Q&A: G2’s Dodd on Why Green Will Survive the Recession
Why is it that the same consumers who recycle religiously often forget to bring their bags with them on shopping trips? And why do so few consumers consider the carbon footprints of the products they are buying? Jonathan Dodd, evp/director of strategy at G2, a WPP-owned global marketing services agency, thinks that retailers could do a better job promoting green shopping practices.
In particular, Dodd cites U.K.-based Tesco as a role model. Tesco, which now has a Green Clubcard Program that rewards consumers for buying sustainable products, is perhaps the most cutting-edge retailer in the world on the issue.
“Retailers and brand marketers can build on Tesco’s example by bringing a green perspective to the components of everyday shopping trip planning; menus and meal prep, home care and beauty care and others. By working collaboratively with marketers, retailers can integrate green messages into out-of-store communications enabling the shopper to think ‘green’ as well as ‘savings’ when drawing up the shopping list,” Dodd wrote in a recent opinion piece on the subject.
Dodd expanded on that theme in an e-mail interview with Brandweek editor Todd Wasserman.
