There is general agreement that the relevance of sustainability will continue to grow. But currently, this opinion is not reflected in consumer behavior. This is because sustainability is not the most relevant criterion in most consumers’ purchasing decisions. Quality and value for money are still the deciding factors for purchases.

This economic aspect leads to the fact that brands currently still invest little in sustainable brand management. The consequence of implementing such concepts is often an increase in price – while quality remains the same.

Although consumers are becoming more demanding about the sustainability of products, that doesn’t mean they are more willing to pay more for them.

– Dr. Günter Lewald, Geschäftsführender Gesellschafter B+D Communications

Although consumers are becoming more demanding about the sustainability of products, that doesn’t mean they are more willing to pay more for them.

While only one-third of Germans claim that the price of food is the most important purchase criterion, at the same time, spending on food has been falling continuously since the 1970s. And this is precisely the reason why many manufacturers are jumping on the trendy topic, but in many cases are engaging in “greenwashing” rather than sustainable brand management. This thesis is supported by the fact that as many as 20 percent of respondents from the branded goods industry in a survey conducted by B+D and LebensmittelPraxis assume that sustainability is only a fashionable topic.

Why greenwashing is not a fashionable topic, how sustainable brand management is realized in practice and why Corona can be a driver of the sustainability movement is explained in the interview by Dr. Günter Lewald and Michael Böckling with LebensmittelPraxis.

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