Bio Summit 2010 showed a path forward for sustainable and ethical business

Conference Bio Summit 2010 which was held on 8th April 2010 in Prague with participation of more than 150 delegates from retailers, food producers and other businessmen offered very actual and urgent message of speakers especially from the field of ethical and sustainable business.

 

Speakers pointed at many examples of global companies as well as middle-sized regional companies proving that to join values of economy and ethics is not only possible but also very beneficial for all parties, including stockholders, employees and customers, and of course, for environment in general.

 

 

Main conclusions in a nutshell:

  1. Financial crisis escalated by social and ecological problems and increasing sense for responsibility of consumers is changing economic and business environment.
  2. Consumers focus their money more to buying goods in which they are aware of a value transcending its financial cost. From the goods they are buying they expect a transparent origin, and quantification of ecological, economic and social impacts of production, sales and consumption.
  3. Market with organic products and other ethical products has a great potential of growth ahead.

 

Volkert Engelsman, Eosta

  1. Wise businessmen take inspiration not in the past but in the future.
  2. Ethical consumers (lohasians) are not an economic but an information elite. They are highly educated and from buying products they expect meeting their own values of sustainability.
  3. Consumers require increasingly more documented and independent evaluation of producers and retailers contribution to sustainability, which means questions related not only to ecology, but also to economic and social responsibility. Completely transparent and open companies that are able to communicate their values to customers will be successful.
  4. Sustainability is a great business.

 

Petra Šánová, Faculty of Economic operations, Agricultural University, Praha

  1. For success in the market there is more and more important the group of customers living according LOHAS stabdards.
  2. LOHAS consumers represent future for all companies focused on sustainable products and services. They are progressive consumers, opinion makers and leaders in areas of social, ecological and economic changes. Their market potential is remaining almost unused.
  3. LOHAS as a lifestyle influences a broad spectrum of consumer goods from food through baby products, household cleaners up to more ecological cars, houses and other related products and services.

 

Vladan Armus, Starbucks

  1. Investments into enhancing the standards of living of our suppliers, coffee growers, are crucial for our success.

 

Toralf Richter, BioPlus

  1. Companies have to motivate for their values their employees first. Only educated and engaged employees are good representatives of the company vision.
  2. More information is available to customers but they are less informed. Success depends on dragging customers into the game.

 

Tom Václavík, Green marketing

  1. Consumption of organic food worldwide and in the Czech republic keeps growing, just the dynamics of the growth is slower due to current economic situation.
  2. Sales of Czech producers with generic, non-profiled brands of organic food are stagnating. Emotional brands efficiently communicating their values keep on growing.
  3. Sales of products from Fair trade, local (organic) food, organic cosmetics and organic textile –products containing ethical values of LOHAS consumers
  4. Organic food has a great future. Currently the share of the organic food and drinks market in the developed world makes only 3 to 5 percent.
  5. Economic crisis inflicted people to require greater values from any bought product now. Organic food can offer them these values like no other.
  6. Organic textile will experience the same boom as organic food, sales will grow in tens of percent per year.

 

Rainer Plum, New Ethics Institute

  1. In coming years the continual growth of turnover of controlled natural and organic cosmetics is expected and this will lead to growing competition and it will bring great challenges to this business field. 

 

 

It is being revealed that being a global giant does not necessarily bring an unethical business, but rather vice versa. Starbucks, operating 16 000 cafés in 50 countries of the world as well as L’Oreal producing 23 global cosmetic brands with more than 67 000 employees are classified as one of the most ethical companies of the world and they are showing direction in many aspects of sustainability.

 

Transparency is a basis of trust and trust is condition of success of every company. Being transparent in values and business procedures is giving customers an opportunity to make shopping decisions willingly