Business
How Coopetition Fights Greenwashing in Electronics
Robson Esteves explains how rival brands cooperate at ABREE to give real substance to sustainability.
In a discussion on Marketing - The Podcast, Robson Esteves addresses sustainability challenges in the consumer electronics sector. Esteves details how competing brands collaborate on reverse logistics to build credibility and combat hollow claims.
Robson Esteves, president of ABREE (Brazilian Association of Electronics and Home Appliances Recycling), spoke in a conversation with Bruno Gimenes on Marketing - The Podcast about the challenges of building environmental credibility in a market marked by consumer skepticism and greenwashing.
The starting point of the dialogue highlights data from an Akatu Institute study, which indicates that 85% of environmental claims analyzed in the Brazilian market are misleading and that only 37% of consumers trust label information, placing electronics among the sectors most associated with questionable sustainability practices. The full episode in the video above also covers other regulatory and operational aspects of the organization.
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Coopetition and the cost of formal commitment
Faced with the need to unite competing brands around a common agenda without diluting the message, Esteves highlights the role of structured collaboration. The entity brings together 62 member companies that work together on environmental compliance while vying for consumer preference at retail points of sale.
"Here at ABREE, it's about coopetition. So, what is coopetition? It's companies that cooperate in here, but compete out there in the market. But in here they have the goal of cooperating, which is precisely the reverse logistics process," explains Esteves.
For Esteves, the disparity between companies formalized within the system and those operating on the fringes explains part of the sector's high levels of distrust. "Now, the point is that a company that does nothing doesn't have this cost, right, and then ends up doing a bit of greenwashing, claiming it does this and that, but isn't doing anything because there's no way to prove it," he points out.
Skepticism, climate crises, and the value of certification
Consumer awareness regarding packaging has grown, driven both by the demands of younger generations and recent extreme events, such as droughts, floods, and heatwaves in the country. Esteves notes that the organization's seal placed on products generates direct inquiries through customer service channels.
"This awareness is important, right, because theoretically this consumer will stop buying products from a company that does nothing. And the worst penalty for a company is not selling," says Esteves regarding the commercial impact of public choices.
Level playing field and the role of marketing
Another structural hurdle raised in the conversation is the entry of smaller and individual importers who introduce products into the national market without funding proper disposal. Because the organization must collect any brand arriving at collection points, this creates a competitive distortion.
"We have to collect any brand, there is no distinction, regardless of whether it's a member or not. But that creates a lack of a level playing field, right? I'm here, the company is here paying, my competitor doesn't participate and is, in quotes, communicating something positively," Esteves emphasizes.
To overcome this barrier and avoid baseless narratives, Esteves reinforces the need for marketing departments to work closely with the association. Companies that already structure joint initiatives leverage the entity's data and channels to provide informative depth and verified proof of impact to their customers.
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