IDEAS FOR GOODThe negative legacy from the era of mass production and consumption has led to various social issues like food waste and material shortages. That is why the concept of “sustainable consumption” is spreading throughout Europe and America, and recently in Japan. Sustainable consumption is literally purchasing goods and services that are produced in a sustainable way that is friendly to the environment and society.
UNDP set out “The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”, which are to be achieved by 2030. SDGs Goal 12 is “Responsible Consumption and Production”. Sustainable consumption has become an important theme globally.
Rakuten, a leading figure in IT business, has taken action to spread this sustainable consumption style in the society. Last year, Rakuten launched a new e-commerce (EC) mall called “EARTH MALL with Rakuten” (EARTH MALL here out). The concept is “shopping that changes the future”, selling only eco-friendly, sustainable goods.
Items listed on EARTH MALL are products certified by FSC (public recognition of business’ responsibility towards sustainably managing the forest) or MSC (certified sustainable fishing: a heavier focus to the resource and environment) and merchandise selected by web curators among the 250 million items sold at “Rakuten”, one of the largest EC malls in Japan.
At present approximately 7,000 products can be purchased online.
Rakuten Inc. manages one of the largest EC malls in Japan “Rakuten Ichiba” (meaning “Rakuten Market”). The company has grown bigger by keeping close relationship with stores and consumers all over Japan.
So why has Rakuten begun to work on sustainable consumption now? What sort of world does the company aim to create through sustainable consumption, utilizing their huge assets? We interviewed the members of Rakuten who launched EARTH MALL, Takayuki Mamabe (sustainability promotion division and planning group manager) and Aya Ishida (market planning division service EC group).
Rakuten was originally a social startup
Q: Why did Rakuten start working on sustainable consumption as a corporate group?
Mamabe: To start with, Rakuten group’s mission is to “empower people and society through innovation”. This empowerment means “to acquire the ability to make decisions about oneself and work together to build a better society”. Ultimately, Rakuten started its business to engage in this theme.
In the beginning, 6 youngsters started business because they wanted to do something about failing shopping streets in rural areas. However, “empowerment” was already a keyword at that point. When you interpret history of Rakuten’s business, I think it can be said that Rakuten was a “social start-up” aiming for a sustainable society in rural areas too.
I have been working in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) field for about 3 years. Last year, I ran a survey to specify important tasks for Rakuten. Issues such as data security came up, but other topics without an exclusive department were assigned to sustainability division. Eventually we decided on four themes. One of them is “sustainable consumption” and EARTH MALL is focused on this.
Q: How did the idea for EARTH MALL come about?
Mamabe: EARTH MALL itself was developed in an industrial cooperation project called “OPEN 2030 PROJECT”. This project was organized by Norichika Kanie, Professor of Keio University Graduate School, who has a leading role of SDGs in Japan. He is also an adviser of EARTH MALL. The project was managed by Hakuhodo Inc. in the beginning, making movies by crowd funding and creating educational programs through them.
I already belonged to the sustainability promotion division then and was thinking about working on something like EARTH MALL but hadn’t succeeded yet. That was when I met a member of the business development division in Rakuten who also shared the same interest. We talked, hit it off, and decided to start working on it.
I was drawing up plans when I had a chance to participate in a forum related to SDGs. There I met Professor Kanie, Kobayashi who is a board member of Rakuten and a staff from Hakuhodo who works for CSR group promotion. We had an animated conversation, and I shared what I had in mind. One thing led to another, and EARTH MALL from Rakuten was officially launched.
On the same week, I visited Hakuhodo and had a meeting. We discussed the details and pre-opened in May 2018, then made grand opening in late November. So EARTH MALL was established by a bottom-up method. Even now half of the EARTH MALL editorial members are in Hakuhodo, so we have a meeting every week to discuss how to manage it.
Q: Is EARTH MALL CSR or a project?
Mamabe: It started with much of CSR aspect, but in the future, we want to manage it as a project in a sustainable way. If we can make EARTH MALL a “successful market”, it can encourage more stores to make sustainable efforts, thus expanding the market.
In general, business and sustainability divisions do not cooperate in projects like this. But EARTH MALL came true because they worked together. EARTH MALL cannot be managed by the sustainability division alone. In fact, it is orchestrated by members who run the project, and by members from Rakuten Ichiba who negotiate with the stores or work on project management. These members gradually form the team.
Learning together with the stores to create EARTH MALL
Q: Do you feel there’s an increasing need for sustainable products at Rakuten Ichiba?
Mamabe: Actually, we still have a long way. If sustainable consumption is already a hot issue, many others would be working on project like EARTH MALL, but that is not the case. However, that is one reason why we started. It may not be the hottest issue now, but soon it will be, so we are getting prepared for it.
Ishida: At this point, stores at Rakuten Ichiba show more interest than the consumers. We have received many inquiries from stores on how they can list their products, or if their certifications qualify them to be on EARTH MALL. We have learned about some certifications for the first time through these inquiries. At present, we are learning together with the stores to make ourselves better, and hopefully the users will follow.
Q: How did you choose the 6 certification standards?
(In order to be listed on EARTH MALL, the item must be certified by “MSC”, “ASC”, “FSC”, “RSPO”, “Fairtrade International” or “GOTS” at present (excluding goods selected by web curators).)
Mamabe: Professor Kanie from Keio University organizes “xSDG Laboratory”. A sectional committee related to sustainable certification takes place, and Rakuten is participating in it. We discuss with the members about certifications, then those that have been agreed-upon are put on the list. The certifications we choose will affect our credibility, so we will continue to discuss carefully and increase the numbers gradually .
On the other hand, at EARTH MALL, we don’t just want to introduce products that are certified. At present, there are only about 7,000 products on the list. That’s not enough selection of goods. Eventually we want consumers to be able to shop whatever they want when they visit EARTH MALL without needing to pay attention to certifications.
Q: Are there any standards beside certifications?
Mamabe: We are just discussing that. I cannot say precisely yet, but I think there is roughly two big standards: “the procedure of shopping is sustainable” and “sustainable after shopping”. If a product is environmentally friendly but isn’t good for the society, we cannot introduce it considering SDGs, so I want to establish the standards carefully.
A place where purchases are made for every 10 visits
Q: Approximately how many items is EARTH MALL aiming for?
Mamabe: There are 250 million items at Rakuten Ichiba right now, but even that is not enough to find everything you want. Therefore, there is no end to increasing the selection. But our company is thinking about “creating a market available for a sustainable choice where you would want to shop about once in ten visits”. I’m not sure if that would affect the number of items directly, but it could be a guide.
Ishida: At present condition, we use the Rakuten Ichiba database to find items that have “certified” as a keyword and list them on EARTH MALL. However, merchandise pages are managed by each store, so we cannot find them unless the stores specify the keyword. Therefore, we need to appeal to the stores too.
Mamabe: Users and stores have not yet recognized the value of “being certified” or “being sustainable”. We are at a phase of spreading this value.
Stick to the ordinary EC style
Q: What are the key points you focused on when you established EARTH MALL?
Ishida: The website is designed in cooperation with the EARTH MALL editorial staff at Hakuhodo. Many users of Rakuten come to know about certified items and SDGs for the first time from our website. Therefore, I try to use illustrations to make the page look familiar for these users. I leave out complex explanations on SDGs, but when you look close, colors related to SDGs are used in various places. In addition, designs and colors in interview articles are also selected corresponding to SDGs depending on the theme of the interview.
Mamabe: Merchandise descriptions express the value of the item itself, such as “feels refreshing after washing”, instead of saying “how good it is for the environment”. We try to secure the reliability of the listed items by sticking to the ordinary EC style. Criteria of each certifications are complicated when you study them carefully, so it is important to simplify them.
Q: What are the unique benefits of EARTH MALL?
Mamabe: We held a symposium just before the grand opening of EARTH MALL. There were opinions such as granting extra “Rakuten Super Point”. Hopefully in the future, we will be able to provide such incentives. There were also ideas like introducing repair shops, to encourage consumers to use the item for a long period of time.
After all, “shopping at EARTH MALL is fun and exciting” should become the best incentive. I also think it is up to our ingenuity to appeal to people who have no interest in sustainability.
Q: What are your plans in the future not just as Rakuten Ichiba but as a corporate group?
Mamabe: This is a personal opinion, but for instance EARTH MALL can associate with “Rakuten Travel” or “Voyagin” (tours and activities online booking platform for inbound tourists) to provide “sustainable tourism”. We want to work on sustainable consumption primarily, but I think we can make changes in how to shop as well. We are willing to work on an in-house shipping scheme, in order to show more concern about the environment and society in the shipping context.
Rakuten is engaged in energy business too, providing a scheme to deal J-Credit (CO2 emission reduction credit) online by utilizing blockchain. Like so, we can create a scheme for customers to reduce CO2 emission when they shop. Moreover, other services like utilizing Rakuten’s strong point in financial services are possible.
What’s important is to enjoy the experience
Q: What can each of us do to change the future by shopping?
Mamabe: It’s hard to constantly pay attention to whether the product is certified or not while shopping, but it may not be so hard if that was only once in 10 times.
Also, it is important to enjoy the experience. Shop because you want to, eat because you want to, not because it’s the right thing to do. It’s even better if that happens to be sustainable.
Ishida: Choosing sustainable products is fantastic, but denying those who choose otherwise is uncomfortable.
As for certifications, I think you can think of it as a casual communication tool. “Do you like my new outfit? It’s GOTS certified.” ”Cool, where did you get them?”
Post-interview notes
During the interview, EARTH MALL’s unique way of working on sustainable consumption like “once in 10 times is just right” or “to enjoy the experience” was especially impressing.
Basically, shopping is a fun process: choosing the right item for yourself from various selections of merchandise. If that process turns staid, it’s meaningless, and sustainable consumption will not be accepted by people.
For that reason, we need to relax and start from something we can do. We felt empathetic to EARTH MALL’s frame of mind that encourages us to make a small step.
Someday when EARTH MALL’s brand power becomes stronger in Rakuten Ichiba, when having items listed on EARTH MALL confers a special status for stores, then more stores will make effort to offer sustainable items. That as a result will offer users more sustainable choices.
Eventually, we hope to see the boundary between EARTH MALL and Rakuten Ichiba blurs, and stores deal sustainable products due to popular demand.
[Reference] EARTH MALL with Rakuten[Definition] Sustainable Consumption
This article was originally published on IDEAS FOR GOOD.
Translated by Chisato Shizume.
