The most sustainable companies in America are beating the market (#M4BW)

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Regular readers, and those who have already seen the 17th edition of Essentials of Marketing know that we believe business can contribute to making a better, more sustainable world — without necessarily sacrificing profits in the process. Barron’s recently posted an article on this topic, and while the real thing is behind a paywall, I found this copy online (I hope it lasts there for your review).

After Barron‘s ranked the 100 most sustainable companies (#1 Texas Instruments), it compared their stock market returns in 2019 (+34.5%) with those of the S&P 500 (+31.5%). The article is optimistic that this trend will continue. Why? Some of the reasons given in the article include:

  • These companies attract employees — people want to work there,
  • They are better at employee retention,
  • Good environmental policies lower costs,
  • Customers want to do business with these companies,
  • Investors want to buy into sustainable companies.

Some #M4BW examples for you…

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As regular readers know, through this blog and the forthcoming 17th edition of Essentials of Marketing (publishing in February 2020) we have taken on the mission of highlighting organizations that are marketing for a better world (#M4BW).

Businesses are getting the message. McDonald’s has announced that it will soon buy all of its coffee from sources that meet international sustainability standards certified by Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance. Consumers are concerned about plastic containers—we throw away lots of plastic. Recently, Unilever, Procter & Gamble (P&G), Nestlé, Häagen-Dazs and PepsiCo began testing reusable containers for their products. PepsiCo will use refillable glass bottles for its Tropicana orange juice, and P&G will use aluminum bottles for its Pantene shampoo and stainless steel containers for Tide detergent. Products will be delivered to customers’ homes with empty packaging returned, cleaned, and refilled. For more see “The World’s Biggest Brands Want You to Refill Your Orange Juice and Deodorant,” Wall Street Journal, January 24, 2019; “McDonald’s Transitions to Sustainably Sourced Coffee,” brandchannel, October 12, 2016; “Beyond Sustainable: The Growing Demand for Ethical Fashion,” The Robin Report, April 3, 2018. These examples can be used when you cover sustainability (Chapter 3), packaging (Chapter 8) and reverse channels (Chapter 10).

What’s Now? Chapter 19 – Fargreen helps Vietnamese farmers and the planet

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fargreen-logo-retina1I have a soft spot in my heart for Fargreen. The startup that emerged from the Colorado State University Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise MBA program (full disclosure, Colorado State is my employer and I served for many years on the advisory board for this program). I also know Fargreen’s founder, Trang Tran. She developed a great idea to help Vietnamese farmers while also lowering carbon emissions. What is not to like? After winning several business plan competitions, Trang is now moving her business forward. This brandchannel article “Yale on Purpose-Driven Startups: Fargreen — Going Far By Going Green” (May 2, 2016) is one in a series with Yale MBA students.

Read the article about Fargreen. Explain how Fargreen ties into macromarketing, micromarketing, and innovative marketing planning — all major topics in chapter 19. 

What’s Now? Chapter 1 – Startup Sustainable Furniture Company Gets Tips from Yale MBA Students

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C1HugoHobyLogoThe website brandchannel has launched a series of short case study articles. A team of Yale MBA students evaluate a purpose-driven startup and offer some marketing strategy recommendations. In “Hugo & Hoby – Quality, Sustainably Sourced Furniture,” (April 27, 2016) you learn about a startup furniture maker that needs to move from making sustainably sourced furniture for friends and family to a wider market.

Read this article and review the recommendations made by the team of Yale MBA students. What concepts from chapter 1 do you see demonstrated in this case study? Can you think of any other ideas for improving Hugo & Hoby’s marketing?

Technology Is Changing Our Relationship With Driving

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Screen Shot 2014-06-30 at 7.18.05 AMSome technological and social cultural trends are beginning to have an impact on how Americans drive. Think about smartphone based services like Uber and Zipcar — which may make car ownership much less necessary. Google’s self-driving car is on the horizon. And people are more and more interested in city living. This Fortune article “The end of driving (as we know it)” (June 12, 2014) highlights these trends.

I like to encourage my students to anticipate trends and think about the future. I will have them read this article and ask a series of questions:

  • What industries could see these trends as threats?
  • What industries might see these trends as an opportunity?
  • What new goods or services might leverage these opportunities?

Encourage your students to move beyond the immediately obvious examples — automobile manufacturers — and encourage them to consider other industries (say hospital emergency rooms that do a lot of business from automobile accidents — which should decline significantly with self-driving cars).  These questions are designed to help them recognize and anticipate change. You might use this when you cover the external market environment, demographics, consumer behavior, or marketing strategy planning.