Sustainability is becoming increasingly important as a competitive factor
For many companies, sustainability is already more than just an advertising slogan. More and more companies are embedding ecological and social aspects in their value chain. This is the result of a study by the Institute of Trade & International Marketing (HI MA.) of the University of Saarland (Germany).
Almost 52 percent of companies surveyed currently consider sustainability to be important or very important, and more than 80 percent of those surveyed believe that the topic will become very relevant by 2020.
According to the study, the most important strategy is transparency, in particular communication with stakeholders. "Transparency has almost become a synonym for sustainability," according to the authors of the study. Currently, around 26 percent of companies believe that their value chain is transparent, and almost 63 percent of companies want to significantly increase their transparency by 2020.
Change of consumer values
A dominant development is the increased change in consumer values. This is characterized by increased environmental and social awareness. Issues such as the use of natural resources, fair raw material prices, fair pay, child labor, and environmental protection are becoming more and more important factors.
According to the study, 35% of today’s consumers consider environmental issues to be one of the most pressing issues of the day, right along the concerns about
the economic development. This manifests itself i.a. in the fact that 57% of German consumers are willing to spend more money on energy-saving products
issue. A high level of sensitivity is also shown when it comes to issues such as efficiency or the sustainable conservation of resources. Overall, the growing importance of these issues means that, in addition to a balanced price-performance ratio, customers are increasingly paying attention to social and environmental brand aspects.
With the help of a large Solarfox display precisely these requirements can be implemented in an ideal way. In this way, the contribution to climate protection and sustainable energy production as well as CO2 avoidance can be transparently presented to customers, employees, suppliers, and all other stakeholders locally.
Further information on the subject can be found in the study.
Study: "Sustainable Brand Management - Restructuring the Value Chain"
