ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
UPS, the world’s largest package delivery company, boasts some of the highest sustainability scores, credentials and rankings brands can earn, including reducing its total GHG emissions while increasing its shipping volume in 2013. How has the company achieved all this? What can others learn from its success so far? SB was recently invited to UPS HQ in Atlanta for the company’s annual Global Forestry Event — and we gained some insights:1. Start with low-hanging fruit
PRESS RELEASE -
SAN FRANCISCO, October 16, 2014 – Sustainable Brands® recently announced its 2015 global events calendar. Nominations for dynamic business leaders challenging current paradigms on topics related to sustainability and brand innovation are now being accepted for several upcoming 2015 events. Companies looking to advance their sustainability agendas are encouraged to sponsor community engagement activities at each of these events.SB’15 Bangkok | March 18-19, 2015 in Bangkok, ThailandSB’15 Barcelona | April 27-28, 2015 in Barcelona, Spain
NEW METRICS -
On Wednesday, I had the pleasure to attend Metrics that Matter, Messages that Motivate — Making the Right Case for Sustainability in Healthcare, an event hosted by The Wharton Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership (Wharton IGEL) and Johnson & Johnson at Wharton’s West coast campus in San Francisco. Geoffrey Garrett, recently named dean of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, kicked things off by emphasizing the importance of sustainability in every area of our daily lives.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Following an extensive multimedia Greenpeace campaign, LEGO published a statement this morning committing to "not renew the co-promotion contract with Shell."
PRESS RELEASE -
Sustainable Brands® recently announced program details for its pan-European conference to be held at the Lancaster London, November 3-5. The conference will bring together hundreds of influential brand leaders and cutting-edge practitioners of environmental and social innovation who are driving business success towards a regenerative economy.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Wolff Olins and Flamingo’s Game Changers series is an annual exploration of what’s driving change in the world of brands. The latest Game Changers report, The New Mainstream, looks at the evolving ways people are consuming products and interacting with brands. The research addresses the sense of uneasiness from companies about ‘giving up control to consumers’ in the age of social media. Some business leaders are embracing it, finding new ways to connect with their customers on an individual level — but most are nervous at the thought of potentially losing control of their brand.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The Tomorrow’s ValueTM Rating (TVR), published by DNV GL, assesses the sustainability performance of the world’s largest companies, evaluating how well companies understand their risks and opportunities, and how prepared they are to create future business value.For the second year running, Unilever tops the rating, with Intel, Nestlé and Swiss building materials producer Holcim in a three-way tie for second place.
PRESS RELEASE -
The Sustainable Brands® community announces several initiatives focused on identifying, measuring and quantifying entirely new forms of business risk and value. Global senior executives across diverse industry sectors are convening at New Metrics ’14 in Cambridge, MA today to launch research results and initiatives that quantify environmental and social impacts and tie them to financial performance.Co-Presented this year by MIT Sloan School of Management Sustainability Initiative, New Metrics ’14 showcases the following companies with either exclusive launches or results presented for the first time to a live audience.
LEADERSHIP -
On Thursday, the annual rankings of the 2014 Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) will be publicly announced. Based on research by the Swiss-based investment group RobecoSAM, the Index assesses the sustainability performance of close to 90 publicly traded multinationals operating in the chemicals and coatings industries.Each company is ranked based on a detailed analysis of a range of criteria related to standard management practices and performance measures, with the top nine designated as finalists in the DJSI.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
General Mills announced Monday that it will acquire Annie’s, Inc, a leading U.S. producer of branded organic and natural food products with net sales of $204 million in its latest fiscal year (completed March 2014).
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Of the 50 certified wineries, surprisingly, only three have opted to display the Napa Green logo on their labels — despite the time and cost involved in obtaining those certifications — so, I dug a little deeper.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
McDonald’s Canada’s experience is evidence that social media is pushing transparency mainstream, and that for them the risks have been worth the rewards of increased customer trust.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Greenpeace continued its campaign against LEGO on Tuesday with the release of a dramatic video, called “Everything Is NOT Awesome,” aimed at further illustrating the reasons the toy company should sever its ties with Shell, which Greenpeace contends is putting the delicate Arctic marine environment at risk through its oil drilling.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
When an irreverent spoof video can increase web traffic to the Affordable Care Act website by 40% in less than a day, understanding why can help your brand better communicate with young consumers.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Greenpeace has launched a campaign urging LEGO to #BlockShell and end its partnership with the oil company, which the NGO contends has been using LEGO’s brand to clean up its image as an Arctic oil driller.
PRESS RELEASE -
SAN FRANCISCO, April 23, 2014 – Sustainable Brands® recently announced full program details for SB’14 San Diego running June 2-5 at the Paradise Point Resort and Spa. As the largest community gathering in the Sustainable Brands global conference network, it will convene nearly 2,500 brand innovators from around the world who are driving business success towards a regenerative economy.
PRESS RELEASE -
SAP embarked on a more sustainable business strategy five years ago. Along the way, we’ve learned a lot of lessons from customers, thought leaders and employees alike. To share those lessons with you, we’ve built a free, online course — commonly referred to as Massively Open Online Courses, or MOOCs. This MOOC, Sustainability and Business Innovation, will help you understand how to craft, implement and execute a more sustainable corporate strategy.
PRESS RELEASE -
SAN FRANCISCO, April 17, 2014 – Sustainable Brands® recently announced 10 semi-finalists selected to compete during the Sustainable Brands Innovation Open (SBIO) startup competition at SB’14 San Diego June 2-5th. Presented by Target and co-sponsored by PRé Sustainability, this competition attracts world-changing entrepreneurial teams who are working hard to leverage the power of business and brands to solve pressing environmental and social concerns.The 2014 SBIO semi-finalists include:
MARKETING AND COMMS -
A recent study by brand comparison website Rank a Brand shows discrepancies in sustainability talk and action in the fashion industry. The report finds that while fashion brands are tackling sustainability challenges through communication (63 percent speak of sustainability on their websites, 10 percent more than in 2011; 20 percent publish a sustainability report), many are not backing it with details and data.
PRESS RELEASE -
April 9, 2014, Vancouver, BC – Offsetters Climate Solutions, North America’s leading carbon management solutions provider, is pleased to announce that they are partnering with Sustainable Brands to sponsor the Sustainable Brands 2014 San Diego conference. This event is an intersection for sustainability, brand and innovation professionals who come from around the world to be inspired, engaged, and equipped to succeed. As a result of their sponsorship, Offsetters will be helping to reduce the carbon impact of more than 2,800 delegates attending the June 2 - 5, 2014 conference, ensuring that SB’14 San Diego will become a carbon neutral event.