Avoid backfiring on sustainability

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The current challenges facing humanity in the face of the climate crisis make evident the absolute need for society as a whole to seek to be more sustainable. That is, the planet and living beings will not survive unless we modify our ways of consumption. It is clear that we need improvements in sustainability marketing, and many companies are responding to this, but on this journey many decisions can be counterproductive and generate the opposite effect to the desired one: making consumers have a more negative opinion of the brand and their projects. So how to avoid backfiring on sustainability? Being more sustainable is always positive, but… Diletta Acuti from the University of Portsmouth and Sara Dolnicar from the University of Queensland together with Marta Pizzetti, Professor of Marketing at Emlyon Business School, sought to answer the above question. By reviewing nearly 100 academic research papers in key areas of sustainability, they set out to uncover the specific reasons why a move toward greater sustainability could backfire and why organizations face side effects. negative and poor public perceptions in their efforts to communicate their responsible actions. What the task force found is that there are three main key reasons why responsible business efforts can backfire on sustainability. hand-holding-sphere-with-planet- Companies should avoid these actions in their sustainability plans Consumers are demanding more readily available sustainable products, while companies are increasing their sustainable operations.

It seems that the world is moving in the right direction, but one of the key reasons that companies' efforts in sustainability backfire is the management of information about products or services. According to research, this information may deter people from purchasing them. The above is relevant if we consider that companies clearly want to communicate sustainability to their consumer base. However, this Western Sahara Email List information overload can actually have the opposite desired effect. Consumers often view this excess of information as ambiguous or even contradictory, and it can be too much for those who want to easily identify products. Additionally, consumers are also naturally skeptical of companies that make an active effort to present themselves as a sustainability-focused brand. Therefore, an excess of information could be scaring away potential consumers and raising doubts about how sustainable the brand really is. Sustainability biases The second key factor that companies with sustainable products or services have to address are the biases associated with this sector, such as lack of quality, performance, and even price, compared to products that are not sustainable, that is, those that have a negative environmental or social impact.



In general, consumers tend to believe that both luxury and sustainability are incompatible, and if a product has both, it will be incredibly more expensive. Although this perception is, of course, false, companies have a great job in eliminating these biases. And lastly, but somewhat associated with the previous point, is the fact that the negative perceptions and connotations that consumers believe others will associate with them for using a sustainable product. All products have perceptions that create a consumer stereotype, and sustainable products are no exception. This happens particularly in the case of male consumers, who, for fear of being judged with gender stereotypes by their peers, actively avoid responsible products and choose less sustainable ones. This is how companies can navigate sustainability… The good news is that society continues to advance and traditional labels and stereotypes associated with masculinity are becoming obsolete. With this, sustainability becomes more attractive to all types of audiences interested in addressing the environmental crisis.