COLLABORATION & CO-CREATION -
There is yet another new group that can be filed under Sustainable Development Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals. Yesterday, Unilever and several industry partners announced the creation of an open platform to share their ideas, data, and insights on addressing key global challenges.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Mislabeled seafood products have become a widespread problem: A recent study found that across 4,500 global samples, 30 percent of seafood products are mislabeled. The issue threatens reputable and sustainable fisheries and seafood traders, and can allow illegal and unregulated fishing practices to go undetected. Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing has been estimated at 11-26 million tonnes of landed fish each year, representing losses of $10-23.5 billion to the fishing industry.
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
Many sustainability-driven businesses aren’t providing consumers with the environments in which to meet their sustainability aspirations — that’s according to Sille Krukow, founder of Krukow Behavioural Consulting. Krukow was speaking during an interview at the SB’16 Copenhagen preview event in Denmark earlier this month, where she took delegates on a captivating journey into the world of Behavioural Economics.
MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
While consumers are becoming more comfortable with online shopping and are enjoying the convenience it can bring, there are growing concerns around its environmental impact. The human desire for instant gratification is driving faster and faster delivery services for e-commerce, and that quick service carries a hefty impact.
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS -
In 2014, nearly 90 percent of Americans said they consider where a food product is produced when making a purchasing decision, and about two thirds said they would pay more for food that is produced closer to home. As the local food movement continues to become more mainstream in North America, it seems inevitable that brands will jump on the bandwagon.
MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Consumers are steadily becoming more conscious of environmental issues, and more eager to reduce waste at home and work — but are these enough to translate into action? Moreover, will consumers pay to live up to ‘green’ standards and aspirations in their lives? The success my company, TerraCycle, is seeing with our Zero Waste Box platform seems to indicate that many are willing.
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
Millennials (adults ages 18 to 35 in 2015) comprise over 30 percent of the labor force in both the United States and Canada. They are doing things differently, hold different values, and have a high affinity for technology.
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Sustainable Brands recently referenced a study from Ohio State University that shows that “not only do many consumers not want to put much effort toward finding out whether our purchases were produced ethically (which is not exactly news), they have a way of looking down on those who do.”I can relate: My in-laws feel that way about me! They see organic food, for example, as expensive nonsense for fools/snobs/hippies who believe in that “green stuff.”
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS -
A new year means four more quarters to pitch, market and advertise your sustainable product or brand to eager consumers across the globe. The world is shifting toward environmental consciousness whether you believe it or not, and reaching consumers in this product climate requires more than just a big marketing budget and hollow promises of greater social responsibility.These four pieces of advice are my recommendations to sustainable brand marketers moving into the new year.
ORGANIZATIONAL GOVERNANCE -
Millennials are earning a reputation for doing things differently. They communicate intensively using social networking (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest), are revolutionizing transportation (Uber, Lyft), and are now demanding corporate sustainability and accountability. Currently the largest living generation in the United States, Millennials have enough ‘buying power’ to throw their weight around.But this innovation doesn’t happen by chance or because Millennials passively expected it — they create it by advocating for themselves.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
Purpose brands that are authentic in creating a positive contribution to society while focusing on the delivery of great products and services are outgrowing other competitors. A clear purpose drives consumer preference and motivates employees, accelerating business results and positive change.
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
The consistent rise in responsibly made consumer products — and growth of a market that says it prefers, seeks out or will even pay more for them — keeps us plenty busy here at Sustainable Brands. And while a majority of consumers arguably doesn’t fit into this category, it’s generally safe to assume even they wouldn’t like to knowingly buy products made with child labor or that harm the environment.
MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
There are many opportunities for the design industry to play a bigger part in product sustainability. Case in point: Many of the technological advancements in sustainable packaging suffer from issues that could be tackled through partnership with strong design thinkers. The design industry can also help to bring the conversation about sustainable packaging design further upstream. Here are three important things to consider when it comes to designing for sustainability.
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS -
It’s commonly assumed that mainstream Main Street isn’t interested in sustainability. Shoppers will buy on price, performance and reliability. They’re swayed by celebrity endorsements and some of them want to be associated with stuff that’s cool. But being sustainable? Not a chance.
NEW METRICS -
Experts on the economics of climate change have revealed concerns that damages from climate change impacts will be larger and more immediate than previously estimated, according to a new survey from The Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University School of Law.The survey’s respondents were limited to those who have published an article about food production, climate adaptation, energy economics and other topics related to climate change in a highly ranked, peer-reviewed economics journal since 1994.
ORGANIZATIONAL GOVERNANCE -
There was a lot of discussion last week at SB’15 London around the so-called ‘aspirational generation’ - a rising generation of millennials with higher sustainability expectations of brands whose products they buy, as well as for those they work for. How to attract and retain a motivated workforce (younger and older, alike) with more stringent demands for positive purpose and impact was the core theme of Tuesday afternoon’s breakout session.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
On Tuesday, BBMG co-founder Raphael Bemporad hosted the second morning’s plenaries at SB ’15 London. He began by highlighting the transitionary power of sustainable brands.“As we begin the conversation today, I’d like us to think about the privileged position we occupy as a force for societal and market transformation,” he said. “We are uniquely placed: We can harness the emotional power of brands to convey stories and to channel aspirations, but we also embody sustainability — we’re system thinkers, we’re innovators. When we bring these two things together, we have the power to shape culture and shape the market.”
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
Kicking off this Monday morning workshop at SB’15 London was Raphael Bemporad from BBMG. He soon got the room buzzing with his warm welcome and introduction to the topic for the morning’s workshop: market insights related to customer attitudes and behavior.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
Workshops often vary in their composition of speaker insights, Q&As and practical activities, but Monday afternoon’s SB’15 London session with Chris Sherwin, Head of Sustainability at design firm Seymourpowell, was all about active participation. You’d expect a workshop focused on product design and innovation to be a hub for brewing and evolving ideas (from the obvious to the most far-fetched) and it lived up to expectations.
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
In the lead-up to COP21, the UN conference on climate change, we asked our global community of Millennials at BetheChance.com how they feel about climate change. 250 Millennials (18- to 30-year-olds) from Canada, China, Denmark, India, Poland, United States, United Kingdom and beyond shared a remarkably similar voice: They are deeply concerned about the climate, disappointed in our collective past behavior and desperate for change.