From the Attitude-Behaviour-Gap to a Producer-People-Gap?

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This is what we wanted to share with the communities of sustainable management, behaviourual science, and market research. Evidence was found that with communication instruments which are available and affordable in free markets, decision-makers can be reached and an attitude-change towards ecology, especially renewable material, is possible – when making use of the right senders of messages, and the right concept of appeal, information, and education. Neither social influence nor attitude gaps in the population seem to be the big hurdle in the development of ecology anymore. But management circles with the power to decide what will be offered to the distribution partners and costumers believe that their need for profit will be best satisfied by fossil-based products, although their clients, the end-users, as well as the state, have already changed their mind in the direction of renewable materials, and although even the critics confirm a trend towards such new product concepts. Of course it is not claimed that these findings shall be generalized at this point in time; other businesses should preferably be investigated individually. And maybe an effect always occurs when a communication concept is planned and realized in a professional way and with a certain intensity. It is up to the reader to make up her or his mind and critically discuss the findings presented in this paper. Appendix about GRI: In the GRI Global Reporting Standards for the official reporting of companies and organizations about their engagement in sustainability, the point G4-EN1 is about the share of renewable material. A variety of technical and chemical innovations based on biological, renewable material is continuously scientifically researched and developed, such as adhesives, bio-plastics, building material, and many more. For example, by the „FNR Fachagentur für nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V.“, the German State Agency for Renewable Material, which is run by the BMEL German Ministry of Nutrition and Agriculture. See the data base for products based on renewable material for the industry: https://datenbank.fnr.de/

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