With certified companies such as Procter & Gamble, the Forest Stewardship Council is advancing a strategy to help consumers understand the impacts of their purchases.
From housing and furniture to tissues and office paper, we all
use forest products every day. And we all share a personal responsibility to
protect our forests for the generations to come. Because trees provide the air
we breathe, clean water to drink and resources we need to live, as well as
playing an important role in combatting climate change through carbon
sequestration, it’s important to do what we can to preserve forests today.
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the world’s most trusted forest
certification, is an independent nonprofit organization that
promotes environmentally sound, socially beneficial, and economically prosperous
management of forests. For example, FSC requires forest managers
to protect habitat for rare, threatened and endangered species, to leave more
trees along rivers and lakes to protect water quality, and to tightly restricts
the use of hazardous pesticides. For these reasons and others, FSC is the only
forest certification supported by major environmental groups, such as the
World Wildlife Fund (WWF), National Wildlife Federation and Sierra
Club. By looking for the FSC logo on products they use every day, consumers
can make a big difference in the way forests are managed across the United
States and around the world. FSC currently certifies more than 5,000 companies
and 170 million acres of forest in the US and Canada. By buying FSC certified
products, we can all contribute to protecting our forests.
That’s why companies such as
Procter & Gamble (P&G)
and Domtar are working to raise awareness about the benefits
of FSC-certified
products.
Recently, P&G took a unique approach to communicating with consumers about those
benefits: The company and three of its brands — Bounty, Charmin and
Puffs — hosted a forest visit for influencers near Little Rock,
Arkansas. Part of a strategy to engage consumers about the benefits of
choosing products from FSC-certified forests, the influencers had a unique and
exclusive opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at a tree farm, to
meet the faces and hear the inspiring stories behind the production of paper
products.
May Hall trees planted amongst pine trees at the FSC-certified tree farm | Image credit: Model4GreenLiving
Forests can seem far removed from people’s daily lives. In reality, we interact
with forest products constantly, and decisions we all make as consumers directly
impact forests in the United States and around the world. With certified
companies such as P&G, the Forest Stewardship Council is advancing a strategy to
help consumers understand the impacts of their purchases. If FSC could only get
every consumer out into a certified forest for a day, we could make
big progress. Spending time in the woods, talking about the way forests are
managed and seeing the differences between FSC and conventional practices really
drives home the importance of choosing products from responsibly
managed forests. For example, FSC requires landowners to set aside additional
habitat for wildlife, ensuring populations can thrive even in a forest being
harvested. FSC also tightly restricts the use of hazardous
chemicals
in forestry, such as pesticides and herbicides, with health benefits to local
communities.
Of course, it is not possible to bring all 300 million American consumers into
the woods for a day. So FSC’s strategy instead focuses on influencers with large
social media reach — more than 50,000 followers — who post regularly and share
information about products they love. By bringing these influencers into the
woods, showing them how the forests are managed, and allowing them to film and
interact with the people responsible for the forests, FSC is working to bring
the experience of responsible forest management to a much wider audience.
Influencers not only bring reach, importantly they bring credibility as well.
Consumers tend to be wary of environmental marketing claims from companies
alone. In addition to partnering with credible environmental groups, such as
Rainforest Alliance and WWF, there is growing recognition of the role
influencers play as “gatekeepers” for consumers. “Green” consumers in particular
tend to have higher levels of education, and higher levels of skepticism about
green marketing claims. The FSC exists to provide credible, verifiable claims
about forest products in the market. By partnering with influencers, we have
an opportunity to reach a much broader swath of consumers.
The forest tours were part of such a strategy, creating an opportunity for the
influencers to learn from leading environmental organizations about the
importance of buying FSC-certified products to help protect the environment. The
influencers then shared their experience on different social media channels
including Instagram, YouTube and
a blog
post.
By working with partners such as P&G, FSC is trying to bring the outside into
homes, so consumers can understand that they hold the power to protect forests,
even as they use forest products every day.
Published Jan 30, 2019 7pm EST / 4pm PST / 12am GMT / 1am CET
Chris leads the Forest Stewardship Council's US marketing and business development efforts, having helped corporations make the most of sales and marketing opportunities and challenges for more than 20 years. Prior to joining FSC, Chris led US marketing and sales at Aimia, a leading global loyalty marketing solutions provider; at Wunderman, a WPP agency, providing strategic services to Best Buy and Coca-Cola; at Gage, serving Fortune 500 clients including Microsoft, Walmart, Dell, and 3M; and at Target, providing marketing strategy and management consulting services. Chris holds Bachelor’s Degrees in English and Graphic Design from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MBA from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management.