A New Story of Nature
For as long as any of us can remember, the story has been that we visit nature, we appreciate it from a distance, we are its caretakers, we are here to save it — the whales, the rainforests, the bees, you name it. Yet we are somehow separate from it.
How did we get so far removed from the very thing we are of? We forget we are part of nature, we are creatures, we are stardust.
Earth Month is as good an excuse as any to frame a new story of nature. A better story that reconnects us to our origins and to one another. Because when we embrace the natural cycles and reciprocities as creatures in an ecosystem, we will find ourselves at our best.?
Our friends in the business of food know this particularly well. Farmers and food makers honor the seasons to enjoy the best the earth has to share. They replenish the land in order to continue to reap its bounty year after year.?
The challenge is maintaining a good ecosystem as the scale of your system grows. Big food and agriculture have certainly made missteps, but today’s food brand leaders are working hard to repair our food systems for a regenerative future. (Psst, more on this in chapter 3 of BBMG’s new impact report!)
Recently for our podcast we spoke with two dear friends and clients from food brands Just Salad and Nestlé Nespresso SA about how a regenerative approach to business and B Corp certification have helped them grow with integrity and make some of the most delicious food out there.?
Guillaume Le Cunff , CEO at Nespresso, a company that partners with 160,000 farmers in eighteen countries, tells us, “If you want to be a super premium brand, and if you want to go beyond the product, you have to be connected across your value chain.” Which is just another way of saying, relationships are everything, even – and maybe especially – for a global brand.?
Are you ready to tell a new story of nature, one that places humankind in nature, not outside of it? A story that embraces our interconnectedness? Keep reading for more Earth Month news, media, inspiration, and invitations from our team and our clients.?
Rock on,
the BBMG Team
New Podcast Episode
Raphael speaks with brand leaders from certified B Corps – Jennifer Lally , VP of Marketing at Just Salad, the newly rebranded quick-serve restaurant chain, and Guillaume Le Cunff , global CEO of the coffee giant Nespresso. They talk about how sustainability and social responsibility in the food industry go hand in hand with creating food that’s distinctly delicious. From their relationships with farmers and suppliers to their commitment to their employees and customers, both are the very essence of what a Regenerative Brand is all about.
“Why not be part of something that brings you joy?”
Jennifer Lally, VP Marketing at Just Salad
EVENT
Circular Design at Brand-Led Culture Change
From reusable containers, to recommerce, to upcycled products, learn how REI , 塔吉特百货 , and Just Salad are innovating and scaling circular models to attract new fans and earn customer loyalty, all while eliminating waste. BBMG leads a breakout session on Designing for Circularity-Friendly Behaviors at Brand-Led Culture Change on May 9.
领英推荐
EVENT
B Corp Brand Awareness Webinar
Consumer awareness for the B Corp certification is growing, and brands in the community can work together to further increase its recognition. BBMG’s Head of Creative, Jess Pitera , will share principles for sustainability storytelling in this webinar hosted by B Lab U.S. & Canada . May 8th at 12 pm ET / 9 am PT.
Just Salad Debuts New Website
Our web design and development partners at Paper Tiger worked with us to translate Just Salad’s new branding into a bold and beautiful new website that launched last week.
More Ideas on The Future We Want...
How storytelling can supercharge the business impact of environmental and social efforts: Why Marketers Need To Better Control The ESG Narrative >>
How a commitment to a mission pays off in the end: This Michelin-Star Chef Switched to a Plant-Based Menu. Then It Blew Up in His Face >>
How scientific innovations find dual wins for crops and climate: Biotech startup raises $100 million to tackle agricultural problem using fungi >>
How indigenous wisdom offers dual wins for crops and climate, too: Biochar — an ancient farming method — is finding new life improving soil and burying carbon >>
How certification labels help conscious consumers shop with their values: Third-Party Verification Labels Can Guide Sustainable Shopping, If Consumers Know About Them>>
(Bonus: check out the new report on The $44 Billion Sustainability Opportunity and Kiss the Ground’s new food labels cheat sheet)
What We’re Reading and Streaming
?? Erika Pontes is listening to this playlist featuring NATURE alongside some big names like Ellie Goulding, London Grammar, David Bowie, Brian Eno, and more. These tracks crediting nature as an artist help support its conservation through Sounds Right, a partnership between UN Live and EarthPercent .
?? Hannah Thomas is enjoying reading There's Always This Year by Hanif Abdurraqib. “It’s a poetic, funny, romantic reflection on grief and belonging through the lens of basketball from one of the most talented writers of our generation.”?
?? The whole BBMG team together listened to “Our Story of Nature: From Rupture to Reconnection” from the Outrage + Optimism podcast. As we shared in our letter above, this series starts by asking how we might address 21st Century problems by writing new stories of our relationship with nature. We resonated with the idea of measuring the functioning of our society not with a single metric (GDP) but with a dashboard that considers the health of the entire ecosystem. As biomimicry expert Janine Benyus puts it, what if we functioned like a generous ecosystem?
BBMG is a branding and social impact consultancy that works with leaders who won’t wait on things that can’t wait. Learn more, see our work, and get in touch at bbmg.com