How brands are successfully communicating their sustainability efforts — and how their stakeholders are asserting their own needs and preferences
The first time I watched virtual reality, I knew that it was going to become an incredibly powerful medium for doing good. At Matter Unlimited, we're in the business of doing good by amplifying the power of brands and organizations to drive positive change in the world. Immediately I recognized the opportunity for us to tell stories in VR that bring people closer to understanding a wide array of social issues.
“We’re going to change the world - all of us together. I know we will.” – Max Schorr GOOD is a social impact company that creates stories, experiences, and tools to push the world forward. During a dynamic workshop Monday afternoon, the GOOD team - including Max Schorr, co-founder and Chief Community Officer; Casey Caplowe, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer; and Gabriel Reilich, Head of Video - provided case studies, tools, and interactive exercises to help workshop attendees answer the question: How do you build something that people want to be a part of? The goals of the workshop were:
It’s no secret that the audience at any Sustainable Brands conference lives and breathes social impact. From CSR strategists to climate change experts to sustainability technicians, our careers are devoted to integrating business and social purpose to make the world a better place. Ricardo Caceres, Global Marketing Director of Sustainability at The Coca-Cola Company, knows he is preaching to the choir. When he says, “We must shift sustainability from a technical to a humanizing conversation to unlock marketing value,” heads around the room nod in agreement. He’s speaking our language – the challenge of connecting the dots between sustainability imperatives, and marketing and business goals.
Language is a virus: Get it wrong and it can kill your venture. Get it right, and it inspires others and spreads like fire. In sustainability, where we are still working to attract new audiences, this can be the difference between engagement and alienation. So how do we get it right? According to Betsy Henning, CEO & Founder of AHA, an award-winning creative marketing communications firm based in Portland, Oregon, there are seven deadly sins of sustainability communications to avoid:
Early on in the Embedding Project, one topic came up more than any other: storytelling. While many companies are experimenting with sharing stories about sustainability as a way to shape their cultures, we also heard that their attempts to do this sometimes fell flat. It turns out that leveraging storytelling to help employees arrive at their own learning moments about sustainability takes some planning. Over a two-year period, we worked with companies, reviewed research, and interviewed storytellers in a range of roles. Here’s some of what we learned.
Purpose-driven brands know that the key to successful engagement is connecting consumers to their brand purpose and mission. The most effective ways to do that is to listen, communicate, and build trust. Here we offer five inventive new ways to actively connect with the growing segment of conscious consumers.
Roughly a year ago, KIND Snacks CEO Daniel Lubetzky received a letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about his products. Among other nutrition claims, the FDA took issue with the use of the word “healthy” on KIND snack bar labels. Now, the FDA has not only affirmed that KIND can use “healthy” on its labels again, but also confirmed that it intends to reevaluate the regulatory definition of the term.
Academy-Award nominated filmmaker Josh Fox’s latest documentary opens with Fox dancing to The Beatles to celebrate a victory over the gas industry following the production of his startling previous release, Gasland. The new film, entitled How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change, is a journey across 12 countries on 6 continents that highlights the communities that are fighting back against fossil fuel extraction.
The environmental and social benefits of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification are proven, as the organisation works to ensure sustainable use of forest products. But a recent WWF study has found that there is also a concrete economic benefit. The bottom line? On average, forestry companies can earn an extra US$1.80 for every cubic metre of FSC-certified timber.
Climate change has slowly become more of a partisan issue over the last few decades, fuelling heated debates despite the scientific consensus (and, quite often, about whether there is in fact a scientific consensus) that human activities are causing climate change. Amidst this tumultuous political landscape, how to communicate effectively about climate issues has become difficult.
Mars Food plans to begin distinguishing between its products which are fit for “everyday” versus “occasional” consumption. Over the next few months, the company is expected to publish a list of products which should not be eaten more than once per week due to higher salt, sugar and/or fat content. The list will appear on the company’s website, and the list items’ packaging will bear a label in stores in the United Kingdom.
A new “reality feature news show,” ASPIREist, wants to inspire viewers to take action by showcasing people, projects and ideas that are making a difference. Co-hosted by six twenty and thirty-something TED Talk speakers from a variety of fields – environmentalists, activists, social entrepreneurs – the show calls itself “the new newsroom,” one for “today’s generation.”
Cross-Posted from Supply Chain. This year, Fashion Revolution’s annual campaign has expanded into a week-long series of events featuring hundreds of activities, stunts and social experiments across 84 countries worldwide. Throughout Fashion Revolution Week, April 18th to 24th, consumers will demand transparency and raise awareness of exploitation in the fashion supply chain by posting on social media using the hashtag #WhoMadeMyClothes.
Every year, April evokes campaigns and initiatives from companies and nonprofits alike in celebration of Earth Day (April 22) or Earth Month. This year, personal care brand Tom’s of Maine has teamed up with upcycling leader TerraCycle on the#LessWasteChallenge, a stakeholder engagement campaign to reduce waste. Consumers are invited to take an online pledge to reduce their household waste by one pound per week.
Cross-Posted from Innovation & Technology. Move over Prince Ea, there's a new spoken word artist promoting sustainability. To help reach a wider audience for its newly-released 2015 sustainability report, Heineken recruited Dutch rapper and vocal artist Kevin "Blaxtar" de Randamie to transform the report into his own artistic expression.
Artist network Brandalism believes that the talent, energy and creativity of ad agency employees is “sinking into an ever-expanding black hole.” The network recently launched a campaign to appeal to those who feel the same, by placing several posters in front of ad agency offices in Manchester and London.
Over 125 cosmetics and personal care products from 14 brands have earned the Environmental Working Group (EWG)’s new verification. The EWG VERIFIED™ program aims to help customers quickly and easily identify products that meet strict ingredient standards and are “produced with the best manufacturing practices.” The program was announced in October and has quickly grown to include cosmetics such as foundations, blushes, eye shadows, eye liners, lipsticks and lip glosses; skin care products including cleansers and moisturizers; shampoos, soaps and deodorants; and more.
Over 200 of the most influential figures in sustainability standards and certification will join business leaders to share their thoughts on today’s most pressing sustainability challenges on May 10 to 11 in Washington, DC.
The term ‘greenwashing’ might be officially outdated. In 2016, the number of companies making unmerited PR splashes over sustainability is far outweighed by those who are taking significant strides forward and not talking about it. When faced with the science of climate change and transparency into corporate accountability in 2016, sustainability is simply part of doing business. Yet many leading companies still shy away from fully embracing their sustainability stories. Excellent, groundbreaking work is happening across the private sector with no-one around to hear. To re-philosophize the old saying … if a tree grows in a deforestation zone, and no one is around to hear the re-surging wildlife, does it make an impact? Unfortunately, the answer is no.
On Friday, General Mills announced that it will “soon” start labeling its products that contain genetically modified organism (GMO) ingredients nationwide. With the rationale that it is impractical to label its products for just one state, the company plans to disclose GMO ingredients according to the law set to go into effect in Vermont on July 1.