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Marketing and Comms

How brands are evolving in the area of sustainability marketing and communications — and how their stakeholders are asserting their own needs and preferences.

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Dow Unwraps Packaging Science, Sustainability Topics with New Podcast

Cross-Posted from From Purpose to Action: Building a Sustainable Future Together. "Plastics Unwrapped" provides savvy brands an insider’s look into some of the latest innovations in recyclable plastics, and tackles complex and fascinating science and sustainability questions.

Netflix Commits to Net Zero by 2022, Better Representation Onscreen and Off

Netflix’s new goals include achieving carbon neutrality by 2022. The company also revealed impressive stats behind viewer interest in sustainability-themed programming; and pledged to achieve more balanced representation of underrepresented communities, both on- and offscreen.

What Gets People to Act: Doom and Gloom or Rainbows and Sunshine?

The negative framing that accompanies “traditional” climate communications risks turning people off, but exclusively positive framing has its own issues. Long story short, we need both. Here are a few tips for choosing the right one.

Giving Up Meat = Healthy Living = Healthy Planet. Are We at a Dietary Inflection Point?

Cross-Posted from Behavior Change. The growing appetite for a shift away from meat-based diets is good news for addressing a range of health and climate issues. But business has a critical role to play in making the transition as affordable, accessible and delicious as possible.

Budweiser Is Turning All Beer ‘Green’ on St. Patrick’s Day, Calling on Industry to Do the Same

On March 17, Budweiser will purchase renewable energy credits equivalent to the estimated electricity needed to brew every beer in the US in a single day.

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Klarna: Can ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Be Used for Good?

Cross-Posted from Finance & Investment. It is easy for people with money to write off services such as these for those who don’t have it, but there is a massive opportunity for Klarna to rewrite the rules of ’buy now, pay later’ and create genuinely positive impacts.

It’s Time to Break Free from Sustainability’s Ivory Tower

One major reason that most sustainability writing is bad is that it’s written by a microscopic number of smart people who think and talk the same way, unintentionally excluding the bulk of audiences that need to be spoken to.

Unilever Redefining ‘Normal’ with New ‘Positive Beauty’ Strategy

Unilever is eliminating the word “normal” from all of its beauty and personal care brands’ packaging and advertising, championing a new era of beauty that is equitable and inclusive, as well as sustainable.

Healthy People, Healthy Ocean: How Conscious Consumers Are Helping Build a More Sustainable Seafood Sector

Cross-Posted from Behavior Change. Recent research shows that people’s awareness of the link between their personal wellness and that of the environment has increased. How can simple solutions make a big impact? When it comes to food, we need to make it easy for people to make smart, sustainable choices.

SB’21 Trend Watching: Brands’ Role in Reshaping the World in 2021 and Beyond

Cross-Posted from The Next Economy. At SB’s latest Trend Watching event, experts across a variety of fields and industries offered insights into how purpose-driven brands can effectively activate on everything from marketing to effective leadership to climate justice in our post-pandemic world.

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For Those Still Wondering About the Business Case for Purpose …

Cross-Posted from Business Case. In its latest research to understand consumer expectations of responsible brands, Porter Novelli used social psychology to unpack why consumers prefer Purpose-driven brands — and the importance of strong storytelling to complement sound business strategies.

Bad Sustainability Writing Is Everywhere, and It’s a Problem

The proliferation of ineffective communications is holding sustainability back in its most critical decade. There is no more time for boring, beige writing. We need language that teaches, convinces and inspires — before it’s too late.

To Be an Anti-Racist Brand: Start by Being Aware, Additive and Alive

Cross-Posted from Walking the Talk. The next frontier of sustainability is regeneration — building brands that actively restore and renew a system. And that’s as true for our systems that continue to allow racial injustice as for our environmental ecosystems.

How Amazon Is Scaling Conscious Consumerism by Partnering with Brands, Certifications

The e-commerce giant is working with over 20 product-certification partners to deliver product-specific sustainability information to shoppers through its Climate Pledge Friendly program.

Corporate Political Responsibility: The Missing Link in Companies’ ESG Strategies

Cross-Posted from Walking the Talk. The disconnect between many companies’ public sustainability ambitions and their non-public lobbying efforts can no longer be excused. The Erb Institute’s Corporate Political Responsibility Taskforce is helping companies connect the dots.

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7 Tips for Engaging Consumers on Circularity

If consumers are to embrace sustainable products en masse, they need better information to be able to make an informed choice — and this is where marketeers have a vital role to play.

Climate Was the Big Loser in This Year’s Super Bowl – and So Were We

Super Bowl LV wasn’t a year in which brands showed leadership with their sustainability messaging; but after the divisiveness, the climate emergency and the rampaging health crisis of 2020, it was a relief to have a laugh.

What Would You Do with $6M? Quantifying the Social Impact of a Super Bowl Ad

Reaching 100 million people at once comes at a high cost — but the sticker price of a Super Bowl ad comes with deeper implications, both for brands and society. What if that money was used for good?

#WhoMadeMyClothes: Transparency Has Become a Fashion-Industry Imperative

Cross-Posted from Supply Chain. When it comes to one of the world’s most polluting and exploitative industries, more and more consumers are demanding transparency. We have the technology to deliver end-to-end transparency and to support the reinvention of the fashion industry.

Why We Tell the Stories Behind Sustainable Products

Telling the stories of the people and forests behind FSC-certified products deepens consumers’ connections with the brands, and demonstrates the impacts of responsible sourcing. We expect this is just the beginning, due to the clear signals of consumer demand for these stories.

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