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Thursday, July 28, 2011
News Can 'green' equal success?
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Thu, Jul 28, 2011 at 10:53 AM
- (Photo credit: DreamyMo)
Maybe. Probably. Well, that's what the Europeans think, anyway.
In good news, Charlotte is loaded with green-focused businesses ready to take the "green energy hub" idea and make it a reality. Of course, a lot goes into being a green energy hub — much more than simply producing or supporting green energy production.
Choosing "green" includes choosing products that are sustainably produced, products whose creation will often reuse some sort of waste (think recycling plastic bottles and turning them into T-shirts), use less packaging, require fewer resources to produce, etc. The more we reduce, reuse, recycle, repurpose, the fewer resources — including electricity and enormous amounts of water — required and the more we register our votes for green products and, in turn, green energy.
After all, using less is green, too.
From the EurActiv Network:Customers are becoming more aware of the environmental impact of their lifestyles and the most successful companies will be those who best respond to shoppers' desire to 'buy green', business representatives argued at a conference this week.
Social commentators agreed that low prices would remain central to business success, but insisted that modern consumers demanded more than just good value from their favourite brands.
As fears over climate change mount and Western consumption patterns continue to put a strain on the world's resources, environmentally-conscious citizens are attracted to companies that share their concerns about environmental degradation.
'Products no longer enough'
"Consumers are definitely looking for companies who do the right things. Products are no longer enough," said Tim Mobsby, vice-president for European marketing at Kellogg's.
Shoppers want details of who manufactured a product and what they believe in, and will choose brands that share their own values, he predicted.
Sustainable production is therefore gaining in importance as customers choose brands that reflect their lifestyles and worldview.
"It is going up the agenda in companies, primarily because consumers are getting more concerned," Mobsby said.
However, he cautioned that shoppers were only willing to make sacrifices up to a certain point and that price would continue to be the main driver of purchase decisions.
"Companies need to solve their collective problems simultaneously. You've got to keep the price down. The challenge is identifying consumers' needs and wants, and providing them in a way that's economically viable," the Kellogg's boss said.
Read the rest of this article here.
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