Companies contributing to the greening of consumption: findings from the dairy and appliance industries in Thailand

Abstract

Abstract Over the last decades, the scope of corporate environmental strategies has shifted from improving internal environmental performance to reducing environmental footprint of the product chain in collaboration with actors in the chain. Consumer-oriented corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies are a vital part of this trend but have received little scholarly attention, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Focusing on Thailand, this article shows how corporate strategies aimed at greening consumption have become visible because of an increase in sustainable products, environmental information flows, and green narratives and images. We investigated two illustrative cases, dairy and appliance industries, and found that their environmental performances in greening consumption diverge. In the dairy industry, green products and environmental product information are mainly found among small producers for niche markets. Larger producers have only recently started adopting consumer-oriented environmental strategies. Appliance companies offer consumers not only green products, but also environmental information, storylines, and images reflecting general sustainability topics and, to a modest extent, consumer eco-lifestyles. We discuss underlying factors and argue that environmental communication strategies directed at consumers have strategic relevance for both industries.