Case Study EUGENE Brand convergence for European green

Case Study EUGENE: Brand convergence for European green electricity labels? Dr. Rolf Wüstenhagen Vice Director, Institute for Economy and the Environment University of St. Gallen and Board Member, European Green Electricity Network (EUGENE) CEMS Blocked Seminar 2005 rolf.wuestenhagen@unisg.ch http://www.iwoe.unisg.ch/org/iwo/web.nsf/66431a87ff21c36ac12569f50045e850/e0670aeecfbfce18c125708b006d6474?OpenDocument Case Study EUGENE CEMS Seminar 2005 Page 2 Timeline – 16.00 Introduction to the Case, Background on EUGENE – 16.30-18.00 Working in Groups – 18.00-19.30 Presentations of teamwork results (6 x 15 min) Case Study EUGENE CEMS Seminar 2005 Page 3 European Green Electricity Labels Finland Sweden Switzerland Germany Case Study EUGENE CEMS Seminar 2005 Page 4 Problem Statement – Various Eco-labels for green electricity in European countries have emerged to certify electricity products from renewable sources such as solar, wind, hydropower and biomass. These include – dedicated green electricity labels (OK-power Germany, naturemade star in Switzerland) – general eco-labels extended to electricity as a new product category, such as Bra Miljöval in Sweden. – Today, each of these labels differ with regard to their visual identity (logo), as well as to the criteria applied to define green electricity against the respective national backgrounds. – The three labels mentioned above are undergoing accreditation to a common standard, the EUGENE standard backed by a broad stakeholder alliance of European NGO. – The Board of EUGENE now discusses the possibility of harmonizing the variety of European labels under one common logo. – Central question of this case study: Should the EUGENE stakeholders pursue brand convergence on a European level, i.e. giving up the individual national logos and introducing a single European logo? Case Study EUGENE CEMS Seminar 2005 Page 5 Overall Objective – Give a briefing to the board of a national label (e.g. Bra Miljöval, naturemade) that discusses the pros & cons of going for European brand convergence and gives a clear recommendation: Should we give up our national label and go for a European-wide common identity – yes or no? ? Case Study EUGENE CEMS Seminar 2005 Page 6 EUGENE in a nutshell (1) Case Study EUGENE CEMS Seminar 2005 Page 7 EUGENE in a nutshell (2) Case Study EUGENE CEMS Seminar 2005 Page 8 EUGENE in a nutshell (3) Case Study EUGENE CEMS Seminar 2005 Page 9 EUGENE in a nutshell (4) Case Study EUGENE CEMS Seminar 2005 Page 10 EUGENE in a nutshell (5) Case Study EUGENE CEMS Seminar 2005 Page 11 EUGENE in a nutshell (6) Case Study EUGENE CEMS Seminar 2005 Page 12 History and status of EUGENE – 2000 – First workshop with national labelling bodies and experts – 2001 – Development of first set of basic criteria green power labelling – 2002 – Consultation around Europe and final adoption of the Eugene Standard – 2002 – First Eugene Network Conference – 2003 – Establishment of a non-profit association under Belgian law – 2004 – First accreditation of national labels: OK power, Naturemade Star Case Study EUGENE CEMS Seminar 2005 Page 13 EUGENE: Examples for differences between national labelling schemes – Use of natural-gas fired cogeneration: eligible in Germany, not eligible in Switzerland – Level of hydropower environmental requirements: high in Switzerland, being introduced in Germany, Sweden – Requirements for new renewables: 5 % in Switzerland, 33 % in Germany. – Regulatory framework: supportive in Germany (EEG), almost no government support in Switzerland Case Study EUGENE CEMS Seminar 2005 Page 14 Some issues for EUGENE (my personal view) – Slower than expected uptake of green electricity products in many countries (particularly B2C) – Hit the sweet spot between niche and mass market – Relationship with government support schemes / securing additionality – International expansion – Organisational aspects – Technical precision vs. customer perspective Case Study EUGENE CEMS Seminar 2005 Page 15 Questions to be addressed 1) The Green Electricity Marketer team – Take the role of a marketer whose product is labelled with one of the national schemes today (e.g. a Swiss green electricity provider offering naturemade star-labelled products), and think about pros & cons of brand convergence. – e.g.: sunk cost of communicating the national label – Simplification by dealing with only one label for exports Case Study EUGENE CEMS Seminar 2005 Page 16 Questions to be addressed 2) The European Utility Branding team – Takes a look into recent developments in rebranding utilities (such as the UK subsidiaries of E.On, RWE and EDF) and discusses what this may mean for pros, cons & timing issues of creating a pan-European green electricity label. – To get started: – Articles from Marketing Week (Handout) Case Study EUGENE CEMS Seminar 2005 Page 17 Questions to be addressed 3) The Advocatus Diaboli team – This group is fundamentally critical of a convergence approach and is strictly in favour of maintaining the status quo (i.e. national labels). Therefore, it particularly highlights the critical aspects of merging the national labels under the EUGENE roof. – Try to find all possible arguments that would speak in favour of slowing down the process of European convergence (e.g. European power markets will not harmonize as quickly as expected, there is a re-emergence of national identities that would cause a backlash towards European initiatives, …). Make sure you can defend this position with hard facts (e.g. opinion polls, industry reports). – Please keep in mind that the purpose of this group is to inform EUGENE of critical aspects that may come up, but still with the aim to come to constructive solutions... Case Study EUGENE CEMS Seminar 2005 Page 18 Questions to be addressed 4) The FSC benchmarking team – Takes a look into research about the diffusion of eco-labelling, in particular the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) example, and tries to draw conclusions about success factors for harmonizing European green electricity labels. – Suggests ways to manage the inherent risks. – Particularly looks at possible competitive reactions, e.g. by TÜV, based on the example of the Q-labelling attempts in the Swiss wood sector. – To get started: – WZB Working Paper on diffusion of eco-labelling (http://skylla.wz-berlin.de/pdf/2001/ii01-305.pdf) – http://www.fsc.org Case Study EUGENE CEMS Seminar 2005 Page 19 Questions to be addressed 5) The lessons-from-corporate-rebranding team – Looks at cases of corporate rebranding and assesses what lessons learned mean for the process of EUGENE brand convergence – To get started: – Kaikati and Kaikati (2003): A rose by any other name: rebranding campaigns that work. Journal of Business Strategy 24:6, 17-23 (handout) – Kaikati (2003): Lessons from Accenture‘s 3Rs: rebranding, restructuring and repositioning. Journal of Product and Brand Management. (handout) Case Study EUGENE CEMS Seminar 2005 Page 20 Questions to be addressed 6) The Cost-Benefit team – Tries to assess the financial costs and benefits of a rebranding campaign for EUGENE. – Makes suggestions of how this could be funded (e.g. cobranding, as in the case of Coop Naturaplan and the Swiss organic food label). – To get started: – „Accenture rebranding cost $175million“ (handout) – Call UniSG Corporate Communications and ask for costbenefit of recent University of St. Gallen rebranding campaign (Eva Nietlispach +41-71-224 22 25) Case Study EUGENE CEMS Seminar 2005 Page 21 Questions to be addressed 7) The Creative team – Make proposals for a visual identity for EUGENE – the European green electricity label, either based on the existing name and logo or completely from scratch. Argue why your proposal is better than the existing name/logo and how it contributes to the process of European brand convergence. Case Study EUGENE CEMS Seminar 2005 Page 22 Questions to be addressed: 8) The market research project design team – Develop the design of a market research project that would use qualitative and/or quantitative market research methods such as focus groups or conjoint analysis to analyze consumer preferences for various labeling options. – The aim is to provide a scientific basis for the EUGENE board‘s decision on whether or not to harmonize labels. – To get started: – Sammer/Wüstenhagen in BS&E (forthcoming) (Handout) – http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/ecolabel/market ing/marketingstudies_en.htm Case Study EUGENE CEMS Seminar 2005 Page 23 Questions to be addressed 9) The Green Electricity Customer team – Take the role of a large multinational company who has operations in several European countries (e.g. IKEA) and wants to buy green electricity, and think about pros & cons of brand convergence. – e.g.: ability to communicate a single message across Europe – Simplification of purchasing procedures – Ambiguities if same logo comes with national differences in criteria Case Study EUGENE CEMS Seminar 2005 Page 24 Proposed methodology for teamwork – 10 min initial discussion, decision on problem solving strategy, division of tasks – 30 min research phase, browsing internet sources, reading references, evtl. doing telephone interview – 30 min discussion phase, developing conclusions – 20 min preparing final presentation Case Study EUGENE CEMS Seminar 2005 Page 25 Overall Objective – Give a briefing to the board of a national label (e.g. Bra Miljöval, naturemade) that discusses the pros & cons of going for European brand convergence and gives a clear recommendation: Should we give up our national label and go for a European-wide common identity – yes or no? ? Case Study EUGENE CEMS Seminar 2005 Page 26 Thank you! Dr. Rolf Wüstenhagen Vice Director Institute for Economy and the Environment (IWÖ-HSG) University of St. Gallen Tigerbergstrasse 2 CH-9000 St. Gallen / Switzerland E-mail: rolf.wuestenhagen@unisg.ch Telephone: +41-71-224 25 87 http://www.iwoe.unisg.ch