Jennifer Elks

Viola Brands: A Case Study in Cultivating Racial Equity

Walking the Talk / Cannabis producer Viola Brands is determined to increase minority representation in the industry. Its Viola Cares program provides education, employment and other resources; in order to create 10,000 jobs within the cannabis industry for Black people. - 3 months ago

Cartwright to Brands: Look Inward Before Responding to Social Issues

Marketing and Comms / Keith Cartwright, the creative force behind such powerful statement ads as P&G’s “The Look” and “The Choice,” shares his insights and advice to brands and agencies on how to most authentically respond in times of crisis. - 4 months ago

How to Redesign Our Food System for Resilience

The Next Economy / At the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s recent Big Food Workshop, a variety of experts from throughout the food space spoke on the need to radically redesign for circularity and regionalism, to help us heal our broken global food system. - 5 months ago

Trending: Heritage Brands Rush to Distance Themselves from Racially Stereotyped Images

Marketing and Comms / Amidst the social unrest that has flooded the US since the murder of George Floyd, four household-name food brands, whose brand identities have long centered around racial stereotypes, are updating their images and logos to reflect the changing societal consciousness. - 5 months ago

Brands Speak Out to Support Black Lives Matter, But Actions Speak Louder

Marketing and Comms / Brands are more willing than ever to take public stands in support of important issues. But while many aren’t much more than social media sound bytes, others go beyond lip service to action. - 5 months ago

#BrandsforGood on Mission to Bring ‘Good Life’ to Life for Consumers

Leadership / When SB’s Corporate Member group agreed they hadn’t cracked the nut as to how to create that elusive “pull factor” toward more conscious consumer habits and purchasing behaviors, the Brands for Good collaboratory was born. - 1 year ago

‘Round and ‘Round We Finally Go: Why I Believe We’ll Achieve a Circular Economy, Part 1

The Next Economy / While a growing number of industries are working to eliminate waste globally, two in particular — which happen to be two of the world’s biggest culprits where waste is concerned — also have me feeling particularly inspired. - 1 year ago

‘We Believe’: Communicators Weigh In on P&G’s Controversial New Ad

Marketing and Comms / We reached out to communication leaders in the SB community for their take on P&G’s spotlight on toxic masculinity. - 1 year ago

Global Practitioners Gather to Compare Notes on Redesigning the #GoodLife

The Next Economy / Last year, the Sustainable Brands community gathered around the world throughout the year to share insights on how they – and their customers – were “redefining the good life.” This year, the conversation has progressed from the ‘what’ to the ‘how’ of designing the sustainable future in which we all want to live. - 2 years ago

On 30th Anniversary of 'Just Do It,' Nike Puts Kaepernick Where Its Mouth Is

Marketing and Comms / 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 Nike’s ethos of living courageously. - 2 years ago

Q&A: Will We Go 'All In'? The Past, Present and Future of Sustainability Leadership

The Next Economy / Written by three leading thinkers in the field of sustainability — Chris Coulter, CEO of GlobeScan; David Grayson, Emeritus of Corporate Responsibility at Cranfield University School of Management; and Mark Lee, Executive Director of SustainAbility — All In: The future of Business Leadership (Taylor & Francis, 2018) identifies the essential attributes of high-impact corporate sustainability leadership and describes how companies can combine and apply those characteristics for future success. - 2 years ago

Third Year of REI's #OptOutside Movement Gives the Power to the People

Walking the Talk / With the launch of its #OptOutside campaign in 2015, REI set a new precedent in retail, shuttering its stores on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, giving its employees a paid day off and – on a day that has come to represent consumerism at its most extreme – encouraging staff and consumers alike to forgo the shopping frenzy in favor of the great outdoors. The move epitomized the company’s ethos and kickstarted a movement to drive positive behavior change and impacts. - 3 years ago

Redefining Ethical Business, Education, Activism, Customer Experiences All Key to 'The Good Life'

Walking the Talk / Last week, at the third and final SB Buenos Aires event of 2017, perspectives from the worlds of arts, finance, education, big business, healthcare, urban planning, consumers, activist brands and more provided a 360-degree look at how organizations around the world are working to manifest our changing vision of “The Good Life” – and highlighted the amount of work yet to be done. - 3 years ago

Could RFID Eliminate Food Waste – or All Product Waste – from Producer to Consumer?

Business Case / Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, which dates back to World War II radar systems, is increasingly being used to track goods throughout complex global supply chains. - 3 years ago

Kavita Shukla: Fighting Food Waste with FreshPaper; Rallying Women Innovators with FreshVoices

Product, Service & Design Innovation / What started as a simple home remedy and a middle school science project has exploded into a viable and affordable solution for fighting food waste across the globe. During a trip to India to visit family when she was 12 years old, Kavita Shukla’s grandmother gave her a homemade tea of different spices to ward off illness after having ingested a glass of unfiltered tap water. The spicy concoction prevented Shukla from becoming sick and ultimately became the inspiration behind years of experimentation with rotting fruits and vegetables that would lead to the creation of Shukla’s revolutionary FreshPaper. - 3 years ago

Creating the Win-Win: How Startups, NGOs and Global Brands Are Planting Seeds for 'The Good Economy'

The Next Economy / It was standing room only on Tuesday at Buenos Aires’ MALBA modern art museum, for the second of two ‘InFocus’ events this year by the Sustainable Brands Buenos Aires team. Last month’s event at MALBA presented “Good to the Core” as a collective construction that can be achieved when all of society’s stakeholders work together to achieve it. - 3 years ago

#BusinessCase: Dow Continues to Show Positive Return on Pursuing Sustainability Goals

Collaboration / Last week, The Dow Chemical Company released its 2015 Sustainability Report, which examined the company’s journey toward reaching its 2015 goals and what it’s already achieved looking ahead to 2025. I caught up with corporate VP and Chief Sustainability Officer Neil Hawkins to learn more. - 4 years ago

Janine Benyus: What Businesses Can Learn from the 'Optimization Engine of Evolution'

Organizational Change / In 1997, biologist Janine Benyus popularized the term “biomimicry,” with her groundbreaking book of the same name, and spearheaded the growth of the discipline dedicated to applying Nature’s designs and processes to create a healthier, more sustainable world. I recently spoke with Janine about some of her favorite biomimetic innovations, about asking more from our design interventions, and some of the yet untapped areas in which Nature’s genius could help solve our most intractable problems. - 4 years ago

Timberland Extends Rigorous Environmental Standard Across Entire Product Portfolio

Product, Service & Design Innovation / Global outdoor lifestyle brand Timberland prides itself on its commitment to innovate and operate in an accountable and responsible manner — in terms of its products, the communities in which it operates, and the outdoors. As part of this commitment, the company today announced the implementation of its rigorous environmental standard — the Timberland Environmental Product Standard (TEPS) — across all of its product categories, beginning with its Spring 2016 collection. - 4 years ago

Play Your Part: Activating on Purpose Key for Successful Engagement for Sports, Brands

Marketing and Comms / The popularity of team sports in the U.S. — and the idolatry surrounding star players — makes them a perfect platform for reaching fans and encouraging behavior change on a massive scale. With 190 million fans expected to tune in on Sunday, the Super Bowl represents a unique opportunity to engage a large and somewhat unruly portion of the population to live and act more consciously. - 4 years ago

Managing Editor
Sustainable Brands