Shifting the marketplace toward sustainability goes beyond conscious consumers. It requires confident, committed firms. Professor Nitika Garg's award-winning research gives organisations the clarity to invest in green initiatives – and do it well.
As a consumer behavioural scientist, Professor Nitika Garg, Associate Dean (Accreditation, Rankings and Enhancement), School of Marketing, UNSW Business School, is fascinated by how and when emotions drive people’s decisions.
“I try to understand why people do what they do and how to help them make healthy, sustainable decisions that are better for them and for the society,” she says.
From exploring how to encourage shoppers to opt for imperfect produce in the supermarket to understanding how consumers’ ethics may be compromised in certain situations, Professor Garg’s research focuses on driving pro-social, sustainable, and ethical consumer behaviours.
Her latest project, which won both the Judges’ and the People’s Choice Awards at UNSW’s SDG Showcase, aims to help private-sector organisations invest in sustainability with confidence – with direct implications for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and 13 (Climate Action).
When one of the world’s leading car manufacturers got caught misrepresenting its emissions levels in 2015, the news spread like wildfire around the globe. And the backlash was profound.
Today, it’s not just cheating scandals that go viral.
“If a brand makes a mistake, it spreads around the world very quickly,” Professor Garg says. “It becomes a worldwide phenomenon, and consumer reaction gets amplified as well.”
It’s making brands more hesitant to invest in and talk about their environmental programs.
And conflicting advice and research are confusing firms even more. Some industry experts say firms with sustainable initiatives may be forgiven more easily, while others suggest these activities may increase expectations and intensify negative responses.
On one hand, they’re encouraged to keep environmental efforts quiet to avoid repercussions if something goes wrong. On the other hand, other advice suggests brands should make more of a splash about these activities to build their brand equity.
“We need more research on how to motivate firms to do this and do it well, because that's what will ultimately shift the marketplace. We need more competition and better sustainable products.”
“When they are available and affordable, consumers will switch,” Professor Garg says.
Her research aims to give firms the clarity and practical guidelines for making this happen.
Green brand equity is the idea that environmental commitments help brands accrue additional equity in consumers’ minds.
And Professor Garg’s research poses important questions: Does green brand equity protect firms if they make a mistake? How can we make consumers more accepting of mistakes, so brands make sustainable investments more confidently?
Through a series of experiments and hypothetical scenarios with fictitious brands, she and her research team are finding that the answers are nuanced.
“Green brand equity offers some protective effect, but it depends on the mistake,” Professor Garg explains. “If you mess up in the domain where you set your environmental initiatives, consumers are not very forgiving.”
The backlash manifests as reduced willingness to buy from or pay a premium to those organisations, loss of trust and more negative attitudes toward the brand. But if a product fails or is found to be subpar, brands receive more leeway because of their environmental commitments.
What’s driving this negative consumer response? Feelings of betrayal and hypocrisy.
“Consumers see sustainable initiatives as a reflection of an organisation’s values and its authentic commitment to these,” Professor Garg explains. “When a brand makes a mistake in this domain, it comes across as hypocritical, making consumers feel betrayed.”
Her research is only partway through, but it’s already pointing to what organisations can do differently.
Aligning sustainability commitments with the organisation’s purpose and what it values as a firm is important, according to finding. As is leaders following through with genuine intent.
“Don’t just do it as a marketing ploy. Recognise that your commitment comes with an extra degree of responsibility to make sure that you don't mess up. Because if you do, that's going to backfire even more than if you had done nothing,” Professor Garg warns.
Her research also suggests senior management should be passionate about initiatives, champion them across the organisation, and put adequate resources behind them.
Professor Garg wants to make meaningful progress on sustainability at scale. And while historically her focus has been on influencing consumer behaviour, she knows the responsibility for positive environmental impact doesn't fall on individuals alone.
“If you place the burden of being sustainable on individuals, they can do their parts, but as individuals we have limited scope. We need all the actors in the marketplace to participate to move the needle in sustainability,” she says.
"Hopefully our findings contribute to that," Professor Garg says. "The message to firms isn't that you shouldn't invest in sustainability. It's that here is how you should — and here is what you need to keep in mind."
