可持續(xù)消費行為的“最后一英里”

文/邁克·德索西奧 譯/王冰

掃碼聽讀

目前，很難說可持續(xù)性僅是少數(shù)消費者感興趣的事情。民調(diào)機構(gòu)“環(huán)球掃描”的研究表明，世界各地絕大多數(shù)的消費者都認為我們需要減少消費。

2更重要的是，在該調(diào)查中，57%的消費者愿意為可持續(xù)產(chǎn)品多花錢。然而，其中僅有大約四分之一的消費者真的朝著可持續(xù)方向改變了自己的生活方式或消費行為。那么這是怎么回事呢？

3“當我們要求人們改變自身行為，使其更有可持續(xù)性時，可以發(fā)現(xiàn)十分明顯的‘意向—行為差距’。”不列顛哥倫比亞大學市場營銷與行為科學教授凱瑟琳·懷特說道。

4在2021 年度“綠色商務(wù)”會議上，懷特分享了她對可持續(xù)消費的研究。與會者還有來自亞馬遜公司和寶潔公司的行業(yè)領(lǐng)袖，以及非營利組織的高管，他們分享了對可持續(xù)消費趨勢的見解。以下是會議的三個要點：

1. 態(tài)度已轉(zhuǎn)變，但行為滯后

5根據(jù)環(huán)球掃描的調(diào)查，整體而言，消費者對可持續(xù)產(chǎn)品的興趣指數(shù)有所上升。例如，2020 年的調(diào)查結(jié)果表明，73%的消費者希望大幅減少他們對環(huán)境的影響，該數(shù)字比上一年增加了近十個百分點。

6會議期間，環(huán)球掃描首席執(zhí)行官克里斯·庫爾特將該現(xiàn)象描述為消費者態(tài)度的“顯著轉(zhuǎn)變”，認為這對可持續(xù)產(chǎn)品市場來說是個好兆頭。但他馬上強調(diào)了這一進展的不足之處。

7庫爾特說：“我們求變的愿望和實際的行為之間仍然存在著差距，但我們確實看到世界各地正在發(fā)生重大變化。”

8懷特的行為科學研究探討了什么樣的手段最能有效說服消費者，使他們的消費選擇符合自身對地球的關(guān)切。

9懷特說：“這對市場營銷人員、機構(gòu)組織和公共政策制定影者來說，是個十足的挑戰(zhàn)。我們真的需要了解行為改變的關(guān)鍵驅(qū)動因素是什么。”

10懷特指出了利益相關(guān)者為改變行為可以關(guān)注的幾個因素——社會影響（換句話說，同儕壓力）、習慣養(yǎng)成、個人價值觀、情感認同和有形成果。

11懷特表示，歸根結(jié)底，任何人都不應(yīng)指望一舉采用所有措施來讓消費者突然醒悟。改變更有可能是逐漸發(fā)生的。

2. 價格和性能依然是最重要的因素

12寶潔公司北美區(qū)織物護理研發(fā)部總監(jiān)托德·克萊因正試圖使消費者關(guān)注一個微小改變——用冷水洗衣服，這可以大幅降低其公司產(chǎn)品對氣候的影響。

13克萊因表示，寶潔公司子品牌“汰漬”三分之二的碳足跡是消費者購買使用留下的。其中占比最大的是用于加熱洗衣機中的水的能量。

14所以克萊因的計劃很簡單，他說：“制造出消費者用冷水洗衣時效果很好的產(chǎn)品。”

15這強調(diào)了關(guān)于可持續(xù)產(chǎn)品的一個基本事實：消費者最關(guān)心的仍然是產(chǎn)品性能和價格。因此，在展示對氣候的誠意前，可持續(xù)產(chǎn)品必須先做好這兩方面。

16亞馬遜公司可持續(xù)購物全球負責人亞當·韋巴赫深知這一點。他主導開發(fā)了亞馬遜平臺上的“氣候承諾友好型”標簽，通過外部認證引導消費者購買最有可持續(xù)性的產(chǎn)品。

17結(jié)合迄今為止的經(jīng)驗，韋巴赫認識到，即使在亞馬遜平臺上具有生態(tài)意識的全食超市，消費者也會先考慮價格和性能，再考慮可持續(xù)性。

18但是“氣候承諾友好型”標簽可以讓消費者快速而輕松地做出決定。

韋巴赫說：“消費者樂意有人幫他們減輕認知負擔。”

3.（ 信息量）少即是多

19亞馬遜公司一個簡單標簽的成功，證明了促使消費者做出更可持續(xù)選擇的另一重要策略：有時，更少的信息會有更好的效果。

20懷特認為，普通消費者沒有時間、也沒有興趣去了解關(guān)于成分、生產(chǎn)或包裝的全部細節(jié)。他們僅僅想知道自己的消費選擇不會傷害地球。

21懷特說：“歸根結(jié)底，如果做出可持續(xù)選擇真的快速、簡單、有趣且愉快，那我就會去做。”

22這就是標簽?zāi)軌蚱鹱饔玫牡胤健！熬G色印章”組織首席執(zhí)行官道格·加特林表示，他的公司一直致力于簡化其可持續(xù)認證的推廣方式。

他說：“向消費者傳達各種各樣的屬性確實很困難。”

23因此，“綠色印章”組織并沒有在一個標簽上羅列20種或更多的聲明，而是開發(fā)了一種“羅盤”，不僅標記出四大類別——水、廢物、健康和氣候，還可以作為對產(chǎn)品的簡單評估。

24寶潔公司改進自己的產(chǎn)品包裝和標簽時，克萊因也牢記這一點。

他說：“如果我們能把可持續(xù)消費變得簡單，變成令消費者感覺很棒的體驗，那么他們就會采用這種行為并堅持下去。” □

These days, it’s hard to argue that sustainability is a niche1niche 小眾（針對特定消費群體的市場需求）。consumer interest. A vast majority of consumers worldwide believe we need to consume less, according to research by Globe-Scan.

2More to the point, 57 percent of consumers in that survey were willing to pay more for sustainable products.But only about a quarter of them actually made any sustainable changes to their lifestyle or consumption. So what gives?

3“There’s this really marked intentionaction gap when we’re asking people to change their behaviors to be more sustainable,” said Katherine White, professor of marketing and behavioral science at the University of British Columbia.

4White shared her research on sustainable consumption during GreenBiz 21. She was among industry leaders from Amazon and Procter & Gamble,as well as nonprofit executives, who shared insights on the trends in sustainable consumption. Here are three takeaways2takeaway（討論或會議的）要點。from the session:

1. Attitude has shifted, but behavior lags

5Across the board, indicators for consumer interest in sustainable products are up, according to the GlobeScan survey. The 2020 results, for example,showed that 73 percent of consumers wanted to reduce the impact they have on the environment by a large amount,up almost 10 percentage points from the year prior.

6During the session, Chris Coulter,CEO of GlobeScan, described it as a“remarkable shift” in consumer attitude that bodes well for the sustainable products market. But he was quick to underline the shortcomings of that progress.

7“There is still a gap between our desire to change and what we’re actually doing, but we do see significant movements happening across the world,” he said.

8White’s research in behavioral science looks into what levers3lever 施加影響力的手段。could be most effective in convincing consumers to align their choices with their concern for the planet.

9“This is a real challenge for marketers, for organizations, for public policymakers,” she said. “We really need to understand, what are the key drivers of behavior change in particular?”

10White identified a few factors that stakeholders can focus on to shift behavior—social influence (in other words, peer pressure), habit formation,individual values, emotional buy-in and tangible outcomes.

11But ultimately, no one should think about hitting consumers with all of those efforts at once, White said. The shifts are more likely to be gradual.

2. Price and performance are still king

12Todd Cline, as director for Procter& Gamble’s North America fabric care research and development, is trying to focus consumers on one tiny change that could drastically slash the climate impact of his company’s product: Wash their clothes in cold water.

13Cline said what consumers do with Tide, one of the company’s sub-brands,once they take it off the shelf accounts for two-thirds of the product’s carbon footprint. The biggest chunk of that is the energy used to heat the water in the washing machine.

14So his plan is simple: “Make products that work great when consumers use them on cold,” he said.

15This highlights a fundamental truth for sustainable products: Consumers’top concerns are still performance and price. So sustainable products must tick thosetwoboxesbefore showing off theirclimate bonafides4bona fides 誠意。.

16Adam Werbach, global lead for sustainable shopping at Amazon, knows this well. He led the development of a “Climate Pledge Friendly” label on the site that uses external certifications to direct customers to the most sustainable products.

17The experience so far has shown Werbach that customers, even at Amazon’s eco-conscious Whole Foods, primarily seek out price and performance before considering sustainability.

18But the “Climate Pledge Friendly”label can be a quick, easy way for them to make that decision.

“Customers like the cognitive load being taken off them,” he said.

3. Less (information) can be more

19The success of a simple label for Amazon speaks to another important tactic for nudging customers to more sustainable options: Sometimes less information is better.

20The average consumer, according to White, doesn’t have the time or interest to know all the details on ingredients,manufacturing or packaging. They just want to know it’s not going to harm the planet.

21“At the end of the day, if it’s really quick and easy and enjoyable and pleasant, I’m going to do it,” White said.

22That’s where labels can help. Doug Gatlin, CEO of Green Seal, said his company has worked to simplify the way it communicates its own sustainability certifications.

“It can really be difficult to communicate the various attributes to the consumer,” he said.

23So rather than listing 20 or more claims on one label, Green Seal developed a “compass” that identifies four main categories—water, waste, health and climate—and acts as a shorthand5shorthand 簡約表達法。to evaluate products.

24Cline keeps this in mind, too, as Procter & Gamble refines its own packaging and labeling.

“If we can make it simple and make it so it’s a great experience for people,they’ll adopt the behavior and stick with it,” he said. ■