Consumer Behavior Change Marketing & Communications

Brands for Good Unveils Groundbreaking Research on Sustainable Consumer Behaviors

The latest Socio-Cultural Trend Tracker research measures consumer progress against adopting 9 sustainable behaviors, the intention-to-action gap for each, and brand trust scores in the time of COVID-19.

Published 4 years ago | About a 3 minute read

Image: Dollar Gill/Unsplash

Today, Brands for Good — Sustainable Brands™’ collaboratory of leading brands and agencies dedicated to inspiring and encouraging more sustainable consumer behaviors — releases the results of its Socio-Cultural Trend Tracker research, conducted in partnership with The Harris Poll.

According to the new research, even US consumers that report not having sustainable values are adopting more sustainable behaviors; and, when it comes to sustainable values, political differences are less polarized than expected. The research also measures, for the first time, consumer progress against adopting the Brands for Good nine sustainable behaviors — and the ‘intention-to-action’ gap for each — as well as brand trust scores in the time of COVID-19 and other stressors.

The results will be presented live this morning at 11am ET — in a panel discussion with The Harris Poll and Brands for Good Corporate Partners The Clorox Company and Procter & Gamble — at Sustainable Brands’ free virtual event, Brands for Good: Accelerating Culture Change.

Brands for Good launched in June 2019 with Dentsu Aegis Network, National Geographic, Nestlé Waters, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, SAP SuccessFactors, SC Johnson, Target and Visa. Since then, new corporate partners Bumblebee Foods, The Clorox Company, Indigo Agriculture, CVS Health, Tetra Pak and General Mills have joined; along with contributing partners including the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), EY, Futerra, Global Citizen, Porter Novelli, Grounded and WeSpire.

Brands for Good partners have access to a full suite of proprietary tools, guides, workshops, research and working groups that help them unleash the power of their brands to drive mainstream consumer behavior change, towards the adoption of sustainable lifestyles. All Brands for Good partners have taken this three-point pledge:

Embed environmental and social purpose into the heart of their brand promise, products and experiences;
Use marketing, communications and brand influence to make sustainable living accessible, aspirational and rewarding; and
Work together to transform the field of marketing to shift behaviors and drive positive impact with people, communities and the planet we share.

“We are on a mission to transform the field of marketing, and harness it to drive sustainable consumer behavior change at scale. There is no more pressing moment to make this happen, and no other organization is able to equip marketers and agencies alike with the tools they need,” said Etienne White, VP of Brands for Good. “Brands for Good allows marketers to fully embed sustainability and to use it as a competitive advantage. It is inspiring to see industry titans pre-competitively working together to ensure that collectively their brands can become a profound force for good in the world.”

Also launching today is a new initiative within the Brands for Good offering, designed specifically to bring leading CMOs together in community with each other. Convening quarterly, the Brands for Good CMO Council will help CMOs accelerate their brands’ progress through dedicated content, inspirational speakers, thought leadership and peer-to-peer conversations.

“We are seeing through this period of mass uncertainty and hyper-acceleration that the role of marketing is changing, and consumers expect brands to contribute in new and more profound ways. With this shift comes new responsibilities, new pressures and perhaps most importantly, new opportunities for marketers,” said Lynne Biggar, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Visa. “Chief Marketing Officers need a forum where we can each share our successes and challenges, learn from one another and be inspired by thought leaders outside of our fields; as well as help guide the direction of Brands for Good as a whole. The Brands for Good CMO Council serves that exact function; I’m delighted to be a part of it and highly encourage other CMOs to join.”

For more information about Brands for Good, please visit https://sbbrandsforgood.com. Everyone can join the discussion today and every day by following #SBBrandsforGood on social media.