With 2019 drawing to a close, more than 130 sustainability and Purpose leaders
from across the globe convened in New York City last week at Sustainable
Brands’ (SB) latest Corporate Member Meeting, to take stock of the
year and the vision for 2020. The conversation was not only a moment to
celebrate how far we’ve come; but perhaps more importantly, a time to
collectively unpack individual challenges and universal barriers to further
progress. The tone of the meeting was clear: We’ve come a long way — but our
work is far from done.
At this year’s meeting, we decided to take a moment to hear from the true
leaders and practitioners that are engaged in these issues, day in and day out.
What are the experts and trailblazers seeing in our industry in terms of the
trends of the year, but also what’s ahead?
First, let’s take stock on 2019: This year, we saw a teenage environmental
activist become TIME’s Person of the
Year, the term “ESG”
go from sustainability lingo to mainstream talk in the corner offices of Wall
Street, and employee activist
walkouts
become par for the course. 2019 was also the year plastics
commitments
were omnipresent and an emphasis on inclusivity brought innovative products and
campaigns to market.
Among the top 10
issues
Porter Novelli identified as trending in 2019, SB Members were asked to
select the one issue or trend they saw most in their work this year. The
findings were clear. Plastics taking precedence was far and away the most
popular issue at 29 percent of all responses. Climate urgency took second
place (18 percent), followed closely by CEO
activism
(16 percent) and youth movements (16 percent) — both tied in third place.
“This year, we saw many issues our space has been working on for years finally
hit the mainstream,” said Sandy Skees, EVP of Innovation and Impact at
Porter Novelli. “Important Purpose-driven issues are no longer relegated to the
‘green aisle’ or sustainability team, but are part of the popular lexicon and
mindshare. As these issues grow in importance among customers and other
stakeholders, we’ll see our collective work increase in importance and
accelerate in greater force.”
Although a strong understanding of the past 365 days creates a powerful
foundation to forward progress, it’s time to turn toward a new year and a new
decade. When asked what issue or trends SB Members thought we’d see more of in
2020, the answers were diverse*. Some responses were succinct, focusing on
one-word responses to encapsulate the year ahead, such as “awareness,”
“authentic,” “action” and “results.” Other responses centered around specific
issues of importance — such as “single-use plastic regulations,” “income
inequality” and “diversity and inclusion.” Other answers focused more on action
with terms such as “pre-competitive collaboration,” “consumer behavior
change”
and “employee brand advocacy.” The common thread throughout the answers provided
was clear: the industry — and the collective conversation — continues to mature
at breakneck speeds.
“Leadership conversations within the Sustainable Brands community are moving
beyond ‘less harm,’ and are increasingly focused on how we can restore and
regenerate our ecology/societal health and individual wellbeing,” states KoAnn
Vikoren Skrzyniarz, CEO and founder of Sustainable Brands. “We are seeing more
companies with heightened awareness of science-based goals and more powerful
global leadership from the private sector, as well as the financial sector
stepping up to embrace sustainable
finance
and ESG
integration.”
As morning sessions at the SB Member Meeting drew to a close, we took the
opportunity to ask one final question to the group: What one word will define
the year ahead? And while responses were varied, with terms such as “grit,”
“discord,” “partnership,” disruption” and “ambition” joining to form a word
cloud, a handful of words rose to the top. When defining 2020, these Purpose and
sustainability experts coalesced around three important terms: “progress,”
“action” and “change.”
These three words are powerful, but also heartening. Purpose leaders are not
only ready to take action, but feel that progress and change are on the horizon.
With that, we’ll take our leave on 2019 and look forward to a year of
engagement, growth — and, most importantly, transformation.
*Participants provided an open-ended response
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Senior Vice President, Marketing, Research & Insights
Allison
With nearly 15 years of experience in the purpose/ESG/impact space, Whitney Dailey is a leading practitioner at the intersection of purpose and communications.
At Allison+Partners, Whitney serves as Executive Vice President of Purpose and leads the agency’s newly formed Purpose Center of Excellence – a dedicated team specializing in Purpose brand strategy and ESG leadership, backed by A+P’s global network of more than 500+ creatives and storytellers. In this role, Whitney helps clients establish, communicate and measure ESG goals and strategies, as well as build breakthrough social impact programs and thoughtful, strategic Purpose programs and initiatives from the ground up.
Published Dec 20, 2019 1pm EST / 10am PST / 6pm GMT / 7pm CET