OgilvyEarth looks at Chinese consumers’ desire for sustainability

ASIA-PACIFIC – CHINA, APRIL 2011 — The “Get Going with Green: Closing the Sustainability Gap” study by OgilvyEarth, Ogilvy & Mather’s sustainability practice, focused on understanding the difference between what people say they are doing around sustainability and what they are actually doing, and reveals the reasons why they hold back. 

 

 

Over a four month period from July-October 2010, a team of strategists and ethnographers from OgilvyEarth, along with researchers from Chinese consumer insights and design firm enovate, studied 24 families in Shanghai, Tianjin and Wuxi. The team spent up to two days with each family – in their homes, examining their perceptions of environmental sustainability, observing daily routines and recording consumption and disposal behavior. This was followed by a nationwide quantitative study amongst 1300 respondents to both understand and measure the sustainability opportunity in China. 

 

“So there is a wide gap in China between people’s claimed and actual sustainable behavior – what we are calling the Sustainability Gap. This is important because if companies base their strategies and marketing decisions on typical research data on consumers’ claimed behaviors, they would far underestimate the need for education and engagement, as well as the potential market for products and services that proclaim their green credentials,” said Kunal Sinha, Chief Knowledge Officer and team leader of OgilvyEarth at Ogilvy & Mather Greater China. 

 

The study also outlines 10 actionable future pathways that corporations, governments and communities can take to coax Chinese consumers to lead more sustainable lives – an important yet overlooked – component of solving China’s environmental troubles. 

 

 

1. Mainstream, not model: Encourage the mainstream green behaviors already in practice by Chinese citizens, including but not limited to bicycling, sleeping on straw mats in summer, and carrying one’s own water flask. By rewarding these behaviors, it encourages those who think sustainability is only for the wealthy or altruistic. 

 

2. Products, not just policy: Highlight existing products and services that are sustainable, as well as manufacturing and / or transportation innovations that result in less environmental impact. By informing consumers, you make them aware of green choices. 

 

3. Every day, not just Earth Day: Focus on being green every day, not just Earth Day or Earth Hour; this is critical to overcoming the challenge of tokenism. 

 

4. Personal, not planet: Start conversations. If the world is to change for the better, it will be as a result of decisions that are made by many individuals at a personal level. Having a child is a critical juncture in adopting sustainable behaviors for nearly all Chinese families; and with over 16 million births per year1, that’s 16 million opportunities to start a conversation around caring and sustainability! 

 

5. Incentive, not invective: Build incentives for both individual and community adoption to encourage greener practices and purchasing decisions. 

 

6. Choice, not constraint: Offer consumers a choice. A brand’s green credentials can be a tie-breaker if the price is comparable; so it is important to offer the choice at the right time and place. 

 

7. Dialogue, not decree: Focus on dialogue. When engagement is based on compliance, people follow the rules and forget about it. When we want to continue the conversation about greener practices, we need to engage rather than command. 

 

8. Conscious, not conspicuous: Create consciousness about a collective Chinese good. Encourage families to ask themselves if they really need stuff; can it be passed on? 

 

9. Collaborate, not confront: Collaborate with others. Partnerships can result in positive change. Currently, the green movement is plagued with more confrontation than consensus; but collaboration will help realize the potential of China’s green technology market, estimated at USD 1 trillion per year.