Sustainability underpins everything 

Berlin’s International Funkausstellung (IFA) is often a discombobulating experience. The sheer volume and range of devices being teased, launched and on display seemingly designed to overwhelm you. 

With all that noise it can be difficult to tease out a coherent theme for the show, and for consumer electronics at large. Not so in 2023, where sustainability managed to touch on absolutely everything to one degree or another. Whether it was a product’s raison d’etre, or the centrepiece of a company’s new initiative, sustainability and consumer’s expectations around it dominated IFA 2023. 

No-one summed it up better than IFA’s managing director, Oliver Merlin, when he said: “I would say, even only a year or so ago, sustainability was at maybe number four, number five [in reasons to buy a product], behind the price, behind the brand, behind the quality of the product…now, sustainability is one or two.”

These consumer expectations mean a brand’s desire to make an impact with theme park-sized attractions, while still ensuring the sustainability message chimes with audiences, is a tricky tightrope to walk. Particularly as IFA is open to the public, and not just global B2B buyers, media and investors. 

Brands going big on sustainability included Samsung with its Net Zero Home concept – an eco-conscious future residence highlighting the best of Samsung’s environmental efforts and sustainable technologies. Similarly, LG set up “The Smart Cottage” – a future housing solution powered by LG’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and energy technologies, as well as its latest smart home appliances.

But just because everyone had thoughts on sustainability didn’t mean everyone was thinking the same thing – as we found out when we sat down with marketers from a range of companies displaying at the event. 

Hisense Europe’s marketing director Alenka Potočnik Anžič, says the global warming narrative doesn’t always reflect consumer behaviour: “many consumers are not willing to pay more for sustainable solutions. It’s improving, but while we [brands] talk about being sustainable, responsible and efficient, still when a person goes to shop, they buy things that are not sustainably built. I hope it will change rapidly as the world needs it.”

That helps confirm what most people already know – that the switch to more sustainable practices is hampered largely by cost. If the option to switch from plastic to alternative materials that fulfil the same role can be brought down, then the choice becomes a no-brainer for brands conscious of consumer expectations. 

Smart helmet company LIVALL is conscious of the need to be more sustainable, but the move from cheap plastics came with a cost. Founder and CEO Bryan Zheng, founder and CEO, explains: “Five years ago I switched to eco-friendly materials and my costs increased by 12 to 20-times, but I threw out plastics and now we use only sustainable materials. It’s expensive, but LIVALL is not just talking about sustainability. We want to do something for society. While we have no plastic in our packaging and only recycled or environmentally-friendly materials inside our helmets, the outside [of helmets] still has to still be plastic.”

Sustainable audio brand Defunc, launched MONDO on-ear headphones in Berlin. Daniel Roos, founding partner and head of design personally sourced recyclable plastics to create MONDO: “We shifted to plastic-free packaging some time ago and we have just started the journey towards a non-use of new produced plastics. We have materials under testing that are fossil free and all TWS devices from Defunc from now on will be produced in Ocean recycled – OBP – and recycled plastics – PCR.”

This highlights the hierarchy in both complexity and terminology around sustainable practices. Sustainable packaging is now so widespread it barely seems worth highlighting – particularly if that is the only string to your sustainability bow. Likewise, “recyclable” has given way to “made from recycled material” as a mark of distinction when it comes to sustainable credibility. 

There was a stark contrast between the established brand arenas compared to the purpose-driven occupants of the Sustainability Village, mostly populated by start-ups or visionary entrepreneurs emphasised the circular economy narrative. In IFA’s arenas, global brands showcased their new generation of appliances and devices made from recyclable material, dripping with energy-saving credentials, and promising to do even better in the future. 

TCL shone a spotlight on its #TCLGreen initiative with an interactive exhibit that strikingly illustrated its sustainability efforts to local and global communities. Alexandra Chevrier, TCL Communication’s marketing director for EMEA, was behind the initiative and explained: “TCLGreen is a public pledge powering an action plan to achieve carbon peaking by 2030 and carbon neutrality in operations by 2050. 

She adds: “We are committed to helping customers to develop a sustainable lifestyle and believe that technology should be a facilitator to this challenge. At IFA we set out our support for a more sustainable planet with a comprehensive process covering manufacturing, products, supply chains, values and culture.”

Potočnik Anžič agrees: “for 10 years Hisense has focused on energy efficiency for TVs and domestic appliances. We now make energy efficient washing machines and dishwashers, TVs and which reduce electricity and water consumption.”.

Businesses are essentially trying to work out exactly how much consumers care about sustainability in terms of how much they are willing or able to pay. It’s a choice that aligns economic prudence with ecological responsibility. 

Currently being fully sustainable across design, manufacturing, maintenance and everything else is cost prohibitive, but those costs are coming down all the time. And consumers are only growing more concerned with how sustainable and environmentally friendly their products are. 

For marketers, it makes sense to double down on sustainability messaging as much and as often as possible – weaving it into everything, but avoiding criticisms of greenwashing, grootwashing or eco-scuse – when a company claims that some policy or decision is environmentally driven, when really it has some other driver.. 

It’s a balance, the difficulty is remaining ahead of the curve of consumer expectations – knowing when what you are saying will make a difference and when it could make your brand or product look outdated. 

This will only become more important as sustainability moves from being talked about to to consumers taking action against brands that fail to make an impact. The planet’s future is intertwined with marketers’ ability to influence in the boardroom as well as the supply chain, and communicate authentically in a language consumers can understand and value.