WALKING THE TALK -
This year, we are dissecting big, open questions that could either speed up or slow down our quest toward Delivering the Good Life.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
White's work highlights actionable ways practitioners can influence consumers to behave more sustainably.
LEADERSHIP -
CDP scored over 6,800 companies from A to D-; only the top 2% made the A Lists.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
New mediums of communication, power and trust produced the Civic CEO, and she is here to stay.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Tiffany begins disclosing the provenance of its diamonds, commits to 100 percent geographic transparency.
WALKING THE TALK -
Once seen as a ‘nice to have’ for businesses, sustainability has become a vital component of many global organisations’ social and economic strategies.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
As we wrap up work for the year and prepare for 2019, we reflected back on all that occurred this year within our niche realm of sustainability communications — and when looking back, it was apparent that 2018 was the year of brands taking stands.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
The federal government hoped its Black-Friday release of a landmark report on the regional impacts of climate change might mitigate its media attention. It hasn't really worked: The report is still in the headlines over two weeks later. It’s not just consumers that care. A recent NAEM trends report found that in boardrooms across the country, companies are committing to addressing the climate challenges of our time by setting and meeting ambitious climate goals.
PRESS RELEASE -
Information and communications technologies (ICT) have revolutionized the way we communicate, collaborate and work. Now, they’re emerging as a critical tool for slashing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by helping companies and consumers consume energy in a more intelligent and efficient way. While ICT is being used to shape smarter cities, transportation systems, industrial processes and more, the industry is also a net source of GHG emissions.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Kickstarter PBC and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today unveiled new features on Kickstarter aimed at helping innovators evaluate and reduce the environmental impact of their products from the concept stage.
Kickstarter and EDF worked together to develop an information hub called the Environmental Resource Center, as well as a space where project creators are asked to publicly commit to environmental practices. These features will help thousands of people create sustainable products by embedding environmental considerations into the early planning stages.
BUSINESS CASE -
“Purpose” is one of three critical dimensions of overall reputation, according to the 2018 Porter Novelli/Cone Purpose Premium Index: How Companies Can Unlock Reputational Gains by Leading with Purpose, released today.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
The news last week that the Christmas advert from Iceland — a UK supermarket chain specializing in frozen food — has been banned is a bad decision.
Iceland’s advert — a repackaging of a short, animated film by Greenpeace released earlier this year with a powerful, consumer-friendly sustainability message — shows a brand that is trying to do good work by improving its impact on the world.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
Last week at Sustainable Brands’ New Metrics ’18 conference in Philadelphia, PA, over 300 delegates from brands, NGOs, strategists and practitioners across sectors gathered to share the newest credible tools and solutions for assessing the ROI of Sustainable Business.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Companies have long run sustainability initiatives that exclude customers. To be fair, these companies have donated a percentage of profits to charities, volunteered employee time, reduced emissions, cleaned up supply chains, and much more. However, their customers have been on the sideline, sometimes aware but not personally engaged.
Through corporate activism, brands can change this dynamic and make customers partners in their most meaningful sustainability initiatives. Here are some tips based on brands that have used it successfully.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
Corporate culture sets the groundwork for how your team interacts with each other and your customers.
NEW METRICS -
Last week at Sustainable Brands’ New Metrics ’18 conference in Philadelphia, PA, over 300 delegates from brands, NGOs, strategists and practitioners across sectors gathered to share their latest tools and findings regarding measuring the risks and impacts of previously unmeasured forms of value, the newest credible tools and solutions for assessing the ROI of Sustainable Business.
NEW METRICS -
Last week at Sustainable Brands’ New Metrics ’18 conference in Philadelphia, PA, over 300 delegates from brands, NGOs, strategists and practitioners across sectors gathered to share the newest credible tools and solutions for assessing the ROI of Sustainable Business.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
While sustainability and citizenship mean different things to different people, these terms are most commonly associated with a company’s impact on the external world, focusing heavily on social and environmental initiatives. However, businesses can do a lot of good (for the world and their bottom line) by equally focusing internally, on such things as their diversity and inclusion practices.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Early marketing for products promising sustainability was all about what they “weren’t.” Tofurky wasn’t meat. Soy milk wasn’t dairy. Solar wasn’t coal.
Positioning against the negative helped companies attract consumers who were revolting against the polluting impacts of standard manufacturing practices and products. But doing so ignored what potential customers still wanted, whether a product was sustainable or not: delicious taste, high performance, reliable quality and comfort, and overall satisfaction.
Consider the ominous ads for the first Prius, which started running in 2001. The only virtue they extolled was fuel efficiency, and portrayed oil drills as monsters.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Well known as a technology engine — with a global network of 200,000+ startups that has powered a 1000+ innovation/startup competitions and challenges — YouNoodle might not be the first company you think of for advice on corporate sustainability strategy. But as the industrial era is replaced by a more entrepreneurial society, YouNoodle is helping brands and organizations keep up with disruptive innovation — and the sustainability space could certainly use more of that.