Ecological Intelligence: It’s Not Just About the Environment
Last week, I went on a camping trip to the Canadian Rockies. Being in the middle of Nature for seven full days reminded me of what green marketing – and the whole green movement – really stands for. But how do we take this movement forward?
Daniel Goleman, author of Ecological Intelligence: The Hidden Impacts of What We Buy might have the answer. According to Goleman, the low adoption levels of (more) environmentally-responsible products are mainly due to two reasons:
1. The lack of radical transparency
2. The lack of easy-to-read ranking systems at the point of purchase.
What Goleman means by radical transparency is the act of companies, governments and associations to disclose every impact their product or service has on the environment, health and social sphere. While this is already a challenging process, Goleman takes it one step further and suggests companies should implement Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) systems to assess their impact across the whole process, from manufacturing to distribution and product use, including the impacts of the organization’s supply chain. This means that you’d need to take into consideration not only the effects of each single ingredient in your product (and how they ended up in your factory), but as well the packaging and distribution processes.
Personally, while I see radical transparency a process that will take years to implement, I strongly believe this is the direction both companies and governments are moving towards to. We are already seeing some initiatives coming from Wal-Mart and Timberland, and in a matter of years full environmental disclosure will be a legal requirement.
What interests me the most in Goleman’s theory is his stand on ranking systems at the point of purchase. It is true that there are many certifications available nowadays, and one tends to feel lost and overwhelmed with the amount of information available. Questions such “Which is the best certification out there?” or “Should I buy a product that has fewer carbon emissions but is not organic, or is the organic better for me and for the environment?” assault consumers every time they’re walking along the isles of their favourite grocery store. How do you deal with this?
According to Coleman, it’s necessary to implement a ranking system that condenses all the information a consumer is looking for at the point of purchase (and this is the key element: as behavioural studies show, our minds tend to be lazy; we need to have the information in front of us when we are ready to purchase an item, to remind us of what we’re really looking for on that item). These systems can then provide a URL that consumers can use to dig more information about that specific product if they feel the need to do so.
But what kind of information should these ranking systems provide? And how can they be truly useful for consumers, and not just another environmental certification that will confuse them?
Goleman suggests a system that ranks products in three realms:
1. The Geosphere – including soil, air, water and climate;
2. The Biosphere – our bodies, those of other species, and plant life;
3. The Sociosphere – human concerns such as conditions for workers.
Goleman really hit the nail when suggesting a three-fold ranking system. This type of systems provide as much or as little information a consumer is looking for, while letting individuals decide which factors are the most important for them. For instance, a study has shown that moms tend to focus more on the biosphere effects a product might have, while a generation Y individual will look mainly to the geosphere and sociosphere.
It now remains to be seen how successful these ranking systems will be, and how long until they go mainstream.
What criteria do you use when grocery shopping? Please drop me an email or use the comments field below.
Recommended reading:
Implementing Cradle To Cradle Strategies For a Cleaner World
The Emerging Buying Power of Eco-Moms
Motivating Mainstream Consumers to Make Sustainable Choices
