Collaborative Efforts on Sustainability in the Home Care Industry: Opportunities and Challenges

1. Collaborative Efforts on Sustainability in the Home Care Industry: Opportunities and Challenges
Patrick Donnelly, Ph.D.
AOCS

2. •AOCS (American Oil Chemists' Society) is an international scientific society open to all who are interested in fats, oils, surfactants, detergents and related materials.
•Founded in 1909
•Over 4,300 members from over 90 countries worldwide

3. Population growth
Increase in life expectancy
Rise in living standards
Increase in consumption
Resource limitations
Need for Sustainability

4. I am very concerned about environmental problems
47%
54%
56%
68%
70%
72%
34%
31%
31%
25%
24%
21%
19%
15%
13%
9%
6%
7%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Americans
Canadians
Argentineans
Brazilians
Mexicans
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Average (17 Nations)
Source: Greendex 2012: Consumer Choice and the Environment

5. I Am Currently Trying Very Hard to Reduce My Own Negative Impact on the Environment
15%
43%
44%
45%
55%
65%
60%
47%
36%
40%
32%
31%
25%
10%
20%
15%
13%
4%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Americans
Argentineans
Canadians
Brazilians
Mexicans
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Average
(17 Nations)
Source: Greendex 2012: Consumer Choice and the Environment

6. Industry Response to Sustainability
•Corporate sustainability efforts have traditionally been performed in isolation, focused on improving efficiencies in manufacturing and within the supply chain
–Greenhouse Gas Emissions
–Energy Use
–Worker Safety
–Water Use
–Waste Generation

7. The Business Case for Collaboration
0
10
20
30
40
50
Sharing/reducing costs
Achieving first-mover advantage
Strengthening reputation and leadership
credentials
Sharing/reducing risk
Sharing expertise, competencies, or
perspectives
Source: GlobeScan, Collaborating for a Sustainable Future (2013)
46
46
35
29
23
% Responses

8. Progress on Sustainability: Importance v. Ease
of Collaboration (% total mentions)
Most important for collaboration
Ease of collaboration
Source: GlobeScan, Collaborating for a Sustainable Future (2013)

9. Collaborative Efforts in the Home Care Industry
•AOCS examined collaborative efforts for sustainability in the home care industry
•Activities were mapped geographically and by “life cycle” stage
•A “roadmap” was developed describing
–The business case for collaboration
–Select case studies throughout the product lifecycle
–A more extensive list of activities and resources to support the industry
•Objective is to expand and amplify collaborative efforts

10. Collaborative Efforts in the Home Care Industry
•Key findings:
–Collaboration is an important tool to advance sustainability
–Reliance on a lifecycle approach gives focus and priority to key areas
–Focus on one or two key areas is important for success (build programs over time)
–The issues are complex, there an iterative approach, coupled with realistic expectations, is essential.
•Anticipated release: fall 2014

13. Despite Industry Efforts, Challenges to Sustainability Remain
•Consumer expectations on product performance
•Consumer willingness to pay higher prices
•Consumer behavior/culture
•How can industry shape consumer demand?

14. “Others”
5-10%
Extremely
price-centric;
“Never Greens”
“Mainstream Consumers”
75-80%
Generally consider themselves
“sustainably aligned” but
tend to be unwilling to accept trade-offs or pay higher prices
“Greens”
10-15%
Deeply committed to
sustainable concepts
Willing to accept trade-offs
and pay higher prices
Consumer Sustainability Mindset Model

15. “Others” 5-10% Extremely price-centric; “Never Greens”
“Mainstream Consumers”
75-80%
Generally consider themselves
“sustainably aligned” but
tend to be unwilling to accept trade-offs or pay higher prices
“Greens” 10-15% Deeply committed to sustainable concepts Willing to accept trade-offs and pay higher prices
Consumer Sustainability Mindset Model
The Sustainability
Challenge

16. The Rise of Social Media

17. “Others”
5-10%
Extremely
price-centric;
“Never Greens”
“Mainstream Consumers” 75-80% Generally consider themselves “sustainably aligned” but tend to be unwilling to accept trade-offs or pay higher prices
“Greens”
10-15%
Deeply committed to
sustainable concepts
Willing to accept trade-offs
and pay higher prices
Consumer Sustainability Mindset Model
Social Media
Susceptible?

18. “Others” 5-10% Extremely price-centric; “Never Greens”
“Mainstream Consumers”
75-80%
Generally consider themselves
“sustainably aligned” but
tend to be unwilling to accept trade-offs or pay higher prices
“Greens” 10-15% Deeply committed to sustainable concepts Willing to accept trade-offs and pay higher prices
Consumer Sustainability Mindset Model
?
Social Media
Susceptible?

20. Gamification
•Use of game elements and game design techniques into a non-game environment in order to educate, change attitude or behavior and inspire action
•Goal is to motivate people to do something by making the experience fun, rewarding, and desirable (i.e., game-like)

21. Gamification works
•375M people play (and pay for) social games each month on facebook
•120+ M people enrolled in travel reward programs
•Retailers are increasing awarding “points & badges” to encourage store visits

22. Summary
•Collaboration is an important tool for advancing sustainability in the home care industry
•Consumer “willingness to pay” and longstanding cultural/behavior elements remain significant barriers to sustainability
•Social media technologies have created new opportunities to promote sustainability and interact with consumers
•Gamification may emerge as an important strategy not only to educate consumers, but to shape attitudes and behaviors of consumers with respect to sustainability.