Sustainability is currently the biggest challenge and opportunity at the same time. In order for it to succeed, meaningful and profitable strategies are needed above all. However, convincing people to act sustainably is no easy task.
There is still a large gap between the communicated attitude towards sustainability and actual behaviour as consumers. In behavioural research, this is referred to as the attitude-behaviour gap. A new study by Ogilvy Consulting and PSB Research now shows a psychological approach to explaining this dilemma: in the end, people are still closest to themselves. The motivation for sustainability is therefore driven much more by selfish interests than by the altruistic motivation to save our planet. The efforts of a company or the image of a brand to be sustainable therefore have little influence on individual purchasing decisions. Even if we all feel we want to be “agents of change”, what really counts in the end is the personal benefit.
Selfish interests are the key to action
Concrete, close and tangible are the “magic words” when it comes to developing relevant added value that benefits everyone involved: consumers with a personal (selfish) benefit, the economy with profitability in sustainability and our planet with sustainable solutions for future generations. The study shows what this means in practical terms with a vivid example that we all recognise from our everyday lives: bread.
If a baker uses high-quality grain from local or regional organic cultivation for his sustainable products and the bread tastes particularly good as a result, we are also prepared to pay a higher price for his efforts. And if the bread is also good for the planet, all the better!
If, on the other hand, the baker two streets away had to have the organically grown ingredients for his sustainable baked goods delivered from further away – and offset the emissions caused by the transport by planting trees, things would look very different again. In this case, the personal benefit is far too far removed from our own (selfish) interests.
Why we still sponsor and give away trees
We at the Management Alliance also want to make the world a little more sustainable. Out of conviction and with the opportunities we have. For us and all the qualified Supervisory Board members that we train in cooperation with Deutsche Börse AG, sustainability means above all making our world fit for grandchildren. In the complexity of moral standards and economic success, the supervisory bodies of the economy are particularly challenged here. The tree has a special symbolic significance for this challenge: after all, it stands for the dialectic of emergence and decay, adaptation and development, growth and effectiveness.
As the home of trees, the forest is a wonderful teacher for holistic thinking and sustainable management, which we pass on to our alumni.
In the forest community, the most diverse approaches for sustainably successful entrepreneurial work can be recognised: People manage, communicate, produce, compete and co-operate here. And copying is expressly permitted in this case: just think of swarm intelligence, the Wood Wide Web or coopetition instead of competition.
Against this backdrop, the tree is a best case and bench mark for an important aspect of the content of our offer and at the same time contributes to the brand values of the Management Alliance. This is why we decided to invest in tree sponsorships for Christmas last year. Not only was this really well received, but it was also a clear positioning as a sustainable anchor for a strong community. We believe that sustainable relationships grow from shared goals and common challenges, and sustainability is an essential part of this: with personal benefits and a lasting impact on the climate and nature.
So if you’re looking for a sustainability approach that works for your business, your customers and our planet, don’t just take the easy route of offsetting unnecessary deliveries or business travel. Instead, use your business model and your values to make a real difference and at the same time offer your customers a sustainability proposition that is concrete, close and tangible. Of course, you can still plant a tree yourself or give one as a gift so that future generations can also experience the magic and wisdom of the forest.
Sources & partners:
Ogilvy Ideas: Beyond Brands – Why People are Key to Sustainability PLANT-MY-TREE® Tree Donation and Climate Protection in Germany