How brands are successfully communicating their sustainability efforts — and how their stakeholders are asserting their own needs and preferences
For the seventh consecutive year, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts throughout the Western U.S. and Hawaii will participate in Earth Hour, a global event organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to raise awareness about climate change. On Saturday, March 29, at 8:30 p.m. (local time) these Fairmont hotels and resorts will participate by turning off their lights for one hour.“Earth Hour is a unique opportunity for Fairmont colleagues and guests to participate in the world’s largest global climate change initiative,” shares Thomas Klein, Regional Vice President and General Manager for Fairmont San Francisco. “It furthers our ongoing support of environmental awareness and demonstrates the hotels’ ongoing energy conservation stewardship.”
TripAdvisor, the go-to global site for travel advice, is extending its GreenLeaders program to 19 new markets including Canada, the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Explaining the benefits, Jenny Rushmore, Director of Responsible Travel at TripAdvisor, said, "With so many travelers placing an importance on the eco-friendly practices of the places they visit, hotel and B&B owners stand to gain a real competitive edge by promoting their environmentally friendly practices."
On March 22, the world will acknowledge World Water Day to celebrate the importance of fresh water and advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. Established in 1993 by the United Nations General Assembly, World Water Day is a reminder of the critical value of water to life, and a collective call-to-action to address the increased pressure that is threatening what is considered our most precious resource.
We are at a point in our species’ history when the need for change has never been stronger. Therefore it is with some frustration that the change we require remains ever out of reach, trampled by business as usual.At every sustainability or CSR conference a plethora of gurus will tell you that sustainability and CSR types use the wrong language, are too techy, are too interested in the difference between GRI G4 and G3.1 or are too immersed in the internecine antics of the IIRC and SASB.
Keurig Green Mountain's ninth annual Sustainability Report, released today, reveals progress on the company’s 2013 initiatives, and also announces the company's ambitious new 2020 targets with a focus on three main practice areas: Resilient Supply Chain, Sustainable Products, and Thriving People and Communities.
Just over 60 percent of Americans are convinced that human actions can cause significant changes to global climate over a long period of time, with the occurrence of natural weather disasters wielding considerable influence on their opinions, according to the fifth annual Sense & Sustainability Study released this week.30 percent of US adults are skeptical while 10 percent are unsure as to the impact of human activity on significant changes in temperature or precipitation over an extended period of time.
With its "Know what you eat" website, French organic yogurt brand The 2 Cows (Stonyfield France) is demonstrating commendable transparency regarding the composition of its products and traceability of its ingredients. It also presents its continuous improvement on the different sectors as well as challenges still to be addressed in the coming years.Certainly, The 2 Cows has many strengths:
As part of a recent brand relaunch, Long John Silver's (LJS) — the largest seafood restaurant chain in the US — is on a mission to get more US consumers to "Think Fish."
It’s been a busy week for Michelle Obama, as the First Lady unveiled proposals that would change the way we learn about food — both bold moves that would involve sweeping changes that would prove “a big deal” if implemented.
A recent headline, “JCPenney Releases 2013 Sustainability Report,” reads like the punch line to a bad joke. Apparently the struggling department store company, which is closing 33 underperforming stores and incurred a net loss of nearly $500 million in its last reported quarter, felt it was important to promote a report detailing its sustainability activities. What JCPenney probably intended as a reassuring message about the company came off more like an effort to distract people from the realities of its fundamental business problems.
There’s a house on Long Island that can keep you young. At least, that’s what the architects claim – and it’s no small matter in an aging world. If I asked you what you’d look for in your ideal home, you might reply ‘a space to unwind’ or ‘a little love and laughter.’ I’d be surprised if you came back with ‘rejuvenation’: a word used to sell face cream, not housing.But perhaps we don’t give enough thought to the way in which our minds and bodies are constantly responding to the world around us. What an opportunity for brands! We may not know we want houses that keep us young, but it would make a great selling point in an estate agent’s window.
Consistently creating valuable content through a variety of channels is a great way for companies to establish thought leadership and gain customer trust; Airbnb’s content-marketing initiatives are a best-practice model.
As part of a massive brand relaunch, seafood quick-service restaurant chain Long John Silver's (LJS) is on a mission to get more US consumers to "Think Fish."The new campaign promotes seafood as a dining option that’s healthy for people and for the world at large: Two new TV spots point out advantages of fish over meats such as beef and pork, while a third, called "Final frontier," shows cows confined on a farm while a narrator asks, "Anyone ever heard of free range? Get your next meal from the real frontier — fish sustainably harvested from the wildest place on earth."
Is 2014 the year that sustainability marketing and communication become a big deal for companies? That’s certainly the impression you could draw judging by Unilever’s recent launch of its Project Sunlight campaign, not to mention Chipotle’s "Scarecrow" film and interactive game along with IKEA’s new sustainability awareness-raising "Wonderful Everyday" campaign.
“Green marketing” expert Jacquie Ottman is the co-author (with David Mallen) of a report published in September through Ad Age called, How To Make Credible Green Marketing Claims: What Marketers Need to Know About the Updated FTC Green Guides. We spoke with her recently about the report and the challenges and continued evolution of making sustainability claims in marketing.What prompted you to put together your 'Guide to the Green Guides'?
The Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit conservation organization based in the US, will take full advantage of the love in the air this Valentine’s Day by disseminating 4,000 free Endangered Species Condoms to eight of the most romantic getaway cities in North America. From Bar Harbor, Maine, to Santa Fe, N.M., the condoms will be given away by volunteers to playfully raise awareness about how runaway human population growth is affecting endangered species around the globe.
IKEA is launching a new marketing campaign in the UK this weekend called “The Wonderful Everyday,” which will explain the brand’s values and sustainability ethos to consumers, according to Marketing Week.The first ads, which launch tomorrow (February 8), mark the Swedish retailer’s first sustainability-focused campaign. Created by Mother, the UK’s largest independent ad agency, the first TV and radio spots will focus on touting energy-saving LEDs as an alternative to incandescent lightbulbs, which IKEA has committed to phasing out by 2016.
2degrees is calling for organisations with inspiring examples of sustainable practice to shout about their success stories by entering this year’s Champions Awards.The only sustainable business awards voted entirely by industry peers, the 2degrees Champions Awards are the ultimate recognition for individuals and companies using innovation to push the boundaries of sustainable business.Last year’s winners included a range of start-ups, SMEs and FTSE-listed businesses including Unilever, The Co-operative Group, Sky, O2 and SC Johnson.
Authors Christophe Fauconnier & Benoit Beaufils, respectively CEO & founding partner of the consultancy Innate Motion, share their vision and the tools they use to develop purposeful brands in their latest book, Creating Value People to People.
In nine earlier parts of this series, we discussed 19 pitfalls in the sustainable business metrics field. (Find the first 7 articles here and the last two here.)