How To Build a Better – More Sustainable! – Brand … Advice From an Adweek Commentator
How To Build a Better - More Sustainable! - Brand ... Advice From an Adweek Commentator We seem to love our “top 10” [etc.] lists; these are typically eye-catching headlines for published news and commentaries about certain subjects. (As in: the 10 things you need to know about…). In Adweek, the authoritative news and insights publication for brand marketers over the past four decades, we learn about “the five truths needed to create a sustainable brand”. This is from a commentary by columnist Bruce Mau (he’s a prominent designer, co-founder of Massive Change Network and Visiting Professor at Pratt Institute). The “mad scramble to make brands more sustainable is in full swing,” he advised his corporate marketing and advertising agency executives audience. And many companies are still getting it wrong. So what are the correct steps? He suggests five – and explains the nature of each. The first misconception to address (and change) is that a new, splashy product is not true sustainability, which comes about through a series of incremental improvements. Think of a product that is recyclable and (then) what that may take to create, produce and market successfully (in the end, that benefits the society by addressing the challenge of too much waste still going to landfill). Then, (another step) the lesson learned is usually that “you can’t do it alone” – society is facing an ecosystem of problems, and we all need help in addressing these. No firm can address an industry’s issues all alone. Collaboration is key; imagine when a client on the scale of a McDonald’s says it will be sustainable, what happens if every of its vendor follows suit. (Wal-Mart has been the prime corporate / retailer example of this over recent years.) As we here at G&A tell our corporate clients and the many corporate managers we speak to each week, sustainability is not a destination; it is a journey! And the journey involves many people beyond those few taking the first steps…the crowd will grow as the journey ensues. “Strategy” is a familiar word in the corporate world; it comes down to us from ancient Greece, deriving its meaning from the concept that this is the work of generalship – being a leader. Successful strategy comes from the top and begins with “clarity,” and understanding, author Bruce Mau tells us. Pursuit of sustainability should be a key strategy of the corporate enterprise. Finally, today there is capacity to track the world’s energy and material flow and create metrics to enable those who manage brands to make better decisions and build “reasonable, actionable sustainability strategies”. The impact that brands and brand marketers make can be better measured and managed. Giving us – marketers and consumers and a range of stakeholders – a better way to track our progress (or lack thereof) to determine the impacts we are making on our planet and society. There’s a small treasure of insights in author Mau’s Adweek commentary – our Top Story for you this week. Click here for more about Bruce Mau and his “Massive Change Network. Please let us know how we’re doing with our selection of news, research and commentary that we present in our Highlights! This Week's Top Story The 5 Truths Needed to Create a Sustainable Brand Sustainability Standards Setters & Policy Makers The COSO Internal Control Framework and Sustainability Reporting The U.S. Congress just held its first hearing on ESG issues. What's next? ESG / Sustainable & Responsible Investment “Green” Bonds – Sustainable Finance Municipal Bonds: A Holistic View Of A Community's Environment And Sustainability A New ‘Sustainability Bond’ Got 10 Times the Investor Interest It Needed Investor Engagement & Sustainable Investing Opinion: Critics of ESG funds are wrong — sustainable investing delivers competitive returns Growing interest in sustainable investing Sustainable trackers – where two of the investing world's biggest trends collide Morgan Stanley launches new tool to let advisors, investors measure sustainable investing goals Corporate Sustainability / ESG The economic case for ESG disclosure No more cardboard boxes? 3M invents an ingenious new way to ship products 4 Things Brands Should Do For The Environment Instead Of Launching A New Sustainable Line How To Make Your Business Financially Sustainable
Fashion brands ranked for toxic textiles and sustainability Plastics Or People? At Least 1 Of Them Has To Change To Clean Up Our Mess More Americans Are Considering Buying an EV, According to New Survey To ‘Future-Proof’ Business, Fashion Must Pivot Toward Sustainability Global Sustainability: Continuing Forward Momentum! How We Use Our Biggest Events To Play An Important Role In Sustainability When sustainability needs a two-way conversation Solar’s 20 most overlooked benefits for global sustainability Lessons From Two Cities' Sustainable Development Strategies Sustainability Data That Matter XBRL Forms Refresh How big data can boost agricultural growth The Most Critical Sustainability Metric of the Year, and the Decade
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