Nudge or push? Engaging the sustainable consumer
In September 2010, the IBM Summit at Start convened over 1000 British business leaders to collaborate over nine days on one of the key business issues of the 21st century; the economic, societal and environmental sustainability of the UK. As part of the Start initiative, inspired by HRH the Prince of Wales; we have continued to develop the ideas that the Summit delegates recommended, many of which are already being actioned by those organisations. But there was one imperative which will require a greater level of collaboration, and that is the role of business in catalysing behaviour change in British consumers to achieve a more sustainable future for us all.
So on Tuesday 1st November 2011 at 8 Northumberland Avenue, London, IBM, together with Start & The Marketing Society, held a one day Summit where we challenged ourselves to identify new ways to engage and influence our consumers to achieve sustainable behaviour change. You can watch a highlights video of proceedings here.
The aims of the Summit were:
- To understand how greater sustainability can be achieved by a focus on behaviour change. There is an obvious need to change consumer behaviours in some sectors like energy, where Ofgem predicts a serious risk of the UK running out of energy by 2015. Also to understand how the changing needs and desires of the consumer are driving a cross industry focus onto sustainability both as a driver for change and the potential to create competitive advantage.
- To be provocative and challenging. Speakers included Tim Smit CEO of the Eden Project and David Green CEO of EcoIsland. IBM's UKI CEO Stephen Leonard discussed the role of "The Authentic Company" and the impact of Smarter Planet messaging.
- To create a sustainability Action Plan e-book for every delegate: A series of working sessions were held where delegates worked together with their peers to create solutions relevant to their industry and their businesses.
Last year, over 1000 business leaders looked for new answers to the question; “what can sustainability do for your business?” This year we invited a smaller group of business leaders, especially those with key customer influence in sales, marketing, customer service, and procurement, to come together to agree the actions which will enable consumers to address their own sustainability challenges, whilst also providing real value back to business.
If you would like to join us and work together on a collaborative action plan following the Summit please register here.
IBM Summit 2011 eBook
Please register to receive your copy of the eBook, which summarises the thoughts and ideas of Summit participants.
The Prince's Charities Foundation
40 years of IBM Environmental Leadership
See how IBM is working to make the world a better place.
Stories for a smarter planet
See how IBM is helping to build a smarter planet.
