The objective of this study is to test out the possibility of a synthesis betweensustainable development, more specifically corporate citizenship, andcustomer value, a major focus of business strategy, which if correctlyachieved nurtures customer loyalty.This synthesis as defined in this thesis is product stewardship. Productstewardship is the design and promotion of products and services that aim topositively impact the environment and society through the creation,consumption and disposal of such a product or service.In an increasingly competitive global environment, crafting business strategythat successfully nurtures customer loyalty is a vital component of long termbusiness success. The delivery of products and services that customers trustand that fully satisfy customer expectations is a prerequisite for loyalty.Intense competition however squeezes profit margins and floods the marketwith homogeneous products and services. Competition now becomes pricecentred which drives both a decrease in product quality and a quest foroperational efficiencies in an attempt to reduce overheads. Further, capturinga share of the consumer’s wallet becomes more difficult for corporations,forcing a heavy reliance on the brand and company image.In such circumstances, the delivery of customer value that fully satisfiesexpectations is hard to achieve and business strategy, concerned primarilywith the delivery of exceptional customer value, becomes a major focus formost corporations. However, as all corporations strive for a similar end goal,competitive differentiation becomes harder to achieve.Simultaneously, in the context of greater environmental and socialconsciousness, including the progression of sustainability science,corporations have the added challenge or obligation to adopt these emerging themes. Scrabbling with these new ideas, few corporations are having a realprofound effect in curbing the pending ecosystem crisis.Corporate social responsibility, corporate social investment and corporatecitizenship have tended to focus on the company and how it is perceived; akind of self-centredness that explodes into the gross exaggerationscommunicated by the brand. Product stewardship, as defined in this thesis,shifts the focus away from THE COMPANY and its BRAND, to the productbeing designed, produced, communicated, consumed and then wasted. Thevalues of a better world articulated by sustainable development and theaspiration to find a better business strategy are fused into a focus on theproduct.The company and its brand, therefore is constructed not by a promotion ofitself as ‘good’ but rather by the virtues and benefits of the productcommunicated relationally which, in turn, indirectly builds the reputation of theproducer. Loyalty therefore is no longer loyalty to the brand, but to anexperience of the product.A number of corporations, both local and international, in South Africa aredisplaying behaviour characteristic of a product stewardship approach. Thesebehaviours or claims are recorded in case studies on four such corporations,namely; Toyota, Sasol, Woolworths, and the South African Breweries Limited.Each case demonstrates how the application of product stewardship can anddoes reduce negative impacts on both the environment and society whilesimultaneously nurturing exceptional customer loyalty.A number of critical questions about the design and promotion of short termdomestic insurance products are raised to demonstrate how the application ofa product stewardship approach could unlock the potential to nurture superiorcustomer loyalty for corporations in the South African short term domesticinsurance industry, a service industry plagued by a declining industry image,low customer loyalty and intense competition. The application of a product stewardship approach to a service orientatedindustry is significant as services are seldom analysed for their effects on theenvironment and society, as promoted by sustainable development theory.Instead, in an attempt to display the values of a better world, serviceindustries expend huge resources engaging in activities peripheral to theircore businesses, while adjustments as highlighted by a product stewardshipapproach, to their core offerings, their services, could deliver meaningfulchange for the environment, society, the corporation and ultimately thecustomer.Based on the real possibility of a synthesis between sustainable developmentand customer value as highlighted in this thesis, a further more in-depth studyis proposed to determine the direct business effects, quantified, of improvedcustomer loyalty nurtured through the application of product stewardship.