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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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H&M’s 'Loooptopia' Metaverse Experience Rewards Players for Creating Circular Fashion

The new H&M Loooptopia Experience on Roblox allows users to experiment with their digital identity and learn about fashion and circularity in a fun, creative and playful environment.

Two Years On, Amazon Lead Reflects on Success, Opportunities Within Climate Pledge Friendly Program

The retailer’s marketplace for more sustainable products now includes 300,000 products and 20,000 brands vetted through a range of well-known certifications.

Our Innate Psychology Is Fueling the Climate Crisis — Here’s How to Combat It

We can’t keep communicating about climate change in ways that feed our evolutionary prejudices and continue kicking the can down the road. We must outsmart our biases using strategic communication tactics so we can take action when it matters — which is now. Here are 3 ways to hack our brains for climate action.

2022 Trends in Purpose and What They Mean for the Year Ahead

Cross-Posted from The Next Economy. This year, we saw companies double-down on purpose amidst a rise in consumer skepticism and politically motivated attacks on ESG. Below are six notable trends and what they might mean for 2023.

Politics and Purpose: The US Consumer Response to Purpose-Driven Marketing Across the Political Spectrum

How does identifying with a certain political party, generation or minority group influence whether consumers think more highly or more disapprovingly of a brand taking on a cause? Here is what we learned.

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Great Expectations: Evaluating ESG Initiatives to Reach Target Consumers

When it comes to ESG initiatives and their relationship to consumer behavior, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach; but leveraging ongoing research into consumer attitudes can help align corporate ESG initiatives that can help steer your brand through uncharted waters and changing sentiments.

L'Oréal USA Product Labeling System Aims to Educate Consumers About the Environmental Impact of Products

New survey finds 83% of US consumers value brand product transparency, but only 47% feel they have the information to make sustainability-based purchasing decisions. Impact labeling will begin with Garnier products and roll out progressively across L'Oréal's brand portfolio.

Record Number of Companies Recognize Biodiversity Risks, But Struggling to Turn Commitments Into Action

Cross-Posted from Finance & Investment. Self-reported data from over 7,700 companies that responded to questions on biodiversity through CDP’s climate change questionnaire shows they are ready to disclose on biodiversity, sending a powerful signal to negotiators ahead of COP15.

UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, Day 3: Responsible Lobbying vs ‘Corporate Capture’

For most readers, bribery or corruption aren’t part of your everyday experience — though they should be part of due diligence processes on your business partners and supply chain. However, the danger that one department says one thing and another does something different and inconsistent is clear in every company.

The V Model: Validity, Vulnerability and Elon Musk

The financial and reputational freefall that Eli Lilly experienced in the first few weeks of Musk’s tenure as Twitter chief illustrated an underappreciated factor in an organization’s level of vulnerability: validity. Companies need a risk model that includes the key elements of vulnerability — and that helps them take precautions, set up checkpoints and plan for contingencies.

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New Guide Shows How CMOs Can Mainstream Sustainability by Closing Say-Do Gap for Good

BCG and the CMO Sustainability Accelerator — a coalition that includes Sustainable Brands, ANA and Adweek — have developed a practical guide to help brands “bring green to the mainstream” by developing and marketing sustainable choices for all consumers, not just those moved by sustainability claims.

Harnessing the Power of Social Media for Good Delivers Brand Trust and Loyalty While Driving Meaningful Change

When done thoughtfully, brands can use social media to champion sustainable living and generate positive outcomes that are favorable to people, the planet and their overall business results.

Brand Blind Spots, Empty Promises Hindering Effective Action Against Plastic Pollution

Cross-Posted from Chemistry, Materials & Packaging. As seen in ongoing incidents of greenwashing and a new Greenpeace report, the onus is on consumer product manufacturers to take more comprehensive approaches to stemming their flow of plastic into the world — and turning the tide of public opinion.

New Cookbook Showcases Meals That Benefit Both Human and Planetary Health

"The Cookbook in Support of the United Nations: For People and Planet" features 75 recipes divided into sections on food systems, biodiversity, sustainable consumption, food and climate change, and food waste — and shares each dish’s carbon footprint.

Supply Chain Waste, Consumer Demand Highlight Business Case for Transparency

Cross-Posted from Supply Chain. A new study examines the waste challenges companies are facing due to the global supply chain crisis and how they are being tackled, and how consumer priorities impact waste — they now report prioritizing product durability and transparency over sustainability.

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Purpose-Driven Brands Continue to Encourage More Conscious Consumption Habits in Antidote to Black Friday

Cross-Posted from Behavior Change. As US consumers report more conservative gifting plans due to money worries, alternatives such as Freitag’s S.W.A.P. events and Poshmark’s Secondhand Sunday meet the downshift in enthusiasm for the Black Friday shopping frenzy.

Climate Change in the Divided States: Why Polarization Should Be Sustainability’s Most Important Issue

If we continue to be distracted by our biennial game of political ping-pong, we are unlikely to avoid the most devastating impacts of climate change — unless we fundamentally address the underlying causes of polarization and disinformation as part of our sustainability agenda.

Campaigns from Fridays for Future, Universal Music Group Aim to Usher Young Voters to the Polls

Fridays for Future reminds US voters about the real existential threat to our planetary health, while UMG launches new installments of its ‘Use Your Voice’ and ‘Pull Up to the Polls’ initiatives to support voter education and to help get young people to the polls this week.

2 in 3 People May Be Willing to Halve Their Consumption to Help Save the Planet

Cross-Posted from Behavior Change. 68% of people ‘somewhat agree’ they’d reduce their consumption by half to avoid environmental damage and climate change — especially those with worried children at home, according to a new survey. But the gap between aspirations and actions remains wide in all countries.

‘If I Knew, I Would’: Why Brands Must Partner for Change at Scale

Cross-Posted from Behavior Change. COVID reshaped our capacity for collaborative change. We saw that, when people had the right information, they would act accordingly. We must help people understand how to participate in the sustainable economy and what their impact can be. Even more, we must change social norms so that people feel compelled to opt in.

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