As the recession eases, should sustainability become a priority?
As the economic recovery kicks in and the crisis abates, brands have more room for manoeuvre when it comes to signing up to carbon-labelling and similar ethical and environmental schemes
Christopher Satterthwaite, chief executive, Chime Communications
Nowadays I sense that competitive advantage for brands is no longer just about conventional marketing issues, such as price, product and availability.
It is increasingly being redefined by ’sustainable advantage’ – that is, taking sustainability factors (such as carbon, packaging, ethical sourcing etc) and leveraging them for long-term sustainable brand value.
Insights from research conducted by Corporate Citizenship indicate that while we may still be in a recession, consumers are not easing up on expect-ations of brands to address these issues.
For example, 70% of consumers say that they value brands that act on sus-tain-ability, but most of them don’t feel they are getting the right information. More-over, brands that sell a ’sustain-able promise’, but don’t actually show the evidence, are likely to be penalised.
The big message for brands that want to get ahead of the game is that there is a sustainable advantage to be had if they do their homework, find the right sustainability ‘fit’, and tell their story in an open and honest way.
Please click here for the article