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Radar 4/7


marketing of sustainable goods and ser- vices is a tricky field to negotiate for organisations, due to the complexity of the issues involved and unintended con- sequences of such decision-making. According to B&Q’s director of cor- porate social responsibility Matt Sexton, his company had a “thorny issue” around patio heaters as selling a product which is effectively designed to heat up the atmosphere did not sit well alongside its wider CSR agenda. “We made the choice to pull it - for this we got plaudits but also challenges. Issues were then raised on other prod- ucts we sell, such as cement which has a lot of embodied carbon in it,” he said. “It’s seldom clear cut,” he continued. “You have to ask what is that your cus- tomers expect of you?” B&Q carried out its own research into customer attitudes to greener products, which threw up some interesting find- ings. While the vast majority (75%) wanted to buy lower impact products, the price had to be affordable. “Over 60% of our customers said that they would shop with us if our values were good,” Sexton said, but added that this loyalty meant B&Q had to absorb


et items like vehicles, people often had to “go through the pain of ownership” before realising the benefits of a sharing economy.


B&Q’s Matt Sexton and Zipcar’s Mark Walker debate the pros and cons of green messag- ing for customers


the extra cost for introducing greener product lines such as VOC-free paints or peat-free compost.


“We do actively choice edit … we know our customers want this,” he maintained. Zipcar UK general manager Mark Walker noted there were some interest- ing subliminal influencers with choice editing that had the potential to effect real change in the way consumers act. “On a subliminal level, hiring a car allows [customers] to become more pub- lic transport friendly,” he pointed out. Walker added that while the cost savings associated with pay per use often heavily outweigh that of ownership for big tick-


He also noted that car manufacturers like BMW and Daimler were now mov- ing into his company’s space by offering luxury experience packages and conveni- ent ‘airport to hotel’ hire type solutions. “On one level it’s a huge validation of our model,” he added.


Walker and Sexton were taking part in a panel debate on choice editing for sustainability at the Sustainable Brands conference in London last month.


Wind power


Wind power records successful year


Recording its most successful year since the start of the economic downturn in 2008, onshore wind has provided 30% of the UK’s renewable energy output and approximately 4% of the UK’s total energy generation.


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