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