1. Satish Kulkarni General Manager, Marketing Asian Paints Limited
Sustainable Marketing Unraveling the mystery of EHS for the Indian market
Satish Kulkarni
General Manager, Marketing
Asian Paints Limited

2. Three big ideas. 2. 1. 3. Understanding the Indian consumer
Understanding EHS 2.
Understanding the Indian consumer 3.
Approach to sustainability

3. Consumer research tells us that
Consumers believe that anything for the “Environment” is for others, is for society at large, is for the world, and impacts me tomorrow
Consumers believe that “Health and Safety” is for me, for my family and impacts me today
E = For the world
HS = For me 1.
Understanding EHS

4. Environment Friendliness is
New
Little understood
Difficult to articulate
An appealing idea nonetheless
Less important than performance
Consumers are not willing to compromise on perceptible quality, for an uncertain, unknown quantity of eco-friendliness. 1.
Understanding EHS

5. Health and Safety is 1. Understanding EHS
Important for my family and for me
Non negotiable
Implicit
Assumed
Not something I would pay a premium for
Brand trust leads people to the conclusion that large companies have done everything they can to ensure safety of their products. 1.
Understanding EHS

6. Indian consumers and sustainability
Several reports from the last few years (from everyone from the National Geographic to independent agencies) confirm that Indians score very high on “eco friendliness”.
Surprised?
Most reports conclude, of course, that our eco friendliness stems from our value maximizing behaviour. 2.
Understanding the Indian consumer

7. We are value maximizers
As consumers, we seek to derive the maximum value from every rupee we spend.
Therefore, marketers will need to pitch sustainable products and initiatives that offer
an economic value OR
a functional value
Only then, the ‘sustainable’ products will find critical mass to grow & actually make an impact on environment 2.
Understanding the Indian consumer

8. Marketers must find the right proposition
Find meaningful terms that you can couch your product/service in, that offer the right economic value or the right functional value
Examples: CFL bulbs, that sell not on account of environment friendliness (which they offer) but on account of durability and a reduction in cost over the lifetime of use (which they also offer)
When the right EV (Electric Vehicles) come to India, the right pitch will be to find an economic driver. A “save the world” campaign may not deliver results. 2.
Understanding the Indian consumer

9. Honesty, honesty, honesty.
We, as trusted brands and as industry leaders, have a responsibility. To be honest, true and real about initiatives around sustainability.
Gimmicks and tricks around sustainability from any one marketer trivialize the story for every other marketer. Frivolousness in this regard can hurt everyone else as customers lose conviction in ‘sustainability agenda’. More importantly it can impact the trust of your own brand. 3.
Approach to sustainability

10. Asian Paints and Sustainability

11. Five anchors. Self regulated Consistent and complete Stringent
Relevant for our consumer
Not just for profitability

12. Inside out, not outside in.
Self regulated
Inside out, not outside in.
We will seek to drive sustainability efforts not because we are forced to, but because we wish to.
The Indian regulatory framework will enforce guidelines in due course, but we wish to be ahead of the curve in this regard.

13. EHS across layers, across products.
Consistent and complete
EHS across layers, across products.
Solutions that we are working towards encompass our entire range of products. We believe that offering solutions in part help neither the consumer nor the environment.
Topcoats of paint
Solutions across the range
Solutions through the range
Undercoats and ancillaries

14. Standard that is meaningful.
Stringent
Standard that is meaningful.
We are driving ourselves to achieve the GreenSeal standard (GS-11, in particular) to ensure that we offer world class products that stand up to the most stringent norms of safety & health of users / applicators and workers in our factories and are environment friendly
There is no value to be derived from weaker standards
Standard should be comprehensive – specifically in case of paints, VOC is not enough. Should cover HAP, CMR, APEO, Heavy Metal & Odour
We value brand trust more than immediate short term returns

15. Find the right consumer proposition.
Relevant for our consumer
Find the right consumer proposition.
As we’ve discussed earlier, sustainability is best driven via a consumer proposition that speaks directly to the consumer, and pitches either an economic value or a functional value
What proportion of your sale is by sustainable products?
We have conducted research that breaks out the term “water based” into a set of values that are meaningful for our consumers.

16. The cost of sustainability
Not just for profitability
The cost of sustainability
Should we pass on the costs incurred in driving sustainability in our product range on to the consumer?
The jury’s out on this one. We may or may not choose to do this, based on the quantum of cost and what the market can take
This is clear though: we are not in this for pure play profitability reasons. There’s a larger responsibility that all of us as responsible and caring brands must live up to.

17. Thank you.