This document summarizes a forum on sustainable consumption convened by L'Oreal USA and Forum for the Future. It discusses macro forces driving the need for more sustainable consumption like population growth, resource depletion, and climate change. Barriers to sustainable consumption identified include short-term business incentives and lack of consumer demand. Conditions needed include common sustainability standards, affordable sustainable options, and new business models. Future actions proposed integrating sustainability across businesses, making it aspirational, and collaborating on specific issues like water conservation.

1. Re:Imagining Consumption Forum
Creating Brand Value & Sustainable Growth
Stakeholder Synthesis Report

2. 2
Contents
1. Introduction pg. 3
2. Contextualizing Sustainable Consumption
2.1 Macro Forces Shaping our World pg. 4
2.2 Implications for Business pg. 5
2.3 New Role of Business/Brands pg. 6
2.4 Attributes of Sustainable Consumption pg. 7
3. Insights from Stakeholders
3.1 Barriers to Sustainable Consumption pg. 8
3.2 Conditions for Achieving Sustainable Consumption pg. 9
3.3 Future Actions for More Sustainable Consumption pg. 10
4. Next Steps pg. 11
5. Acknowledgements pg. 12
6. References pg. 12

3. 3
Introduction
On December 10, 2012 L’Oréal USA and Forum for the Future hosted the Re: Imagining Con-
sumption Forum and convened over thirty participants from leading retailers, brands, commu-
nications specialists, and NGOs to advance the dialogue around sustainable consumption.
The objectives of the Forum were to:
- Explore why sustainability hasn’t been accepted into the mainstream
- Learn from pioneering brand practices in a peer-to-peer environment
- Identify practical approaches and solutions for brands and their partners to
shape the future of consumerism in the US
It was a challenging day in which the participants
worked in four groups and discussed the follow-
ing topics: 2020 vision for, and attributes of, sus-
tainable consumption; barriers to achieving sus-
tainable consumption; the role for business and
brands in mainstreaming sustainability; and po-
tential actions to move the agenda forward. At
the end of the day, each group developed ide-
as for future potential collaboration. In this docu-
ment, we have summarized the context and
macro forces that challenge consumer business-
es, the role for business and brands in influencing
and shaping sustainable consumption, key insights from the day, as well as potential work
streams for future collaborations. Importantly, all the stakeholders convened welcomed
the notion that enterprises and brands need to embrace sustainable consumption as a
value creator in order to ensure sustainable growth.
“It is extremely important for
organizations, like L’Oréal, to
demonstrate the leadership
by convening pre-competitive
organizations who work in
the same industry and other
industries to ask the big
questions.”
Raphael Bemporad
Co-founder and CEO
BBMG
Pamela Alabaster
SVP Corporate Communications, Sustainable
Development, & Public Affairs
L’Oréal USA
Sally Uren
Deputy CEO
Forum for the Future

4. 4
Contextualizing Sustainable
Consumption
Global Population Growth
Nine billion on the planet by 2050 with
an additional 3 billion middle class con-
sumers by 20301. This will lead to a dra-
matic rise in the demand for materials
and goods and services.
Depleting Natural Resources
Population growth will place tremen-
dous pressure on the planet’s natural
resources including arable land, fresh
water, energy, precious metals, forests,
fish stocks and other biological re-
sources. Even if these resources are nev-
er depleted, on a per capita basis they
will decline significantly because they
must be divided among more people.
Land Availability and Food Security
In the next 40 years we will have to pro-
duce as much food as we did in the last
8000 years.2 870 million people in the
world today (13.1%) are hungry.3 Equally,
there are nearly 525 million obese4—more
than 10% of the world’s population.5
Climate Change
Elevated carbon levels in our atmos-
phere are linked to rising sea levels and
extreme weather patterns which have
devastated citizens around the world.
Urbanization
By 2050, it is predicted 64.1% and 85.9%
of the developing and developed world
respectively will be urbanized.6
Long-term success and continued growth for companies and brands is challenged by
the convergence of declining natural resources and ecosystem services and the in-
creasing demands for these resources. Sustainable consumption and our ability to
meet the growing needs and aspirations of the global population within the limits of our
planet is recognized by leading companies and brands as one of the most significant
challenges in the coming decades. Consumption at today’s rate threatens the global
and local natural resources on which we depend, and the larger eco-systems in which
we live. Here are some of the macro-forces affecting our world and influencing busi-
ness decisions:

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“The natural resources that this
earth provides, that all of our
businesses depend on, are in
rapid decline. That threatens not
only the health of our business,
but the entire planet.”
Rick Ridgeway
VP Environmental Initiatives
Patagonia
Water Scarcity
Nearly one billion people today don’t
have access to clean drinking water
and by 20307, people and industry will
consume 30% more water than can be
naturally replenished.8
Deforestation
Large-scale deforestation, which has left
less than half of the earth’s original forest
habitat remaining, is contributing to cli-
mate change by limiting the bio seques-
tration of atmospheric carbon dioxide
and accelerating biodiversity loss.
Digital Explosion, Transparency and
Consumer Empowerment
Over 70% of the world’s population has
a mobile phone,9 providing access to
information and connectivity facilitating
the spread and adoption of ideas. Dig-
ital platforms are transforming econom-
ic and social structures and interactions.
Open Innovation
Developing and sharing ideas that
come from collaborations or crowd
sources are providing new creativity
and models for problem solving.
Localism
The popularity and support for local
production and consumption of goods
is creating positive social, economic
and often environmental impacts for
the communities around us.

6. 6
Sustainability is no longer a “nice to have”
In order to successfully manage future
risks and opportunities, organizations
must integrate sustainability into their
operations and business strategy. Sus-
tainability has become an accepted
driver of long-term growth.
No business is an island
Collaboration is key to advance
knowledge, skills, resources and compe-
tencies that can address and acceler-
ate solutions for complex problems and
drive change.
Managing uncertainty is a certainty
The only thing organizations can count
on is the rapidly changing global land-
scape. Long-term risk mapping can help
an organization identify the most likely
areas of pressure.
Shake out those supply chain skeletons
Companies should be proactively re-
viewing the practices and operations of
their partners downstream with particu-
lar emphasis on their environmental and
social impacts. Increasingly, the public
views companies as responsible for the
actions of their partners and suppliers,
and expects brands to be responsible
for how their products are made.
Make sustainability normal and easy for
consumers
Sustainability has to be integral to a
brand’s or product’s proposition and not
presented as an added attribute or
benefit. Brands need to build long-term
meaningful connections with consumers
who share their values. Above all,
sustainable products need to perform
and be priced in line with less sustainable
options.
Implications for Business
The macro-forces outlined will have profound and wide ranging impact on business’s
operating context. Some businesses are already taking steps to ensure that they will
thrive in this new landscape. We’ve outlined some of the implications we see for busi-
nesses below. The scale of the challenge demands a new role for businesses and
brands and a redefinition of consumption.

7. 7
Experiment with new business models
and systems innovation
Organizations need to contemplate dis-
ruptive models for continued growth,
whether that is shared or collaborative
consumption, the provision of services,
expertise or experiences, opportunities
for swapping/recycling and reuse,
closed loop design, systems innovation
and ways to drive qualitative growth
and not just selling more stuff.
Valuing nature and social capital
Organizations need to make decisions
that fully value nature and labor.
More than ever, business has an obligation to create the conditions for a sustainable
future and to use its influence, assets and know-how to overcome the system barriers
that prevent sustainability from becoming more mainstream, including:
 Investors who don’t yet value sustainability despite the fact that companies
on the DJSI outperform those that are not.
 Consumers who do not understand sustainability despite wanting to do the
right thing.
 Lack of enabling policies to promote sustainable behavior despite the best
intentions of government.
Greater collaboration and partnering with government and civil society will be critical
to accelerating and scaling solutions that address the most complex and challenging
issues. In addition, viewing the economy as circular, not linear—where someone's
waste is another’s input — will be essential to transforming and reframing business
models and approaches.
A New Role for Business
“We need to build a coalition
where we are sharing best
practices.”
Coleman Bigelow
Global Sustainability
Marketing Director
Johnson & Johnson

8. 8
Brands also have to change their behavior and evolve to integrate sustainable attrib-
utes in their long-term strategic vision and embed the values of their brand in a way
that is authentic and reinforces the brand proposition.
A New Approach for Brands
“We as an industry, owe it to
consumers to simplify what the
message is, to simplify what
matters and then to deliver on
those promises.”
Jonathan Atwood
VP Sustainable Living and
Corporate Communication

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If business and brands were to embrace
these new roles, we would see the deliv-
ery of new models for sustainable con-
sumption which provide economic suc-
cess and social value, all within the con-
straints of our declining environment. Spe-
cifically, the following will be delivered.
Smart Growth
Where economic growth is not delivered
at the expense of the environment, and
where the overall environmental foot-
print of business has been reduced.
Smart Use
Where impacts associated with product
use and disposal are minimal.
Positive Social Impact
Where, what and how we buy promotes
well-being in individuals, communities
and supply chains.
A Better Choice of Choice
Where the unsustainable product or ser-
vice is no longer available and consum-
ers are choosing within a set of sustaina-
ble options.
“We have been training people to buy more stuff
for a very long time, and so how do we change
those behaviors?”
Tiffany West
Director Head of Agriculture
Food and Beverage
World Economic Forum
Attributes of Sustainable Consumption

10. 10
Insights from Stakeholders Convened
The previous section explored themes driving the need to transition towards more sus-
tainable consumption. During the Forum, stakeholders collaborated across sectors to
determine the existing barriers to change, the conditions needed to achieve sustaina-
ble consumption, and the future actions necessary to facilitate a shift. These insights
are outlined in the following section.
The current configuration of the capital
markets doesn’t reward sustainable
business practice
Too often the emphasis is on profit and
communications of profit, driven by
short-termism and risk aversion of main-
stream investors. The behavior of capital
markets is slowing down the transition to
sustainable business models.
Lack of industry collaboration
Companies are often looking for exclu-
sivity, and there are few incentives for
collaboration. There is a need for more
pre-competitive forums/coalitions to ad-
dress systemic challenges.
Lack of common standards and public policy
Public policy currently fails to create a
level playing field for sustainability efforts,
too often pushing way ahead of the
competition is uncompetitive. Public poli-
cy doesn't act as an incentive for sustain-
ability, and in some cases is a barrier to
progress. There is no clear scorecard for
sustainability that is universally accepted
and communicated to consumers.
Current role of marketing
There is a need to redefine the role of
marketing. Marketers need to make sus-
tainable living more appealing and be
equipped to sell value and utility. There
are currently few incentives to shift
mainstream marketing behavior.
Lack of demand from consumers
There is a lack of pull from consumers
around sustainability, a lack of education
among consumers, and no universal ex-
perience of the need for sustainability.
Cost
There are misconception that sustainable
products are more expensive. This is a bar-
rier to mainstreaming sustainable products
as consumers won’t pay more for a prod-
uct based on sustainability alone.
Barriers to Sustainable Consumption:

11. 11
1. A universal, accessible language for
sustainability for consumers and com-
panies.
2. Marketers need to make sustainability
aspirational and normal. Brands need to
influence consumer behavior and em-
power consumers to live sustainably by
incentivizing them to want and use less
and/or use more efficiently. Brands
should experiment with new models that
consider ownership and value loyalty.
3. Sustainability must be affordable and
accessible. Edit out unsustainable
choices and make them an uncon-
scious choice for consumers.
4. Businesses need to integrate sustaina-
bility across all business operations.
5. Financial models must begin to inter-
nalize externalities, recognize new mod-
els of ROI, be more long-term focused
and embed sustainability metrics.
Goods and services need to include full
environmental and social costs. There
needs to be financial incentives to cre-
ate more sustainable products.
6. More pre-competitive collaboration is
necessary to allow businesses to tackle
those issues which are too big for one
organization to tackle alone.
7. Business should embrace a circular
economy and be willing to create a shift
from products to services.
8. We need to redefine happiness and
success so that it is no longer synonymous
with acquisition of goods. Successful
brands create value and provide purpose.
9. A clear, consistent vision from busi-
ness leaders is critical.
10. More sustainable business models
(e.g. TerraCycle) are needed to help
others recognize business opportunities.
Conditions Needed to Achieve Sustainable Consumption:
Insights from Stakeholders Convened
“We’re trying to take sustain-
ability from niche and make it
a new normal.”
Sally Uren
Deputy Chief Executive
Forum for the Future

12. 12
Create more sustainable business models
- Create a new model for ROI
- Eliminate quarterly reporting
- Put a price on or value natural and
human capital
- Encourage new types of financial
reporting that moves from short-term
to long-term
Fully integrate sustainability across
the business
- Decision making that changes the
whole organization not individual
brands
- Consistent visionary leadership
- Building sustainability metrics into
performance evaluations to create
incentives
Make sustainability aspirational
- Make sustainability the cultural norm
- Sustainable behaviors are rewarded
Make closed loop products and services
- Leverage principles of eco-design
and consider waste as a resource or
material input
Create the systemic conditions to
support sustainability
- Create political pre-conditions to
facilitate level playing field
Redefine the role for brands
- Build sustainability in from inception
and conception, don’t just add on
sustainable attribute
- Define collaborative versus competitive
space to support sustainable
development
Insights from Stakeholders Convened
Future Possible Actions for More Sustainable Consumption:
“I think for us it is critical
that we begin to think about
what our role is going to be
in making consumption
more sustainable.”
Freya Williams
Group Planning Director
OGILVY Earth

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As part of the next steps of the day’s exchange, workshop participants were asked to
consider their unique assets and competencies and to brainstorm ideas that might ad-
vance us toward more sustainable consumption. Several potential future work stream
concepts were generated.
Next Steps
Option One: “Make sustainability hip/cool/trendy”
Barrier Addressed: Lack of demand from consumers
Outcome: Sustainability is a societal norm
Launch a consumer facing campaign to communicate sustainability in a
cool, hip, modern and aspirational way that encourages consumers to pur-
sue more sustainable lifestyles. Create a coalition with culture leading
brands/companies from social media/IT (Facebook, Twitter, Apple,
Google…), fashion and luxury (L’Oréal, PPR, Nike, Green Carpet Challenge
team..) to lifestyle (Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Toyota…) and draw on their unique as-
sets like access to digital platforms and celebrities to carry the messages.
Option Two: “New model to measure return on investment”
Barrier Addressed: Capital markets don’t reward sustainability
Outcome: Clear links between sustainability and value creation
Develop a universal way to calculate ROI of sustainability by surveying cur-
rent models that evaluate brand equity over time i.e., Nielsen for sustainabil-
ity. Brands, communications and sustainability experts, and a 3rd party verifi-
er would work together to help ensure buy in. Information would need to be
made public, add value, and tie to POS data/impressions.

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Option Three: “Integrate sustainability across the business functions”
Barrier Addressed: (indirectly) Current role of marketing
Outcome: All key functions within a business understand the relevance of
sustainability to their role, and are equipped to deliver on this agenda.
Create a corporate shift in sustainability by eliminating the sustainability role
and integrating sustainable business solutions and education across the en-
tire organization. Then align personal performance and KPIs to sustain suc-
cess using metrics akin to other performance metrics.
Option Four: “Collaboration 2.0 (vertical exploration on specific topics, i.e.,
water conservation)”
Barrier Addressed: Lack of industry collaboration
Outcome: Accelerated progress toward tackling key sustainability issues
that are too large for one organization to tackle alone.
Reconvene the stakeholder s to explore, share and collaborate on vertical
sustainability topics and challenges such as water scarcity, consumer use
phase, product innovation, tools to measure social and environmental im-
pacts, production and consistent metrics. The group would invite different
stakeholders to contribute and challenge the Forum to take action.
Summary of Next Steps:
Recognizing the need for synthesis and collaboration we have committed to investi-
gate the work being conducted by other organizations in similar work streams and
how we might extend their learning to advance and accelerate progress. Past par-
ticipants will be invited to continue their engagement and new organizations will be
considered to contribute to specific work streams with the second forum to be held in
the second half of 2013.

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References:
1 http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/energy_resources_materials/resource_revolution
2 http://worldwildlife.org/blogs/on-balance/posts/our-footprint-in-seven-facts
3 http://www.fao.org/publications/sofi/en/
4 http://www.worldometers.info/obesity/
5 http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/
6 http://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/pdf/WUP2011_Highlights.pdf
7 http://www.unicef.org/media/files/JMPreport2012.pdf
8 http://www.weforum.org/issues/water/index.html
9 http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/2011-mobile-statistics-stats-facts-marketing-infographic/
Special thanks to the organizations and individuals that participated in the
Re:Imagining Consumption Forum.
Acknowledgements

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