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I’ve spent the last 15 or so years following what might appear to be a quixotic passion -- to engage mainstream consumers in making more sustainable choices.
As co-founder and vice president of Conservation International’s Center for Environmental Leadership in Business, I had the privilege of partnering with many of the early adopters of corporate sustainability thinking, such as Starbucks and Walmart. My universal take-away: It is hard to build sustainability thinking into a mega-brand’s DNA. And it is infinitely harder to help a multinational company figure out how to connect with their customers and influence behavior.
Now, as the head of environment and director of the eBay's Green Team, I realize that the conventional wisdom that it is hard to change consumer behavior might not be as true today as perhaps it once was. 
Look at how consumers have changed the way they shop in the last decade. Going to the mall is being replaced with online shopping, while mobile commerce through smart phones is the new trend to watch. Tapping into these moments of change, and building sustainable thinking into them, could hold the key to affecting change at scale. But to do so, the sustainability community will have to be savvy both in spotting these inflection points as well as in connecting with consumers through them.
Here is a snapshot of lessons I’ve learned -- many of them the hard way -- about engaging consumers in making more sustainable choices:
1. Cool is More Important Than Green
For years, the environmental community has championed the benefits of acting responsibly: buying greener products, avoiding waste, and thinking about what our actions will mean for future generations. Unfortunately, for how far the green movement has come, especially recently, it’s still not top-of-mind for consumers. That’s why, if we really want sustainability to be mainstream, we need to lead with messages that consumers do care about – style, price, function – and let sustainability attributes be the icing, rather than the cake.
2. Radical Transparency = Humility
Radical transparency has my nomination for the sustainability buzz phrase of 2010. At its core, though, it’s a principle fundamental to engaging with consumers: being humble. Being upfront about the challenges you face is the most certain way to ensure your accomplishments are credible.
3. Accept That the Best Ideas Probably Won’t Come From You
There is so much talk about how we can use Web 2.0 technology and thinking to promote our brands and our programs and not nearly enough about what it can do for us. We have an unprecedented opportunity to peer into the hearts and minds of our customers -- all we have to do is listen.
4. Trade Up, Not Trade Off
At eBay, because we have the good fortune to run a marketplace with a large volume of used products being traded in it, we’ve been able to start to break from the stereotype of what a ‘green’ product looks like. By highlighting that environmentally preferable choices -- in this case, pre-owned -- can be style-savvy and pocketbook friendly, we’re able to engage with our consumers around greener choices by showing them how it adds value to their life, rather than demanding sacrifice.
5. Materiality Matters
The corollary to the above -- consumers aren’t naive, either. A green claim has to feel like it’s in line with the core offering and impact of the product. Otherwise, it just doesn’t ring true. Look at the backlash surrounding bottled water’s attempt to ‘go green’ to see what happens when you take a fundamentally unsustainable product and layer on some green messaging.
Look inward to see out....
Thanks, Amy, for the article. As a business management consultant, I work with companies to optimize sales and market readiness. I see trends across the board - many of which are noted in this article. Some companies are questioning "what business we're in", which is forcing a hard look at their value (not just their perceived value, but the true value of their products/services in the marketplace). For those that have a good handle on their (sustainability) value and potential, the focus seems to be on communication, education...as you note, "Invest the time in converting true believers." Although the conversion takes time, there's a lot of opportunity still for market leadership.
Pam Campagna
BLUE SAGE Consulting, Inc.
How consumers act vs how we would like them to act
Hi Amy,
Nice article - easy to follow ways to make sustainability work for consumers and business. I love how you've taken difficult and different experiences with consumers and their behaviour and reworked this into solutions to make sustainability more mainstream.
Scott, I think you missed the point Amy was making - the majority of consumers buy a product with little thought about the sustainability aspect. Yes, cool has no meaning when it comes to sustainability but (most) consumers buy (most) products because of "coolness" factors not sustainability factors. So for sustainability to become mainstream it needs to be a product people need AND want. Functionality has (unfortunately) little place in most consumer behaviour or else we will all be wearing the same clothes, drive the same cars, buy the same things. Consumers buy because of many reasons and sustainability elements might be higher on the list than 10 years ago but still not top-of-mind. Price, functionality, access, fashion (cool) etc. The importance of each product will vary depending on the type of product and consumer type but the "cooler" the product, the more likely you are to sell it. This way sustainability becomes mainstream as consumers can associate more positive (non-green) aspects to the product.
The disconnect comes when we focus on how we would like consumers to act (rational - functionality, price etc) instead of how they actually act (fashion, want etc). We know from research that consumers always say "of course I will buy a product if it is green" but this is not backed by actual consumer behaviour.
Cool is More Important Than Green?
Amy,
I disagree with your comment "Cool is more important than green". This propagates the thought process of "it’s still not top-of-mind for consumers" in which you comment later. It doesn't have to be cool, it just has to have equal or better functionality. Cool has no meaning when it comes to sustainability, this is the icing not the sustainable element.
Sustainability & Corporate DNA
http://ideas4sustainableworld.blogspot.com/
Amy, Great Article! Thanks
I had the honor of sitting as a guest member on Conservation International’s Center for Environmental Leadership in Business. I also saw the difficulty large corporations were having infusing sustainability into a corporations DNA, working it into the DNA of governmental agencies seems to be an even more daunting task.
Years ago I had an epiphany that it really has to come from personal commitment, one person at a time deciding that protecting the environment is an important moral obligation, a choice to be a steward of the natural world as opposed to an exploiter.
So it really becomes a matter of education or re-education, to look at our role on this planet and to learn and re-learn at all levels, from kids to corporations, teaching our vital role as stewards. Realizing at a personal level what a positive impact we can have, if we only care enough!
David Podmayersky
Sustainability Director
EarthColor.com
engaging consumers
Nice post, Amy - lots of wisdom in there. Most interesting perhaps is item 10 ... which I think is a trend both necessary and present, albeit not yet as significant as it needs to be. As a society, in community, and as people, we absolutely need to shift consumption patterns toward higher quality, less stuff, more memories and connection. But for that to work for the economy, a lot of change will be needed (policy, measurement, yardsticks for success, everything)- namely away from the endless growth paradigm.
A huge challenge for us all...