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Sihem DEKHILI

CNRS – BETA, University of Strasbourg, France

For a number of years, sustainable development has been an omnipresent issue in both media discussions and in political, economic and academic debates. It is pushing a real challenge into the spotlight: the balance between the economic, environmental and social components, with the aim of satisfying the needs of the current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Brundtland 1987). Sustainable development, looking to the long-term, promotes altruistic values that are beneficial not only to the protection of the planet, but also to social justice and the well-being of others. Indeed, as stated by Gabriel (2003), the wealth created by companies can have an environmental and social cost, and those that benefit from this wealth are not necessarily those that bear the cost. Sustainable development also refers to the idea of controlled production and mindful consumption, with personal pleasure pushed to the background.

Various efforts have been made to take these considerations into account. Most countries have implemented regulations supporting sustainability. Companies have become involved and some have even put sustainability at the heart of their business models. We have thereby seen the development of a new offer on the market, with products using fewer resources and polluting components, and generating less waste (Auger and Devinney 2007; Yannou-Le Bris et al. 2019).

At the same time, there has been an increase in environmental and social awareness among consumers. A large number of surveys support the idea that individuals, especially in Western societies, are concerned about ecological crises. This is the case in a survey conducted by Ifop in late 2019, which estimated that 86% of French people were aware of this issue. Groups of “consum’actors”, looking for meaning in life, have emerged and reveal a significant expectation of societal change. As a result, they are turning to an alternative mode of consumption and practices, such as donation and sharing that aim, in particular, to extend the lifespan of products.

The efforts made and the prevailing discussions around sustainable development tend to suggest that we are experiencing a “green era” (Davies et al. 2012). However, the reality is quite different! The sustainable criterion is far from being a decisive factor in consumer purchasing decisions, even for the individuals with the greatest level of ecological awareness. Sustainable consumption, primarily the reserve of those with the highest levels of income and education, is for many merely a “surface engagement”, as the new consumption pattern that they embrace is being superimposed over entrenched consumerist habits (rather than replacing them) (Daumas 2020). Within this context, the gap between values and declarations, on the one hand, and behaviors, on the other, has been widely documented in the literature, often by using the term “green gap”. Despite the efforts made, sustainable development remains the preserve of a niche market. The strategies of companies in this field sometimes turn out to be insufficient. Indeed, their desire to make their image greener can result in opportunist behaviors and greenwashing. Consumers perceive environmental communications as ambiguous and overblown and express little trust in the brands that spread them. Some think that the ecolabeling procedure is based on an incomplete approach that only takes into account a limited number of criteria, and that the communication on ecolabels remains insufficient (Thøgersen et al. 2010; Dekhili and Achabou 2015). At the distribution level, super/hypermarkets suffer from a lack of legitimacy in selling ecological products and the price policies are not always considered fair for consumers (Dekhili et al. 2017). A cultural barrier can be added to this; responsible practices such as the example of the doggy bag can be slowed down by the social norms that dominate a country (Achabou et al. 2018).

These obstacles to the spread of responsible behaviors and goods put the importance of the sustainable development movement into perspective. At the same time, they offer immense avenues for exploring solutions to reconsider consumption patterns and develop the green market. This leads us to the key question guiding this book: how can marketing contribute to strengthening sustainable consumption?

Marketing is undoubtedly the area most suited to market development. However, its objectives can be perceived as opposite to those of sustainable development (Kotler 2011). In any case, the compatibility between the two fields has been widely questioned. Marketing aims to sell in a profitable manner. It is seen as a field based on the short term and on the response to selfish motivations. Marketing is also accused of having encouraged overconsumption and waste in shifting the focus from the satisfaction of real consumer needs to a response to short-lived individual desires (Brownlie 2006).

In this respect, the “power” of marketing and its key role in the evolution of modes of consumption should be recalled. Marketing choices can have an influence on individual health through the products promoted and the social groups targeted (as with advertisements for food products high in saturated fats during programs aimed at children). Moreover, marketing affects the representation of individuals and their lifestyles (for example, the demeaning image of women in advertising).

Because marketing enjoys a certain “power” and in view of the significant effects it can have on individuals, particularly the most vulnerable, a number of business practices have been condemned following denunciations from NGOs, scientists and consumer groups. As a result, advertisements that are considered problematic have been withdrawn (as in case of exaggerated claims made by Nivea about its beauty creams) and brands have been boycotted because of sales practices that are considered irresponsible (such as Nestlé in view of its marketing practices for powdered milk for infants in Africa), giving rise to a stricter legislative regulation of marketing practices. In this regard, we can note the example of the obligation, in France since 2007, for the advertisers of some food products to introduce health information into their communications, such as “For your own health, avoid eating too much fat, too much sugar or too much salt.”

If there have been some opportunist practices on the ground, this should not, in any case, call into question the marketing field as a scientific discipline. From the beginning, marketing has been positioned as a medium for the relationship between a company and its consumers, and the search for well-being remains at the very foundations of the discipline (Andreasen 1994). Today, more than ever, marketing should implement credible and visible actions that will help to increase the legitimacy of companies in relation to the concept of sustainable development (Gabriel 2003). Our society, as a whole, seems to demand marketing that is accountable and demonstrates “its good faith”. This book aims to respond to that demand: it is essential not only to go beyond the marketing-sustainable development split, but also to demonstrate the interest of relying on the tools and analytical frameworks of marketing to serve the cause of sustainability. Marketing and sustainable development can be intertwined in order to achieve a common goal, of strengthening ecological behaviors.

Fourteen chapters, rooted in action and offering rich and detailed views of different topics related to the question posed, are included in this book. The analysis suggested by scholars specializing in the field of responsible consumption is completed by the views of professionals in the field (managing directors, sustainable development heads, managers, consultants, public officials, etc.). These chapters cover five complementary themes.

The first theme explores, in the first two chapters, the role of the consumer in the green movement. In Chapter 1, Abdelmajid Amine and Mouna Benhallam consider individuals with a high level of environmental and social concern, who opt for radical changes regarding the traditional consumer pattern. By studying the case of engaged online communities, the authors show that, through their resistance to the market, these consumers are contributing to transforming it by promoting responsible consumption.

In Chapter 2, Mohamed Akli Achabou and Sihem Dekhili, on the other hand, consider the case of consumers less sensitive to ecology. The significant attention paid to the intrinsic characteristics of the offer (such as quality in the case of luxury products) can lead to a rejection of eco-products; some consumers believe that the integration of sustainable attributes decreases the offer’s value. More broadly, by highlighting a perceived contradiction between luxury and sustainable development, the authors deduce that the green issue cannot be explored in the same way for different product categories.

The second theme, addressed over three chapters, concerns waste, in particular, that produced in the food sector. This is a subject that has played an important role in media and political debates in recent years.

In Chapter 3, Guillaume Le Borgne, Margot Dyen, Géraldine Chaboud and Maxime Sebbane question the role of the consumer in the above-mentioned waste. By analyzing the different structural, contextual and chain organization constraints, the authors call for the responsibility of consumers in waste to be put into perspective, compared to the other actors in the food system. By exploring the case of mass catering companies, they highlight the sources of the ineffectiveness of measures to combat food waste.

In Chapter 4, Amélie Clauzel, Nathalie Guichard and Caroline Riché address this issue in a smaller sphere, that of the family. They outline the role of each family member in the food waste phenomenon and mention the differences in perceptions of food waste within the same household. Moreover, the authors analyze the causes of waste resulting from family purchase and consumption processes.

In Chapter 5, Maud Daniel-Chever, Élisa Monnot, Fanny Reniou and Lucie Sirieix look at a new mode of buying products that is aimed at combating waste: packaging-free products. The authors provide, on the one hand, an understanding of the profiles of consumers buying such products, their motivations and barriers, and on the other hand, an analysis of the offer in this field and the complexity of managing it.

The third theme in this book concerns communication. Three chapters are focused on a thorny question in responsible marketing: should companies communicate about sustainability? And if so, how? To what extent can this communication be responsible and effective in relation to the target’s expectations? The topic is a particularly important one as the reactions to societal communications are often negative and the phenomenon of greenwashing continues to be prevalent.

To respond to these questions, in Chapter 6 Agnès François-Lecompte and Sylvie Foutrel, by considering societal communication as a triptych (“what message”, “what channel” and “to whom”), discuss the conditions of its effectiveness. The authors study the question of the credibility of the message and the potential of the societal communication to create value for customers.

This reflection is expanded in Chapter 7 through the contribution of Sihem Dekhili and Samer Elhajjar, which is focused on a particular element of communication: the tone used. More specifically, the authors examine the effectiveness of “provocation” in environmental advertising. Given the consumer skepticism towards the green claims of companies, some brands have opted for greenbashing, a form of communication characterized by sarcasm. The advertisers, in such cases, do not hesitate to deliberately mock green activists and/or trends. The authors detail the motivations that lead brands to favor this communication tone and test its effect on the effectiveness of environmental advertising.

The topic of communication is brought to a close in Chapter 8 by Philippe Odou, Marie Schill and Manu Navarro, who investigate how to communicate effectively on one particular complex topic: climate change. The authors analyze the types of communication and the emotions to stress when targeting adult profiles showing different emotional reactions and intentions to act. At a time of unprecedented mobilization among the younger generation, the authors are interested in the specific case of children, providing a deep understanding of the mental representations of climate change among this target group.

The fourth theme, addressed over three chapters, looks into the issue of regulation. Firstly, in Chapter 9, Leila Elgaaied-Gambier and Laurent Bertrandias suggest an interesting analysis of the following question: how can the integration of a marketing approach into public policies for sustainability contribute to making them more acceptable in the eyes of the target audience? The authors discuss different approaches adopted by the public authorities in environmental regulations and discuss their advantages and limitations, before further consideration of the contribution of marketing in terms of strengthening the efficiency of pro-environment public policies.

Then, in Chapter 10, Mickaël Dupré, Patrick Gabriel and Gaëlle Boulbry address the issue of information on the reparability of products. They propose to determine whether this constitutes a selling point, especially among people particularly concerned by sustainability. The authors offer an understanding of the repairability concept and consider the effects of a “reparability label” on consumer perceptions and behaviors in the case of household appliances.

Lastly, in Chapter 11 Mantiaba Coulibaly-Ballet focuses on the fair trade label. Through a study conducted in Côte d’Ivoire, the author questions the role of this cue in both the spread of sustainable production and the encouragement of responsible consumption, in a context where sustainable development is still emerging.

The book concludes with a very current fifth theme, the digital domain. Three chapters emphasize the role that technological and digital tools can play in the expansion of the green movement. These tools have the advantage of directly affecting the decisions and behaviors of consumers more than their values, which can lead to improved effectiveness in the adoption of responsible behaviors.

In Chapter 12, Adeline Ochs and Julien Schmitt establish the general framework of the topic by showing the main mobile applications linked to responsible consumption and explaining their mechanisms for influencing consumer behaviors.

Among the different categories of products and services affected by these new digital applications, food products present specificities, as highlighted by Christine Gonzalez, Béatrice Siadou-Martin and Jean-Marc Ferrandi in Chapter 13. The authors look at the issue of the compatibility of digitization and food sustainability. They then establish a range of models that facilitate understanding of how to influence consumer behaviors in favor of responsibility. In addition, the types of digital devices that support the adoption of food sustainability are detailed.

In Chapter 14, Myriam Ertz, Shouheng Sun, Émilie Boily, Gautier Georges Yao Quenum, Kubiat Patrick, Yassine Laghrib, Damien Hallegatte, Julien Bousquet and Imen Latrous go further in examining the benefits of technology 4.0, in terms of extending the lifespan of products and combating planned obsolescence. Through a close analysis of the main features and functions of technologies linked to “Industry 4.0”, including additive manufacturing, the Internet of Things, Big Data and artificial intelligence, the authors show how the characteristics of these technologies can help to create augmented sustainable products. This is a major challenge of our century!

If they indicate difficulties in the dissemination of sustainable development (consumer skepticism, limitations of environmental communications, waste, ineffectiveness of environmental measures, etc.), the contributions gathered in this book have the great interest of not stopping at limitations and suggesting concrete recommendations and solutions to improve the effectiveness of organizations. Our work offers evidence of the great potential of the use of marketing tools and approaches to encourage sustainable development. This book should therefore be considered a reformer and a cause for hope!