Earlier this year, we finally hit the tipping point for mass adoption of
electric
vehicles,
according to Bloomberg — which says the 5 percent threshold “signals the
start of mass EV adoption, the period when technological preferences rapidly
flip.” While to many people this number may seem low, this is a huge leap
forward for an industry that has long been designing for a consumer base that
has opted for “gas-guzzling” SUVs and trucks over more fuel-efficient
alternatives. And while this is partially due to consumers becoming more
conscious of their personal contribution to climate
change,
it is also in many ways thanks to automobile manufacturers embracing the move
toward lower emissions and away from fossil fuels to produce environmentally
friendly alternatives that are well built, beautifully
designed
and manageably priced. In other words, people who want to purchase an electric
vehicle can do so at multiple price points, in various styles, and without
sacrificing form and function.
The shift to EVs is not only good news for the planet; it also provides
important lessons about what it takes to influence consumer behavior and the
role that the entire value chain — from manufacturers to the end users and
everyone in between — plays in moving the needle to mass adoption of more
sustainable products.
Urbanization has already put intense pressure on our cities; yet in less than 30
years, nearly two-thirds of the world’s population will live in urban areas.
That’s close to 7 billion people who will rely on brands to meet their current
and future needs in the spaces they inhabit each day. It’s our responsibility to
not only design and develop products that address environmental impact without
compromising consumer experience, but also to work with stakeholders in our
value chain to help consumers understand that they don’t have to compromise when
they embrace environmentally friendly products.
L-R: Yasemin Kologlu, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Kimberley Petredis, FXCollaborative; Caleb Anderson, Drake|Anderson and Laura Kohler at Kohler’s “Responsibility of Design” Climate Week event at the Kohler Experience Center in NYC | Image credit: Kohler
OK, Now What?: Navigating Corporate Sustainability After the US Presidential Election
Join us for a free webinar on Monday, December 9, at 1pm ET as Andrew Winston and leaders from the American Sustainable Business Council, Democracy Forward, ECOS and Guardian US share insights into how the shifting political and cultural environment may redefine the responsibilities and opportunities for companies committed to sustainability.
How do we do this? By influencing the influencers in our industries. As a
manufacturer of kitchen and bath plumbing products,
Kohler’s influencers — the way we reach many of
our end consumers — are architects and designers. Kohler has initiated an
education and advocacy program called "The Responsibility of
Design" —
where company leaders meet with designers on a regular basis to better
understand changing consumer expectations and how, as a global manufacturer, the
company can meet these demands. Here are three takeaways from these
conversations:
-
Label products with validated environment claims: Think of them as
nutrition labels for
products.
Manufacturers can use Environmental Product
Declaration (EPD) labels to show how a
product was manufactured, what materials it contains and where the materials
came from; and Declare labels to
report on product ingredients and use a simple color code system to flag
chemicals of
concern.
At Kohler, we have committed to full product transparency through our
partnership with the International Living Future
Institute — which organizes the Living
Products 50 coalition of leading
manufacturers working to ensure that healthy, high-performing building
materials
with full material transparency are the rule, not the exception.
-
Offer products at multiple price points: More environmentally friendly
products need to be for everyone, not just the privileged few. We need to
ensure that people on a tight budget looking for a toilet for their new home
have quality options to choose from; and same goes for the developers who
only want top-of-the-line products for their luxury apartment complexes. We
are pushing ourselves at Kohler to manufacture products across the
socioeconomic spectrum.
-
Use inclusive language and visuals: The language of sustainability is
complex and can be
alienating,
with many words having different meanings for different people.
Sustainability experts may have a deep understanding of the intricacies of
how and why a certain product is better for the environment, but the average
consumer does not. If we want to shift the way they purchase, we must
provide a clear explanation of the product benefits and how they connect to
issues that affect their daily life. If we can better articulate to
consumers how their choices can have a positive impact while also
benefitting them personally, we can speed up adoption.
In many ways, unlocking mass adoption comes to how we communicate about our
products to all of our stakeholders and alert them to our sustainability
efforts. The influencers in our industries cannot recommend environmentally
friendly products that they don’t know exist and likely will not recommend them
if they don’t understand why and how they are better than other versions on the
market.
The good news is that consumers are looking for brands to show leadership. A
Deloitte
study
found that 55 percent of consumers want brands to create awareness around
problems such as climate change and 58 percent want organizations to change
their
practices.
It’s up to us to continue to push for and invest in innovation and embrace
cutting-edge solutions to truly delight and deliver for our customers so that
they don’t have to choose between sustainability and style.
Get the latest insights, trends, and innovations to help position yourself at the forefront of sustainable business leadership—delivered straight to your inbox.
SVP – Human Resources, Stewardship and Sustainability
Kohler
Published Oct 11, 2022 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST