Graeme Codrington -- Hannah's Rules Presentation - a new generation of ethical consumers

Presentation:
Hannah's Rules
A new generation of ethical consumers

Hannah's Rules
Responding to - and profiting from - a new generation of ethical consumers

Overview

A new generation of "ethical consumers" are starting to demand more than just great products and services at fair prices - they also increasingly require transparency, environmental care, fairness, social responsibility, diversity and a host of other characteristics in the companies they buy from. They will be demanding these from their employers in the future, too. The "symptoms" of this shift can be seen in issues like triple bottom line reporting, environmental policies, fair trade initiatives, demands for increased information about where products are made and for more policing of global trade, employment practices, and much more. Companies, governments and even individuals increasingly live in a goldfish bowl - constantly watched, with increased exposure through networks of business partners and global supply chains, and are required to respond to the campaigns mounted by lawyers, non-governmental organisations and shareholder activists.

Quite simply, this is about using corporate responsibility as a strategic tool.

Many companies see environmental issues and ethical trading as an unnecessary additional burden, imposed on them by regulations, international ISO standards and public perceptions. Very few companies understand that unless these initiatives positively impact the company's bottom line profits, they are doomed to become irrelevant or dropped all together. This presentation is designed to open people's eyes to the possibilities of pursuing socially responsible behaviour as a strategic business tool. Internally, this includes issues like reducing input costs, reducing waste and/or benefiting from recycling or reusing outputs that are currently simply thrown away, and redesigning products and processes to be more efficient and effectively. In addition, this presentation shows clearly that younger staff members are highly energised and engaged by this type of thinking, and that these types of initiatives can be a significant competitive differentiator when trying to attract and retain talented young people.

Externally, the emphasis is on the rise of a new generation of ethical consumers. Using case studies and practical examples, the presentation highlights the market advantage that first movers can gain by being more socially responsible. Although a few industries will see short term gains, the focus is on a medium to long term horizon, and is about business sustainability and survival. Companies that wait until their customers demand that they become more conscious of their environment and social impact will find these customers unforgiving and probably unwilling to do business with them. Companies that are prepared to lead the way in their industries will find increasing connection with their customers, and grow long term loyalty through their commitment to preserve the planet for future generations.

This must not be something relegated to a small committee of "green" staff members, with a minute budget and no ability to really impact processes, systems or culture. This issue demands attention from the top business strategists and leaders, and could very well be the difference between survival and closure in the next decade. Companies that do this properly will gain huge internal and external benefit, and see significant improvements in their bottom line.

This presentation or workshop identifies three major reasons why companies should put corporate social responsibility, environmental issues and ethics at the core of their strategic thinking:

A new generation of ethical consumers - today's young people are increasingly asking for more than just a good product and service, easily available at a fair price. They are also asking about where the products were made, and who made them, and how much they are paid. They want to know how much the CEO is paid, what your company's environmental policies are, and how much you contribute to the community. These are important issues to this new generation of ethical consumers. They are also important issues to your future potential staff members. You cannot afford to wait until these consumers force you to change, you need to take the lead in your industry.
It can save you money and enhance your business - You can protect your business by reducing risks, enhancing your reputation and building social capital. You can enhance the running of your business and improve your bottom line by reducing costs, eliminating waste, improving productivity, gaining access to lower cost capital and ensuring improved staff engagement and creativity. You can grow your business by opening new markets, growing your market share, launch new products and services, improve customer satisfaction and loyalty, improve reputation and brand value, and create a company that will be able to attract and retain top staff.
Because you can... Leave a legacy - we really have no choice about this. Our children's children inherit the world we are creating today - and we will still be alive to answer their questions about what we did with the knowledge we had at the start of the 21st century.

Take Home Value

This framework is presented as an entertaining and enlightening multimedia driven presentation or workshop in which each of the four areas mentioned above is dealt with in detail. Under each heading above, Graeme investigates (1) direct business opportunities, (2) important business implications and (3) personal applications. The emphasis is on helping each participant to analyse their own business through the eyes of the future generation of ethical consumers and come up with practical take home value that can be immediately applied.

The focus is not on being a corporate do-gooder for the sake of it nor on the basis of a guilt-ridden approach to window-dressing corporate social responsibility. Rather, Graeme shows the startling bottom line impact that dealing with these issues can have: from saving money through energy efficiency, to attracting and retaining talented staff and customers by differentiating yourself from your competitors through critically targeted business opportunities in these areas of global concern. Graeme argues convincingly that these issues should be at the core of future focussed strategies, as they are critical for companies wanting to connect with an emerging generation of ethical consumers and potential employees.

Click here to read what previous participants and clients have said about Graeme and this presentation.

Practical Business Applications

Graeme goes well beyond most platform speakers, offering much more than just motivation or simplistic "how to's". He helps audiences to understand why things are happening. In order to ensure his clients are able to get the maximum benefit from the understanding and "shared vocabularies" that Graeme creates in his presentations, he has worked with an international team of researchers, practitioners and experts to develop a set of Practical Application Modules. Graeme draws on this work to customise his presentations for each client. The TomorrowToday team is able to use these modules as a basis for developing bespoke interventions, workshops and presentations for many different applications, functions and industries.

This presentation deals with issues of sustainability in business. We are not environmental or "global warming" consultants. Our interest is primarily in the areas of people strategy. The following are some of the most successful practical business applications of this presentation, with the most immediate impact on our clients' bottom lines:

Developing the sustainability proposition - parricularly with reference to the emerging Millennial generation of young, ethical consumers. Many companies are actually doing a lot of work in the area of sustainable business practice but have not yet leveraged this enough with the customers and staff who would respond to it best.
Talent management - the issue of business sustainability and corporate responsibility is increasingly becoming a recruitment issue, as a younger generation of potential employees demand to know your company's ethical profile as a prerequisite to accepting employment. We also help clients to use internal programmes, such as team building events and training courses, to raise the profile of sustainable and responsible corporate behaviour with their talented staff.

Download a summary of the slides

PDF versions of all Graeme's presentations are available for download. Click here for the full list, and to download a summary of this presentation.

Links to resources

See a video extract of Hannah's Rules at YouTube - Hannah's Rules, the Rise of the Ethical Consumer

Some of the most influential books in preparing this presentation were:

"Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises and a Revolution of Hope" by Brian McLaren - or or
"The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community" by David Korten - or or
"The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time" by Jeffrey Sachs - or or
"The Meaning of the 21st Century" by James Martin - or " target="_blank"> or

Websites referred to in the presentation:

Graeme, and the rest of the TomorrowToday team, write regularly on all these issues on their blog. Click here or here to go directly to the appropriate category at ?iC@TmTd.

Multimedia used

Graeme uses many multimedia clips in his presentations, including movie clips, songs, adverts and videos. Under the banner of TomorrowToday, he has a performance license for all multimedia used. Where possible, specific permissions have been obtained from the copyright owners. Where no response was obtained to such requests, and where the Music and Performance Rights certificate does not cover the media used, Graeme claims international fair use policies.

Please note that because of these copyrights and permissions, Graeme cannot make any media available to third parties. Graeme recommends AdCritic for all latest adverts. It requires a subscription, but is well worth it.

Depending on the version of the presentation you saw, the following media could have been used - follow the links to purchase the albums or movies: