Sustainability: are consumers trust it?
Many practices of environment-friendly company that sustainable and responsible still often became the debate concerning the main reason why many companies adopted the environment-friendly practices. From the side of the producer, two possibilities of the most logical reason for being “ as the tool to develop the better image to the public (marketing tools & green washing). ” Or “ because of the owner of the company/shareholders quite seriously understood and cared about the environment (commitment). ”! From the side of the market, the consumer who had understood and cared (savvy consumers) will not believe just like that towards the environment-friendly claim from the companies/the producer. So what could be done by the producer to address this problem and increased the credibility of environment-friendly that claimed by the company? The first matter that must be understood is that the sustainable and responsible environment-friendly practice as a wide and global problem. So as to overcome this problem could not be completed in overnight and only by one company personally then.
The transparency is one key to overcoming the problem and improving the public trust towards the environment-friendly and sustainability claim. The verification and certification of environment-friendly, responsible and sustainable products by the third party (third party verification) gave the credibility stronger level as the marketing instrument of the company (marketing tools).
Tropical Forest Trust as the third party’s agency made standard and system that transparent to return the consumers reliability level towards the environment-friendly claim. It could not be denied that green washing rumors had an impact to all the companies. Moreover, if one company had really understood, cared and produced the environment-friendly product for instance for the last 5 years. The team of the marketing of this company joined the training to make the product environment-friendly (Environmental friendly product) accurately and validly. The company totally certain of all the environment-friendly efforts that sustainable and responsible. Will this company guaranteed not be affected by the negative impact of green washing rumors? There is no guarantee.
Green washing affected all the companies without exception, deteriorated and reduced the consumer’s trust. When the company’s rival be involved green washing rumors, more or less the consumer’s trust against this company also will descend. One survey against the consumer in UK in 2008 by PriceWaterhouse Coopers showed that only 16 percent of the consumer believed towards the environment-friendly claim from the producer, and 51 percent of the consumer believed towards the claim from NGO. this finding reinforced and clarified that, the verification by the third party that had the credibility, competent and independent such as TFT more increased the consumer’s trust in the environment-friendly claim of one company/the producer. The verification system developed by Tropical Forest Trust that is Wood Control System (WCS). One of his services is to verify the source of the wood raw material that be responsible and sustainable as well as its chain of custody. (Ganda Situmorang)
The writer’s note: The Writer is now working as Project Officer at Tropical Forest Trust. This article is the writer’s personal view and thought enriched from various sources.
