COLLABORATION -
The role of business in the health of society and the planet has never been more critical. And as stakeholder calls for companies to use their resources for social and environmental good grow louder, it’s clear that not even multinationals can effect change on their own.
BUSINESS CASE -
When companies make bold commitments to sustainability, we all win. Here, we share lessons learned and ongoing challenges from three very different corporate sustainability journeys — to show others on the front lines that they are not alone.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
To deliver the rapid decarbonisation and conservation we need, and to enable communities to grow in a sustainable way, we have to catalyse new finance for good — and we need to maximise that impact, so we know how much good is achieved and how we can improve.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Research from Sustainable Brands and Ipsos reveals a global misperception on the most impactful sustainable behaviors — with a belief that recycling will yield bigger benefits than eating plant-based diets, increasing energy efficiency, and 58 more impactful choices.
LEADERSHIP -
Setbacks such as the overturning of Roe v. Wade offer brands the opportunity to demonstrate their true commitment to supporting a healthy, equitable future for all.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
“ESG in its fullest form hasn’t really been done yet. Its full potential is at the intersection of ESG and impact investing, where we can move from passive divesting and screening out of negative investments to proactive investments that generate long-term, sustainable profits.” — Alix Lebec
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Neuterra enables consumers to make data-driven purchasing decisions and helps brands gain valuable insights on sustainability trends, with the goal of revealing the true cost of consumption and taking an intersectional approach to addressing the climate crisis.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Lowering the washing temperature of a laundry load or dish cycle can greatly reduce carbon emissions. But for people to turn down the temperature or select eco-cycles, they must trust that products will still clean with brilliant results — this is where brands can play a crucial role in decarbonization.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
The heat is on — from Greenpeace protesting Cannes to concerned citizens and legislative pressure — for advertisers to make their work count for more than selling more products to the Western world. Here are six key takeaways from this year’s Cannes Lions, and how your campaigns can be and do better.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Many companies still shy away from responsibility for what’s happening in the first mile of their supply chains; but First Mile, along with its nonprofit and brand partners, is actively engaging with these issues — and
creating positive impacts for thousands of waste collectors around the world.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
The pandemic has laid bare not only the many flaws in our global systems but also our capacity for resilience and ingenuity in the face of complex, immediate
challenges — if we apply that thinking to those that lay ahead, we may yet save ourselves from ‘business as usual.’
WALKING THE TALK -
Two years after George Floyd’s murder galvanized the nation to address systemic racism, corporate progress on advancing racial equity in the workplace and community remains a mixed picture. Smoketown’s Ryan Pintado-Vertner lays out three approaches brands can take to show they’re walking their anti-racism talk.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Launching at Cannes Lions this week, the course is a response to industry professionals’ need to reskill to drive positive change at work: 40% of marketers report lacking relevant sustainability marketing qualifications,
despite 76% having been involved in sustainability projects over the past five years.
WALKING THE TALK -
Earlier this year, Tourism Vancouver Island evolved into a social enterprise called 4VI that supports communities,
businesses, culture and environment. A social enterprise is a revenue-generating business that identifies a social benefit and directs its revenues toward it; in the tourism industry, this is a completely new way to operate.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Joint research by GfK and the Goodvertising Agency reveals value of 'transformational campaigns that empower consumers, rather than those that tout
product attributes.
LEADERSHIP -
BBMG and GlobeScan’s ‘Leading Regenerative Brands: Five Paradigm Shifts to Thrive in a World in Flux’ is part manifesto on the imperative to build a purpose-driven company and part handbook for how to do it.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Many would also argue that the fashion industry is not being judged harshly enough and gets away with a lot. But there are steps in the right direction and nuances within sustainability ‘misses’ which, if built on, will generate needed momentum.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Marketers, this one’s for you: Just a few pearls of wisdom dropped on day two of Brand-Led Culture Change — including understanding and eliminating
microaggressions, the secret sauce of shareable content, what matters to each target demographic, and rethinking assumptions of who the ‘sustainable consumer’ could be.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
Work for Impact — a talent acquisition platform that attracts and uplifts underserved jobseekers around the world yearning for greater purpose in employment — is a model for purpose-driven companies to emulate.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Creating meaningful consumer behavior change remains a ‘white whale’ for Purpose-driven brands. Here, we hear a behavior-first approach to changing culture, needed paradigm shifts for regenerative leadership, and the latest research on meaningfully connecting with dithering consumers.