How brands can create a bright future
Keith Weed
Chair & Independent Director on Boards inc @WPP @Sainsbury’s. President & Chair Royal Horticultural Society, Chair UN Women Unstereotype Alliance, Director BITC, Trustee Leverhulme, Advisor AlixPartners. Ex-CMO @Unilever
We have a clear and simple goal at Unilever, to make sustainable living commonplace. Last week, we gave an update of progress on the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, five years in to the 10 year plan. We have always been clear that this was driven by economics, and was not simply a moral case - something we felt we ‘should’ do. And we are seeing the evidence behind that. Last year our Sustainable Living brands delivered nearly half of our growth, and grew 30% faster than the rest of the business. The ‘say-do’ gap which we’ve previously seen around buying sustainable products is closing.
How do we continue to close this further? As I meet consumers around the world I’ve observed first-hand the differences between how people see and react to what I call 'My world, Our world and The world'. Very often people tend to be wrapped up in their own worlds - the 'My World' element of this. They're interested in their friends, families and the immediate issues that affect them on a day-to-day basis: noise pollution from the building works next door or delays to their daily commutes. They’re also increasingly concerned with ‘Our world’ - safety within their local community, schools and whether waste is being picked up regularly. But up until now talk around sustainability has been focused on ‘The world’, highlighting issues like deforestation at a scale which can seem very distant from people’s everyday lives.
Making the connection for people between ‘The world’ issues like climate change and their 'My world' and 'Our world' lives, will be the unlock we need to start making sustainability mainstream, to start stimulating the demand side for this.
Because we can do all we like on the supply side, and in the five years since the launch of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan we've made some real steps forward; supporting more sustainable farming, working with smallholder farmers and striving to reduce deforestation. But only by an increase on the demand side will we really see this grow at scale. Brands have a responsibility here to build top-performing, everyday products that are also sustainable. Why should consumers pay a little bit more for something which is a little bit worse as has often happened in the past? We need to ensure that the consumer is no longer picking up the cheque for sustainable solutions. When brands can achieve this, we will unlock the scale we need to build a bright future for generations to come.
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Chief Executive Officer
8 年Truly an organization whose focus is on Human Impact. I spent only a few years with a Unilever brand, however the life lessons that I learned has been Golden in my career. Keep paying it forward UNLV
Board Member, International Strategy & Marketing, Innovation, ESG
8 年Yes, Keith, as marketers we should communicate in a consumer relevant way and add value to their lives. Your concept of ‘My world, Our world and The world’ clearly conveys the issue and what can be done better. Thank you for sharing. Let us all work together to make the world a better place using creativity to build a bright future with sustainable brands offering performing, sustainable products and enjoyable experiences.
Entrepreneur Building Sustainable Health & Wellbeing Brands - Earth's Finest & LivOn | Organic Food & Healthy Coffee | NED
8 年Absolutely inspiring Keith Weed. I'm simply hoping others would follow suit given the strong economic case behind sustainability. It is no longer something nice to do, rather what we have to do to compete effectively. Time to get the SMEs on board as well!
Addicted to Actionable Insights I Spark!ing Innovations I Coherent Brand Strategy
8 年Love the differentiation between my world, our world and the world. Unilever is making huge efforts in terms of sustainibility & Paul Polman is doing a fantastic job. A pitty this interview has been done in a car.