Green Branding and

the Moral Expectation

of the Firm

October 12, 2007

Caroline D Ditlev-Simonsen

Norwegian School of Management

caroline.d.ditlev-simonsen@bi.no

Societal development

Moral expectations towards companies

caroline.d.ditlev-simonsen@bi.no

Moral reality among individuals

Private individuals opinion

• 58% of the general public across Europe feel that industry and commerce do not currently pay enough attention to their social and environmental responsibilities. Source: European Study on CSR (12,162 general public across Europe), MORI

• 80% of leaders and youth are of the opinion that companies must assume more corporate responsibility. Source: MMI og Dagens Næringsliv survey, January 2005

• 44% of European consumers surveyed are willing to pay more for environmentally and socially responsible products.

Source: MORI/CSR Europe, 2000

caroline.d.ditlev-simonsen@bi.no

Corporate Responses

• Development of new environmentally friendly products

• Increased number of Sustainability Reports /

Transparency

• Participate in the sustainability debate

• Collaborate with non-governmental organizations

• Pursue sustainable initiatives

…… but how green can a polluting company become??

caroline.d.ditlev-simonsen@bi.no

Reality =The market

“Moral stops at the pocketbook. ” Devinney et al., 2006

“Normative influences do not automatically translate into behavior.”Journal of Marketing, 1997

Future generations?

MBA students think business leaders’ motivation is solely to increase profit when pursuing corporate responsibility.

MBA students thinks business leaders’ motivation should be to contribute to sustainable development.

caroline.d.ditlev-simonsen@bi.no

The film – Sustainable DevelopmentStudents Challenges Business LeadersDeveloped by: University of St. Gallen and BI Norwegian School of ManagementSupported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

•Pharmaceutical sector (Novartis)

•Energy sector (Statoil and Petrobas)

•Shipping sector (Wilhelmsen)

•Finance sector (Storebrand and FormaFutura)

caroline.d.ditlev-simonsen@bi.no