ‘skeptical’ an individual might be, there is still an opportunity to engage in a dialogue that favors sustainable behavior.

Zhou, 38, and his wife Wang from Anhui.

Flexible progressives

• Often with a background of deprivation

• Get a kick out of maximizing resources & efficiency

Zhou, 38, and his wife Wang from Anhui.

Flexible progressives

• Use energy-saving light bulbs; have plants to ‘soak up the carbon’; do half their laundry by hand

• Proud of their green achievements, but do not feel the need to compare themselves with others

• Power shared equally at home

Flexible progressives

• Arrival of their baby provoked a heightened consciousness of sustainability

• Willing to accept hand-me-down clothes from relatives

• Shop at local wet market: cheaper and fresher

“A green lifestyle starts from individuals and families who want to make their environment green and sustainable, then the community and finally, the whole city.”

Heroes amongst us.Bring men & women equally into the discussion.Use critical moments in life, such as childbirth, to motivate action.

Zou Mingjun, 17 year old from Tianjin

Ambitious futurists

• Enterprising, and problem-solvers

• Independent, DIY attitude: more from less

• Need approval from peers

• Influenced by pop culture

Ambitious futurists

• Learned to optimize resources

• Digging into interests, creating an identity for themselves

• Environment sometimes conflated with health

Give them a stake in the future.Encourage & reward them for their enterprise.Sustainability as a smart strategy to overcome deprivation.

Shen Limin, 23 years, Tianjin

Active individualists

• Activists, stand behind their ideals

• Exhibit leadership; not afraid to correct others

• See no inconsistency between their ideals and the role of the government

• Derive satisfaction from organizing activities

Active individualists

• Sometimes find it difficult to persuade older people (establishment?) to adopt sustainable behavior

• Aware of a long-term horizon

• Require the satisfaction of living out their dreams.

Ensure that their fragile ideals are sustained in practical action.Guard against idealism superseding effectiveness.

Yuan (top) and Sun (below), both 21 yrs

old, Wuxi

Ghetto rebels

• Pass on the blame : the problems and solutions lie with the rich

• Disaffected, feel very little agency

• Sustainability confused with civility, and health

Ghetto rebels

• Street cool creds, talented but not recognized

• Hoarders, due to economic hardship

• Friendship ties very important, as is ‘image’: ‘facing a world of adversity together’

Give the rebels a cause.Use their friendship ties, get them to act together.Counter the perception that sustainability is only for the rich.

Gao Xudong, 28 yrs, with his family

Misguided materialists

• Avid consumers, driven by personal interests & comfort

• Green reducible to an aesthetic

• Unequal power equation between the genders

• A clear image of what constitutes a ‘good life’“China must ensure everyone has enough to eat first, before we can be too concerned about sustainability.”

Misguided materialists

• The more, the better– An irrational, but deep

fear that wealth gained might be lost

• Most engagement with sustainability is symbolic– Groping for answers

Su Liang & Fei Jia, Wuxi

Address deep insecurities that lead to hoarding.Provide incentives for de-cluttering and sharing.Tackle the misperception that green is just an aesthetic.

Meng Lu, 23 yrs, and Wang Di, 20 yrs,

both from Wuxi

Passive skeptics

• Very little motivation for anything; but can join community action

• Sustainability seen to be inconvenient

• Believe that policy enforcement is a problem (and if policies are enforced, things will be alright)

• Frugality means that they are sustainable in some respects

Tap into public good drivers; using government communications.Emphasize their social role: e.g. get the elderly ‘community minders’ to promote compliance.

Chen Hui & Pan Yu (above);

Yan Yajing (below)

Prestige protectors

• Thrive on privileges of social & family connections

• Sustainability confused with China’s mission to impose form and order on the world

• Feel ‘forced to adapt’ to energy saving by rules & orders

• Believe that charities have more impact because they ‘are not associated with economic gain’.

Provoke change from within the establishment.Empower these individuals to embrace environmental behavior as a means to enhance their prestige.

Green is not only a reputation opportunity for corporations, rather it is a marketing opportunity in itself.

Future Pathways for Behavior Change

Products, not policy

Everyday, not just Earth Day

Personal, not planet

Incentive, not invective

Choice, not constraint

Conscious, not

conspicuous

Collaborate, not confront

Pluralize, not polarize

Dialogue, not decree

Mainstream, not model

Mainstream, not model

There are plenty of mainstream green behaviors that warrant active encouragement:

Cycling, sleeping on straw mats in summer, carrying one’s own water flasks, etc.

Rewarding these behaviors would encourage those who think sustainability is only for the wealthy or altruistic.

Products, not just policy

Is there anything in your existing products and services that can be highlighted as being sustainable?

Do manufacturing and / or transportation innovations result in less impact on the environment?

If they do, tell your consumer.

And then start innovating.

Everyday, not just Earth Day

This is important to overcome the challenge of tokenism.

We need innovation, not abstinence.

Personal, not planet

If the world is to change for the better, it will be the result of decisions made by many individuals at a personal level.

The arrival of a child is a critical juncture for nearly all Chinese families in adopting sustainable behaviors.

16,030,800 births per year in China = over 16 million opportunities to start a conversation around caring and sustainability !

Incentive, not invective

Create incentives for both individual and community adoption.

Solar heaters with toilets!Additional marks for spreading the word in your family!

Choice, not constraint

Green creds of a brand can be a tie-breaker if the price is comparable.

It’s important to offer the choice at the right time & place.

Dialogue, not decreeWhen the engagement is based on compliance, all we do is follow the rules and forget about it. But we talk about brands all the time.

Closing the sustainability gap calls for conversations.

The chopstick forest got Beijing talking. No law banning disposable chopsticks was required.

Conscious, not conspicuous

Create consciousness about a collective Chinese good: families ask themselves if they really need stuff? Can it be passed on?

How do we systematize trash collection & recycling?

Collaborate, not Confront

The green movement is beset with more confrontation than consensus .

Partnerships can result in positive change.

Green Long March :In the last four years, 40,000 volunteers have planted 2000 acres of forest land, and carried out over 200 green consulting projects.

Collaboration will help realize the potential of China’s green technology market, estimated at USD 1 trillion per year.

Pluralize, not Polarize

The harmonious society that China’s leaders are striving to create and foster should be about more than social and economic harmony: it must be as much about an ecological harmony.

Sustainability divides people: the polluters against the victims; the eco-warriors and eco-chics versus the materialists.

This polarization must stop.

OgilvyEarth believes that the world will be a better place if brands and corporations acted on the insights that Get Going with Green has uncovered.

To find out more about how to Get Going with Green in the United States, please visit our website:

www.ogilvyearth.com

Research partner for Get Going with Green in China:

For more information on Get Going with Green, please contact:

Kunal Sinha – kunal.sinha@ogilvy.com orHannah Lane – hannah.lane@ogilvy.com

Thank you.