Green wave
Retailers join the environmental race
Answer and teach
Two seemingly opposite tasks: to answer the requests of the most advanced and demanding customers - and to promote responsible consumption among those who do not care yet. The retailer has to create a kind of bridge between the trendsetters and the inert part of the audience. A great example is the fashion for sustainable packaging.
Just a decade ago, free packing bags in supermarkets were considered a sign of good service. More recently, this is, rather, a sign of bad taste. The last major Russian retail chain to join the Greenpeace Break with a Package in October 2018 was Azbuka Vkusa. Prior to that, Perekrestok, Spar, Auchan and other networks introduced fees for them. At first, not all buyers reacted favorably to this, but the decision helped to significantly reduce the amount of plastic - if earlier, Azbuka Vkusa distributed 7 million bags a month. After they began to cost 5 rubles, the number of those wishing to purchase them dropped sharply. As a result, the amount of plastic decreased by 36 tons per month, or more than 400 tons per year.
If Azbuka Vkusa was the last to refuse packages, the network was one of the first to support the initiative to reduce the amount of disposable tableware. In January 2019, the campaign "Coffee in your cup" was held here. Customers came with their dishes and asked to pour coffee and tea into their cups or tumblers - for which they received points on the loyalty card.
Retail, as a rule, is among the first to react to socially significant trends - being as close as possible to the end consumer, retail chains simply cannot ignore customer requests. Especially in those areas where there really is a chance to change something for the better - for example, in the environment.
Russian trendsetters are usually sensitive to global trends, so it makes sense to look at Western opinion polls. Research firm IBM Institute for Business Value and the US National Retail Federation last year surveyed more than 18,000 consumers in 28 countries. It found that for 77% of respondents, it is important that companies strive to be environmentally responsible. Almost the same - 76% - pay attention to the company's efforts to increase the volume of recycled waste, and 72% - to the use of natural ingredients. More than half of those surveyed reported a willingness to change consumption habits to reduce environmental damage. Among those for whom the responsibility of companies is important, this figure rises to 77%.