Public private partnerships for sustainable futures

Citizens say they feel under-informed about the impact they can make through these day-to-day decisions particularly in the face of environmental challenges on the scale recently witnessed and read about in the media. All this can result in a sense of disempowerment and inertia setting in, with citizens feeling that the real power and responsibility lie elsewhere – with government and the corporate sector.

This creates challenges for policy makers and government communicators. But in this policy area as in others, there is growing interest in exploring new models of collaboration, where government and the corporate sector come together to drive the desired behaviour change and where behavioural research is helping to unlock how private/public partnerships can invigorate work around the sustainability agenda.     

Last year, the World Economic Forum sponsored a major research programme[2] in collaboration with cross-industry partners to explore how companies can engage consumers to trigger behavioural shifts that enable more sustainable lifestyles whilst creating business value. This work has usefully stimulated further debate on the role of corporates in managing the supply side of the green equation, moving beyond CSR into marketing.

Many global corporates are already actively engaged on this journey, including the likes of Unilever and M&S. Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan and their recent campaign ‘Project Sunlight’ are not only driving consumer behaviour change (for example in creating less waste), but are also driving business growth and profit. Key to success is ensuring consumer benefits are not compromised. In the personal care category for example, Unilever applies the principle of ‘choice editing’ to offer deodorants in compressed cans - using 25% less aluminium and 50% of the propellant of larger equivalents – without impacting on the customer experience.