ECO-LABELS AND OTHER WAYS TO COMMUNICATE SUSTAINABILITY

Transcription

1 3 December 2013 MAPP Conference 2013, Middelfart PRODUCTS CLAIMING SUSTAINABILITY: ECO-LABELS AND OTHER WAYS TO COMMUNICATE SUSTAINABILITY John Thøgersen MAPP, Aarhus University, School Of Business And Social Sciences

2 THEMES Food and sustainability Eco-labels vs greenwashing Consumer benefits of eco-labels Eco-labels as practical shopping heuristics Adopting a new eco-label: affective responses and behavioral learning 2

3 FOOD AND SUSTAINABILITY Food and drink, and related agriculture, is one of the consumption areas with greatest environmental impacts (together with transportation and housing) these three consumption clusters drive 70-80% of the impacts of final consumption Worldwide, agricultural activity, especially livestock production, accounts for about a fifth of total greenhouse-gas emissions 3

4 HAVE YOU CONSCIOUSLY CHOSEN TO BUY SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS IN THE PAST WEEK? WHAT? Yes: 61% Typically: dairy products, vegetables and meat. Least attention to sustainability when buying toys, soft drinks and alcohol / spirits. Source: Forbrugerredegørelse

5 FOOD AND SUSTAINABILITY Organic Animal welfare Fair trade Local production food miles Food waste 5

6 THE GLOBAL MARKET FOR ORGANIC FOOD AND DRINKS Billion US$ Source: Organic monitor and The World of Organic Agriculture 2012 &

7 THE COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST SHARES OF ORGANIC FOOD SALES 2010 Source: The World of Organic Agriculture

8 ( 8

9 WHAT IS AN ECO-LABEL? A logo that identifies a product or company that has met an environmentally preferable standard. There are lots of different standards with varying levels of quality control around the world. ISO identifies three types of eco-labels. The seal of approval: If you meet the standard you get the label. General claim: Adding a generic green term to the product name like organic or biodegradable. This type is the most likely to be guilty of greenwashing. Graded: Like grade A beef or a four star hotel graded labels provide relative indicators of quality that allow the consumer to select between different grades. (ecolabelling.org) 9

10 CONSUMER BENEFITS OF THIRD-PARTY ECOLABELS Information about the environmental quality of individual products at the point of purchase enable them to choose products that are acceptable from an environmental point of view. Enhance transparency and consumer trust in environmental claims Reduce consumers information search costs Transform credence attributes to search attributes Promote sustainability without compromising consumer freedom of choice Function as reminders 10

11 CONSUMER ECO-LABEL USE Consumer benefits Ability to choose Shopping effectiveness Consumer eco-label adoption Eco-label goals, intentions Eco-label knowledge, competence Eco-label affect 11

12 Thøgersen, J. (2005). Consumer behaviour and the environment: Which role for information? In S. Krarup & C. S. Russell (Eds.), Environment, information and consumer behaviour (pp ). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. # organic of last 10 Intentions and behaviour: purchase of organic milk. Knowing the Ø label as moderator, Denmark 1995 (N = 217) Buying intention THIRD-PARTY ECO-LABELS INCREASE CONSUMERS ABILITY TO CHOOSE SUSTAINABLE OPTIONS Recognise the Ø-label R 2 =.72 Does not recognise the Ø-label R 2 =.39 12

13 Thøgersen, J., Jørgensen, A.-K., & Sandager, S. (2012). Consumer decision making regarding a green everyday product. Psychology and Marketing, 29, N = 340 SHOPPING EFFECTIVENESS, MILK: TOTAL TIME FOR PRODUCT CHOICE (SECONDS) 13

14 SHOPPING EFFECTIVENESS, MILK: NUMBER OF MILK CARTONS INSPECTED Number of betweenbrand comparisons N = 340 Number of within-brand comparisons Number of milk cartons picked up Organic Conventional Number of milk cartons examined 0 0,5 1 1,5 14

15 DO YOU KNOW, OR HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THIS LABEL? Yes No Don t know Source: Direktoratet for FødevareErhverv 15

16 A LABELLING JUNGLE? In their 2009 edition of their popular booklet on labels in the environment field, the Danish Information Centre for Environment & Health described nearly 50 different labels that all, in one way or another, informs about how products impact on environment and health, including official ecolabels, organic food labels, energy labels and other types of more specialized labels ( 16

17 EXAMPLE: ARE YOU AWARE OF THE FLOWER, THE SYMBOL OF THE EU ECO-LABEL? 61% 2% 19% 18% I've seen it or heard of it and I have bought products with this label I've seen it or heard of it but I have not bought products with this label I have never seen it nor heard of it DK Flash EB No 256 Sustainable consumption and production, EU27, N =

18 CAMPAIGN FOR THE FLOWER AND THE SWAN A campaign in week 41, 2006, in Denmark promoted EU s Flower and the Nordic Swan label with a focus on products for babies and families Increased the knowledge of EU s Flower as eco-label from 30% to 36% Increased the knowledge of the Swan from from 81% to 87% In the first half of 2004, the numbers were 26% for the Flower and 46 % for the Nordic Swan 18

19 Thøgersen, J., Haugaard, P., & Olesen, A. (2010). Understanding consumer responses to ecolabels. European Journal of Marketing, 44, FACTORS INFLUENCING THE ADOPTION OF A NEW ECO-LABEL - THE MSC-LABEL Mall-intercept survey, Aarhus, Denmark, August 2007, Shoppers completed questionnaires. Four respondents were excluded because they never ate fish. 35/65% male/female, average age 41, average household size 2.4. Average yearly pre-tax household income slightly below DKK

20 FACTORS INFLUENCING THE ADOPTION OF A NEW ECO-LABEL - THE MSC-LABEL Ecolabel & sust. fishery Knowledge Environmental concern Intention to buy Experience with other eco-labels Trust in issuing organization.11/.17.24/.15.01/.01(.10/.13) Unaware Perception/ comprehension.42 Adoption Innovativeness [Direct effect/interaction effect] 20

21 THE ADOPTION OF A NEW LABEL An new eco-label is an innovation - a decision-making tool, which a consumer may adopt, independent from adopting the labelled product The speed of adoption depends on the fit with consumers needs & goals, their experience with labels, and their trust in the endorsing organization As other innovations, it needs promotion 21

22 CONSUMER RESPONSES TO A NEW TRACEABILITY LABEL A standard for sustainable and traceable cocoa is currently being developed by the European standards organization, CEN, initiated by Danish chocolate company Toms Toms also plans to launch a traceability label, with a QR code that gives consumers easy access to detailed information about their supply chain and including the origin of the cocoa used in the specific product that the consumer holds in her hand 22

23 Bradu, C., Orquin, J., & Thøgersen, J. (2013). The Mediated Influence of a Traceability Label on Consumer's Willingness to Buy the Labelled Product. Journal of Business Ethics. (available online) THE FIRST ENCOUNTER: AFFECTIVE OR COGNITIVE PROCESSING? A sample of 1064 participants was recruited from an online sample provider (667 women, 397 men), age range 18 to 80 (M = 46.39, SD = 13.17) In the context of an online survey, we administered an experimental intervention: a between-subjects design manipulating label type (no label, organic label, traceability label), chocolate type (premium quality brand, standard quality brand), and health warning (no warning, health warning) 23

24 VISUAL PRODUCT STIMULI 24

25 RESPONSE FORMAT After being exposed to one picture, participants expressed their agreement with three claims using a 7-point Likert scale with the endpoints completely agree and completely disagree (in this order): 1. It would give me a good conscience to buy this chocolate 2. I would feel guilty eating this chocolate 3. I would like to purchase this chocolate 25

26 LABEL IMPACTS MEDIATED THROUGH AFFECTIVE PROCESSING Affective Product Evaluation H2 Anticipated guilt Anticipated conscience H3 Product Features Label Health disclaimer H1 H3 X Willingness to Buy Quality 26

27 THE IMPACT OF ATTRIBUTES ON WILLINGNESS TO BUY MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSIS (N = 997) Indep. Variables B Std. Error Beta t Sig. (Constant) <.001 Product quality Health warning Traceability label <.001 Organic label Adj. R2 =

28 THE IMPACT OF ATTRIBUTES ON CONSCIENCE MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSIS (N = 997) Indep. Variables B Std. Error Beta t Sig. (Constant) <.001 Product quality <.001 Health warning Traceability label <.001 Organic label <.001 Adj. R2 =

29 THE IMPACT OF ATTRIBUTES ON GUILT MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSIS (N = 997) Indep. Variables B Std. Error Beta t Sig. (Constant) <.001 Product quality Health warning <.001 Traceability label Organic label Adj. R2 =

30 THE IMPACT OF ATTRIBUTES AND ANTICIPATED GUILT AND CONSCIENCE ON WILLINGNESS TO BUY MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSIS (N = 997) Indep. Variables B Std. Error Beta t Sig. (Constant) <.001 Product quality Health warning Traceability label Organic label Conscience <.001 Guilt <.001 Adj. R2 =.32, R2 =.294, F = , Sig. = <

31 CONCLUSIONS A traceability label has a significant impact on consumers willingness to buy a chocolate bar This impact is completely mediated through anticipated guilt and good conscience The new traceability label triggered an affective response, which triggered a willingness to act 31

32 WRAP UP Sustainable food products are demanded by regulators, NGOs and consumers and food products with documented sustainability are gaining market shares The credibility of sustainability communication is undermined by greenwashing Third-party ecolabels are the preferred way to communicate sustainability They are liked by all stakeholders and can be very effective decision-making tools for consumers The adoption of a new ecolabel is facilitated by (a) a good fit with consumer goals, (b) consumer experience with other ecolabels,(c) consumer trust, and (d) consumer spontaneous moral-affective responses to the label 32

33 THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!?? Questions? 33