Choice editing

"Bizarrely, I think the corporates are running ahead of the consumer... Are we seeing that the fleet market is moving towards more environmentally friendly than the consumer? I think the answer to that question if yes." Director of Sustainability, global motor manufacturer Research in recent years (see for example the May 2006 Sustainable Consumption Roundtable report, I will if you will) has shown that the stance of regulators, retailers and manufacturers on what is and what is not 'green' has been a critical driver towards more sustainable consumption. Choice editing (reducing the amount of choice you offer consumers by offering a carefully chosen subset of products or services aimed at a particular target group of customers) has always been an element of successful retail strategy where there is a diverse range of similar products which might confuse the consumer, but it was not obvious that it would be the right strategy for winning customers with a strong sustainability agenda. One explanation is that customers find decisions about sustainability so complicated that they would rather trust a retailer to make make the decisions for them. This gives retailers the opportunity to establish customer relationships to die for - those based on a high level of trust. But to succeed, the retailer needs to ensure that his own house is in order and that all the sustainability claims he makes for his products and his own business practices are meaningful and verifiable, avoiding greenwash. See the Futerra report on Greenwash and how to avoid it.