Regina Kuzmina
CEO
Unilever Hungary
As an FMCG company on the one hand we need to satisfy consumers’ needs, but on the other hand it is our responsibility to shape their lifestyle towards sustainability. Almost 70% of the environmental impact of our products is generated during their use. We need to go beyond sustainable product development and sustainable business operations, our aim is to strengthen the environmental consciousness of our consumers. Through our marketing and other communications channels we can inform consumers and empower them to make more sustainable decisions while shopping and using our environmental friendly products. This is why we decided to do targeted research into consumer awareness, and why have created a guide for them which contains practical everyday tips about how they can be more sustainable and save not only natural resources but also some money or time for themselves. We believe that sustainable consumption is a new, quality way of living that needs to be strengthened.
Road to a sustainable lifestyle
Industry: FMCG
Date: 2015
Sustainable Lifestyles
Solutions of the macro-sustainability challenges
Promote healthy living and health-supporting choices to enhance balanced lifestyles and wellbeing
Further targets:
What´s the solution?
As Unilever wishes to sell products that represent the sustainable lifestyle, we attach importance to get familiar with the behavior and approach in this regard, as much as possible. Almost 70% of the environmental impacts of our products emerge during consumption; therefore our goal is to raise awareness about environmental consciousness among our consumers. Therefore we carried out a targeted survey, in which:
This research is unique because not only did we collect information with monitoring and logging methods, but simultaneously also demonstrated to families that changing their habit is not primarily and only a question of money, as we offered practical and tailored advices / guidance to participants. We involved experts to create a booklet with tips and ideas. In addition, participants received feedback on the results (reduced costs, less wasting, lower bills, feeling better) – confronting them with themselves and their lifestyles, as well as the possibility to change. We also plan to integrate these results in our communication and marketing activity, further promoting the sustainable lifestyle trend.
Creating the booklet for tips and the complete research methodology is based on the „Five drivers of change” approach, promoting the positive sentiments about sustainable lifestyle, and the practical steps to achieve it:
The eight participating families went through a preliminary and closing interview, applying a logging method – so that we understand their behavior and the background to their decision making mechanism, as best as we can.
Business connection
At Unilever, each day we work on promoting the sustainable lifestyle. We believe that there is a realistic business vision, with sustainability organically integrated. Each year in our sustainability Plan we summarize how we managed to reduce the environmental load of our operation, and what we did in order to promote a well balanced and sustainable lifestyle. However, products aiming at sustainability are in vain, if there is no demand – therefore we also attach importance to raising awareness about sustainability, their attitude, decision making and behavior. Changing consumption habits is the interactive process of shaping demand and supply.
Results
The research confirmed numerous facts and trends. Assessing research findings it was visible that participants seriously thought about their everyday routine activities, the majority of which was already at instinct level. The tip booklet and logbook encouraged them for consciousness and questioned many habits which by now seemed irrational or inefficient, as well as the misconceptions based on such habits. Having received feedback from participants, we can now define the basic rules of awareness raising conscious communication, defining which messages were effective, understandable, useful and attractive – and in what form. It also became evident that the primary motivation of participants is environmental consciousness, avoiding waste, increasing positive sentiments – the merely financial saving is not necessarily the primary aspect.