Marketing & Communications

How brands are successfully communicating their sustainability efforts — and how their stakeholders are asserting their own needs and preferences

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Marketing & CommunicationsMarketing & Communications
'Earth Day Every Day': 4 Tips for Successful Corporate Activism
'Earth Day Every Day': 4 Tips for Successful Corporate Activism
Published on November 6, 2018
About a 4 minute read

Companies have long run sustainability initiatives that exclude customers. To be fair, these companies have donated a percentage of profits to charities, volunteered employee time, reduced emissions, cleaned up supply chains, and much more. However, ... View More

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Marketing & Communications
How to Communicate Diversity and Inclusion When You Aren't Quite There Yet
How to Communicate Diversity and Inclusion When You Aren't Quite There Yet
Published on November 2, 2018
About a 6 minute read

While sustainability and citizenship mean different things to different people, these terms are most commonly associated with a company’s impact on the external world, focusing heavily on social and environmental initiatives. However, businesses ca... View More

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Marketing & CommunicationsMarketing & Communications
To Market Sustainability, Focus on What Consumers Love, Not What They Hate
To Market Sustainability, Focus on What Consumers Love, Not What They Hate
Published on October 31, 2018
About a 7 minute read

Early marketing for products promising sustainability was all about what they “weren’t.” Tofurky wasn’t meat. Soy milk wasn’t dairy. Solar wasn’t coal. Positioning against the negative helped companies attract consumers who were revolting... View More

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Marketing & CommunicationsMarketing & Communications
Urban Brand Utility: Impact Branding for the Urbanising Century
Urban Brand Utility: Impact Branding for the Urbanising Century
Published on October 26, 2018
About a 8 minute read

The brand communications crisis is not an urban legend, albeit just as scary Between 2001 and 2002, Brazil went through its largest energy crisis. The lack of infrastructure planning combined with economic growth forced the Government to ration the e... View More

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Marketing & CommunicationsMarketing & Communications
Study Sees Progress Towards More Robust Reporting on Global Issues
Study Sees Progress Towards More Robust Reporting on Global Issues
Published on October 23, 2018
About a 3 minute read

Today, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and British creative consultancy Radley Yeldar released the sixth edition of Reporting matters — WBCSD’s annual review of member companies’ sustainability and integrated repo... View More

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Marketing & CommunicationsMarketing & Communications
Activating Community: How Box Inspired Real-Time Digital Social Impact
Activating Community: How Box Inspired Real-Time Digital Social Impact
Published on October 19, 2018
About a 5 minute read

How do you get a community to take immediate social action when you have just a handful of minutes onstage? This question doesn’t get asked often — or sound plausible — because most organizations have created an imaginary line between things th... View More

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Marketing & Communications
140 US Companies Band Together to Rally More People to the Polls
140 US Companies Band Together to Rally More People to the Polls
Published on October 15, 2018
About a 3 minute read

Companies across the US have banded together to support the Time to Vote campaign, a nonpartisan effort led by CEOs aimed at increasing voter participation. ... View More

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Marketing & CommunicationsMarketing & Communications
Your 2020 Sustainability Goals: How's That Going, By the Way?
Your 2020 Sustainability Goals: How's That Going, By the Way?
Published on October 9, 2018
About a 6 minute read

As of the writing of this article, the year 2020 is a mere 450 days away. Can you believe that? 450 days! For the sustainability community, 2020 is a particularly important date: 2020 Sustainability Goals have become highly fashionable; unless you ha... View More

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Marketing & CommunicationsMarketing & Communications
Carrefour, J&J Among Top Honorees at 3rd Annual D&AD Impact Awards
Carrefour, J&J Among Top Honorees at 3rd Annual D&AD Impact Awards
Published on October 4, 2018
About a 4 minute read

Leading figures from the worlds of business, advertising, design and philanthropy gathered in New York City this week to honor the best in creative work creating a real social impact at the third annual D&AD Impact Awards. D&AD Impact celebra... View More

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Marketing & CommunicationsMarketing & Communications
While McDonald's Burgers Get More Real, Chipotle Reminds Us It's Been 'Real' All Along
While McDonald's Burgers Get More Real, Chipotle Reminds Us It's Been 'Real' All Along
Published on October 2, 2018
About a 4 minute read

McDonald’s USA has announced that its seven classic burgers are now free from artificial preservatives, artificial flavors and added colors from artificial sources. The ingredient changes affect all 14,000 U.S. restaurants, marking this the next ma... View More

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Marketing & CommunicationsMarketing & Communications
The Swoosh Heard 'Round the World
The Swoosh Heard 'Round the World
Published on September 21, 2018
About a 5 minute read

Taking a knee made Nike stand up. As brand activism becomes commonplace — even expected — it’s an optimal moment to unpack the factors that spur companies to stand up for something that matters. ... View More

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Marketing & CommunicationsMarketing & Communications
More Americans Staying Informed; Increasing Scrutiny of Business, Government
More Americans Staying Informed; Increasing Scrutiny of Business, Government
Published on September 19, 2018
About a 4 minute read

More and more Americans are seeking information about corporate social and environmental responsibility, particularly from news coverage, according to the ninth annual Sense & Sustainability® Study, released Wednesday by G&S Business Communi... View More

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Organizational GovernanceMarketing & Communications
Survey: US Consumers Doubt Their Ability to Impact Climate Change, Look to Companies to Lead
Survey: US Consumers Doubt Their Ability to Impact Climate Change, Look to Companies to Lead
Published on September 12, 2018
About a 3 minute read

The majority of US citizens (62 percent) say they believe climate change is a problem but feel unempowered to address it, according to the 2018 Cone/Porter Novelli Climate Change Snapshot — instead, they are looking to companies to take the lead. Y... View More

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Marketing & CommunicationsMarketing & Communications
On 30th Anniversary of 'Just Do It,' Nike Puts Kaepernick Where Its Mouth Is
On 30th Anniversary of 'Just Do It,' Nike Puts Kaepernick Where Its Mouth Is
Published on September 5, 2018
About a 3 minute read

Nike’s 30th anniversary edition of its iconic “Just Do It” campaign, released this week, features embattled football star Colin Kaepernick, in a move practically designed to stir up controversy — but which ultimately aligns perfectly with Nik... View More

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Marketing & CommunicationsMarketing & Communications
Your Key to Positive Impact: The 4 Generations Principle
Your Key to Positive Impact: The 4 Generations Principle
Published on September 4, 2018
About a 3 minute read

Why are light switches in design hotels impossible to find? Why are our oceans drowning in plastic? How to find more satisfaction in your work? How to make your business a force of good? And how do we connect these seemingly unconnected questions? Le... View More

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Marketing & CommunicationsMarketing & Communications
UK Public Supports Urgent Action, Litigation on Climate Change
UK Public Supports Urgent Action, Litigation on Climate Change
Published on August 30, 2018
About a 3 minute read

According to a new survey from UK-based environmental law charity ClientEarth, the British public wants urgent action on climate change and strongly supports holding fossil fuel companies and the UK government accountable for the negative effects of ... View More

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Marketing & CommunicationsMarketing & Communications
GlobeScan, Sustainable Apparel Coalition Partner on Consumer Engagement Initiative
GlobeScan, Sustainable Apparel Coalition Partner on Consumer Engagement Initiative
Published on August 29, 2018
About a 2 minute read

Sustainability research consultancy GlobeScan and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) have partnered on a study to develop communication guidelines and materials for engaging consumers on the Higg Index — a holistic suite of tools for measuring... View More

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Marketing & Communications
Your Stakeholders Are Listening, So What Are You Saying?
Your Stakeholders Are Listening, So What Are You Saying?
Published on August 22, 2018
About a 5 minute read

Understanding who your business affects and how they affect your business is key to long-term success. If you only focus on customers, you are falling way short. To truly take your business from local to national and on to global levels, you have to ... View More

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Marketing & CommunicationsMarketing & Communications
GRI, UNGC Release 'Practical Guide' for Companies to Report Their Impact on the SDGs
GRI, UNGC Release 'Practical Guide' for Companies to Report Their Impact on the SDGs
Published on August 2, 2018
About a 3 minute read

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) have released “A Practical Guide” to enable companies to better measure and report on their impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The new publication... View More

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Marketing & CommunicationsMarketing & Communications
Ad Industry's Top Creatives Have United to Fight Climate Change
Ad Industry's Top Creatives Have United to Fight Climate Change
Published on July 31, 2018
About a 5 minute read

In the true spirit of coopetition, 17 of New York’s top marketing, advertising and communications agencies have partnered with leading climate scientists and non-profits to harness consumer insights and creativity to motivate urgent and collective ... View More

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