A serious question for a Friday, but it was important that we asked. So here’s Dr Bhaskar Das in the July 14 edition of Das ka Dum. Read on…
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Q. There is a growing movement in the UK for advertisers, marketers, and PR professionals to cut ties with companies involved with fossil fuels. Do you see this happening in India as well? And if it does, will the various players pay heed?
A. I can’t argue against businesses and brands that have the responsibility to contribute to building a better world. And millennials and GenZs are pretty concerned about some such issues, as all public domain research suggest so.
But, in many ways, we as human beings aren’t as sapient as we project our behaviour in a socially acceptable manner. My intention doesn’t purport to be pessimistic. I am observing all around me (not necessarily a representative sample) dominant behaviour patterns that are not necessarily always environmentally conscious. I am conscious that one can’t expect 100% of humanity would shift to a socially and environmentally behaviour overnight. In fact a snowball effect usually happens for any shift in behaviour when the new generation becomes the harbinger of an attitudinal metamorphosis.
Coming to behaviour of Indians (both consumers and marketers), I don’t see any behavioural shift would happen in the near term. There are economic reasons of course. We have not seen such a big shift in case of the advanced economies who are allegedly responsible for a socially irresponsible behaviour for anything to do with climate change, poverty, war etc. I feel it would be a slow burn for any impactful behavioural shift , but as a beginning, I wish, such a shift towards responsible corporate behaviour starts forthwith.