The glory of abundance is not necessarily lost and visions of a flourishing future are not naïve. There are strong signals pointing to the possibility of a thriving global economy — with health, dignity and happiness for all involved. The leading brands of tomorrow are seeing a wealth of opportunities in pursuing that possibility. They are reimagining their role in society, redesigning the ways they deliver value, and regenerating economic, environmental and social benefits as a result.
Smart brands planning for the long term are making sure their products and services are top-notch competitors in the market, while also solving social problems and alleviating, or altogether eliminating, resource tensions along the way. More and more are also starting to reach out in authentic voices, lifting artificial communication barriers and inviting key stakeholders on interactive, co-creative journeys. As we gear up to host hundreds of brands at the biggest annual gathering of the global Sustainable Brands community in early June, let's take a look at what proved to be the 10 most popular talks from Sustainable Brands events in 2013.
Here they are, in no particular order:
2] Engaging Your Workforce to Build Your Brand - Jeffrey Hollender, Seventh Generation
3] A Global Look Into the Future of Sustainability - Mark Lee
4] World of Good & Ebay - Leveraging the Power of Partnership to Create a Global Brand
5] GAP Inc Environmental Sustainability and Building a Credible Brand
2009
6] The Evolutionary Benefits of Altruism - Dacher Keltner, UC Berkeley
7] SunChip's Sustainable Brand Journey: Thinking Outside (And About) the Bag!
8] Insights into New Consumer Segments: Moms and Millennials - Diane MacEachern
9] The 4th R: Reinvention and Your Sustainable Brand - California Academy of Sciences
10] Empathy in Business & Brands Yields Strong Affinity - Dev Patnaik
2010
11] The Story of Timberland EarthKeepers
12] The Psychometrics of Sustainability - John Marshall Roberts
13] From Corporate Responsibility to Responsible Profit - Jason Saul
14] Culture Shifts and Brands - Tom LaForge, Coca Cola
15] Life Box: Plantable Packaging Assisted by Fungi - Paul Stamets
2011
16] Nike Better World
17] Innovating Philanthropy: Panera's Pay What You Can Stores
18] The Business Value of Fun
19] Building in Happiness: How Values and Culture Matter
20] Leveraging Innovation: Lessons in Bringing Sustainable Packaging to Market
21] Rethinking the Game: Defining a New Purpose for Business
22] "Glocalization": How Starbucks is Leveraging Local with Its Global Brand
2012
23] Go Further: Behind Ford's No Logo Campaign
24] Revolutionizing Our Global Economic Systems
25] A Revolution in Product Design
26] Engaging the Whole for Transformative Change
27] A Creative Brand Approach to an Unrecognized Problem
2013
Top 10 SB Talks of 2013
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Advisor and Co-Lead, Global Content Strategy & Thought Leadership, Sustainable Brands
Dimitar is a senior sustainability and regeneration strategist, educator, executive advisor and mentor. He currently holds the following active roles: Advisor and Co-Lead, Global Content Strategy & Thought Leadership at Sustainable Brands; Senior Strategist, Content Development & Product Innovation at Sustainability Hub Norway; Executive Advisor at rePurpose Global; and Senior Content Advisor at Integrate2033. He co-led the creation of the SB Brand Transformation Roadmap, a comprehensive navigation tool mapping the whole journey from business-as-usual to a sustainable brand, and co-designed an accompanying assessment process that measures progress in five dimensions: purpose, brand influence, operations and supply chain, products and services, and governance.
Published Feb 20, 2014 2am EST / 11pm PST / 7am GMT / 8am CET