With growing awareness of the climate crisis generally comes a desire for more eco-friendly products. Certainly, in my family, we're keen to understand the impact of what we buy and are regularly asking questions such as, "Is this fair trade?" and "Was this farmed sustainably?" We're trying to be conscious consumers, in other words, seeking to understand the wider impact of our purchases and, wherever possible, choosing more sustainable, responsible alternatives. And as this major business trend shows, we’re not alone.

1. WHY EVERY BUSINESS MUST BE
READY FOR THE CONSCIOUS
CONSUMPTION TREND

2. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
With growing awareness of the climate crisis generally comes a desire for
more eco-friendly products. Certainly, in my family, we're keen to understand
the impact of what we buy and are regularly asking questions such as, "Is this
fair trade?" and "Was this farmed sustainably?" We're trying to be conscious
consumers, in other words, seeking to understand the wider impact of our
purchases and, wherever possible, choosing more sustainable, responsible
alternatives. And as this major business trend shows, we’re not alone.
WHY EVERY BUSINESS MUST BE READY FOR THE
CONSCIOUS CONSUMPTION TREND

3. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
THE RISE OF CONSCIOUS CONSUMPTION
Eco-credentials, sustainability, responsible practices … these are now key
considerations for consumers. Today, two out of three consumers are “belief-
driven buyers,” and more than two-thirds of consumers say they expect brands
to stand up for social, cultural, and environmental issues. It’s not that pricing
and value for money are no longer important – although three out of four
millennials are willing to pay more for sustainable products – it’s just that
environmental and societal impact is an added consideration for the majority of
today’s consumers.

4. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
What does this mean in practice? In general, it means, consumers want to
know:
 Where a product is made
 How it’s made
 And what it’s made from

5. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
For businesses, this means the notion of stakeholders is changing. Alongside
customers, employees, investors, and so on, society itself is now a stakeholder –
meaning organizations that act in the best interests of society, by providing
responsibly made products, will be better equipped for success in the future.
Businesses must therefore work to ensure their products are produced ethically,
sustainably and, where appropriate, from natural materials. They must also invest
in more sustainable business operations. And, of course, they must promote their
eco-conscious approach to consumers (and, I’d argue, to employees, investors,
suppliers…).

6. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
ECO-FRIENDLY, SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS
The conscious consumption trend has led to a plethora of eco-friendly products. In
particular, food is a key area for the conscious consumer, with many consumers (myself
included) looking at sustainable fish, organic produce and plant-based alternatives to
meat.
The palm oil backlash provides another illustration of consumers’ desire for more
responsible food products. According to the World Wildlife Foundation, palm oil is the
most widely consumed vegetable oil on the planet, largely because it finds its way into so
many products on our supermarket shelves. This is bad news because the spread of palm
oil plantations has led to the destruction of rainforests that are precious habitats for
endangered species such as orangutans and tigers.

7. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
When my family and I went through our shelves, we were surprised how many
products contained palm oil. For each one, we switched to an alternative that either
doesn’t contain palm oil or uses sustainable palm oil. (In fact, the WWF encourages
consumers to buy products with sustainable palm oil, rather than give up palm oil
altogether, which could harm the communities where it is grown.) Nutella is one such
product that contains certified sustainable palm oil, which means the palm oil can be
traced back to mills, ensuring it doesn’t come from plantations subject to
deforestation. Thank goodness, because no one is going to convince my kids to give
up Nutella!

8. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Another sector with a significant environmental impact is fashion, and I’ve
been trying to support fashion brands that take a more responsible
approach. Allbirds is a brand that I’m particularly passionate about – partly
because it makes incredibly comfortable shoes, but also because the
company works hard to reduce its carbon emissions. Allbirds measures the
emissions of everything from raw materials to their end of life, uses natural
and recycled materials where possible, and offsets whatever’s left – overall,
making Allbirds a carbon-neutral business. But that’s not enough; the
company is on a mission to emit no carbon at all. Other brands could stand
to learn something from this ambitious approach.

9. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING
I can’t be the only one who’s ordered a relatively small product from Amazon
only to have it arrive in an enormous box filled with packaging. Packaging is
certainly one of the major downsides of purchasing products online. But there is
hope in the form of South Korean company Coupang, which puts Amazon’s
approach to packaging to shame.

10. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Coupang is the largest ecommerce retailer and second largest publicly held company in South
Korea – it’s the country’s answer to Amazon.com, if you like. But, in my view, it’s better. The
company has eliminated the need for cardboard boxes and bubble wrap for 75 percent of
deliveries, and its grocery service, Coupang Fresh, ships in reusable containers – customers simply
leave the containers by their door when they’re done and Coupang takes them away. Similarly,
when a customer wants to return goods, they can leave them outside the door, with no need for a
label or packaging. How cool is that? Believe me, if I could buy from Coupang here in the UK, I
would. I hope other online retailers will follow Coupang’s lead in the very near future.
The key takeaway here is this: the majority of consumers are now belief-driven. And with rising
awareness about the environment, consumers increasingly want to buy sustainable, eco-friendly
and responsible products. If your organization wants to succeed in the long term, you’ll need to
find ways to reduce your environmental impact and promote your sustainability credentials to your
audience.

11. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
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have a look at my book Business Trends in Practice: The 25+ Trends That are
Redefining Organizations. Packed with real-world examples, it cuts through the
hype to present the key trends that will shape the businesses of the future.

12. © 2021 Bernard Marr , Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker,
futurist, and a strategic business & technology advisor to governments and
companies. He helps organisations improve their business performance, use data
more intelligently, and understand the implications of new technologies such as
artificial intelligence, big data, blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is
a frequent contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for
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