Marketing & Communications Marketing & Communications
Nespresso Launches First Major Sustainability Campaign

With sustainability increasingly informing consumers’ purchasing habits and behaviors, it is becoming imperative for brands to effectively — and authentically — communicate what they are doing to address key social and environmental issues along the supply chain. In an effort to shed light on its sustainability efforts, Nespresso is shifting away from its signature star-studded spots to a new ad campaign focused on the farmers and communities that are the backbone of the brand.

By Sustainable Brands | Published 7 years ago | About a 3 minute read

With sustainability increasingly informing consumers’ purchasing habits and behaviors, it is becoming imperative for brands to effectively — and authentically — communicate what they are doing to address key social and environmental issues along the supply chain. In an effort to shed light on its sustainability efforts, Nespresso is shifting away from its signature star-studded spots to a new ad campaign focused on the farmers and communities that are the backbone of the brand.

Nespresso’s previous marketing efforts have previously focused on portraying a sense of everyday luxury, with celebrities such as George Clooney, Matt Damon and Jack Black sipping on espresso in the brand’s short spots.

Created by J Walter Thompson Worldwide, the new campaign — ‘The Choices We Make’ — tells the story of a community mill built by Nespresso in Jardin, Colombia and the positive social, environmental and economic outcomes it has delivered. It features a 60-second TV ad, which will run in every market in which the brand is sold, as well as four two-minute films that explore the facility in more detail. There are also six videos profiling Nespresso’s “grand crus” and the Nespresso system, which further play up the ‘choices we make’ theme.

Nespresso developed its AAA Sustainable Quality Program in partnership with the Rainforest Alliance in 2003, in which it works with coffee farmers to promote sustainable agricultural practices and increase the “quality, productivity and longevity” of their coffee farms. However, this marks the first time the brand has clearly communicated about these efforts.

“The sustainability program has been running since 2003, but we’ve only now decided to be outspoken about it in a clear way. At the time, consumers weren’t as sensitive to the issue as they are now,” said Pederzini. “We know that they are interested in sustainability, recycling and the positive impact that they can deliver [by choosing our products.]”

“We are not taking an opportunistic approach [with this campaign], it is absolutely what we believe is the right thing to do. This is a brand platform and not a single campaign. There are more stories to come and it’s only the beginning.”