Sustaining Your Brand: How Helping Our Environment is Also Great for Business
Sustainability initiatives are nothing new. For many years companies have faced intense scrutiny for business practices that cause devastating consequences to the environment. These consequences include water pollution, air pollution, land pollution, deforestation, burning fossil fuels, wildfires and species extinction to name just a handful of harmful effects.
Now, many companies are taking the necessary steps to include sustainable and environmentally friendly practices throughout their business. However, some do this well and some fall very short.
Research performed by Gartner suggests that consumers believe brands are more focused on their brand image and reputation than operating responsibly. If consumers don’t believe your company cares about the planet, your brand loyalty isn’t the only thing that could be at risk.
When a company is ready to make necessary changes that will benefit the environment in the long term, how do they tell that story? Three things to consider when creating and implementing a sustainability branding campaign:
1. Blend Sustainability into your Brand
Don't:
Look at sustainability as an additional task; that can become overwhelming
Look at sustainability as a separate campaign that only lasts a few weeks or months
Copy what your competition is doing; it wouldn’t be unique to your brand
Do:
Integrate your sustainability efforts to become a part of your brand, even your mission
Evaluate which efforts make the most sense for your brand and business
Assess your current partnerships or consider partnerships that help everyone achieve their sustainable goals and targets
Think of ways to make your process more circular when it comes to environmentally friendly efforts year-round
2. Strategize and Plan
Your sustainability initiatives should include SMART goals that help you plan each step of the process. Here’s a few examples to consider:
Specific
What sustainability goal(s) are you trying to accomplish?
What areas within sustainability are you focusing on? For example, pollution or conservation?
Measurable
How will you track your progress and where will you track it?
What checkpoints should be set while working towards your goal?
Attainable
Are you trying to do everything at once? Focus on one thing at a time.
Are the goals you set achievable within your parameters?
Relevant
Do your efforts relate to your brand?
Did you make sure your efforts make sense for your production process, brand, and mission?
Time Bound
Do you have a set timeframe to achieve this goal or goals?
Did you set up checkpoints to evaluate if you need to extend the date and time?
Did you create targets for shorter and longer objectives?
3. Be Transparent and Take Action
We know consumers are likely to think sustainability efforts are insincere.
The PDI Technologies’ Business of Sustainability Index found that only 38% of survey respondents believe claims made by companies regarding environmental friendliness. Consumers are distrusting because they feel like they’re being deceived by brands touting ambiguous goals with a lack of action.
A sustainability strategy lays the foundation for moving forward. The goals you create naturally inform the actions you take, which is where there’s a massive disconnect.
Out of the 86% of organizations who have established a sustainability strategy, only 35% have taken action to achieve their goals.
If you can’t back up your sustainability claims, don’t make ‘em. Consumers will be quick to call out your brand for greenwashing.
Have any questions? Reach out to Dale Elwell, Partner/Account Management delwell@teamaftermath.com