The rise of sustainable branding initiatives

Emma Watson once said, “As consumers, we have so much power to change the world by just being careful with what we buy”. Well, how can we argue with Hermione Granger?

According to a study conducted by GSG, 88% of consumers believe companies can influence societal change. As brands are becoming more receptive to the needs and demands of their customers, they are trying to change the way their products or service is being perceived.

Branding is the process of creating a strong, pragmatic, and authentic perception of a company, its services or its products in the minds of the customer. A brand’s ideals and practices determine how strongly the consumer connects with it. These “values” must remain constant for a brand to maintain its image and status.

However, recently, a lot of pre-established brands and small businesses are re-aligning their missions and values around the concept of sustainability. The ones that are in their developing stages are structuring themselves as a “sustainable brand”. But why is that, and what is sustainable branding?

The term “sustainability” refers to the ability to support ecological, human, and economic health and vitality. A sustainable brand is one that efficiently integrates all these issues into its business operations.

As shoppers are becoming more conscious about what they purchase, brands are also taking a lead in addressing environmental issues by providing more sustainable products. According to Statista (2019), around 23% of customers are willing to pay an extra 1% to 5% for products that are sustainable.

Brands are slowly realizing that in today’s cognizant world, it is necessary for them to deploy sustainable branding initiatives to gain the trust and loyalty of their customers. This has led to the rise in the number of companies that produce and promote eco-friendly, durable and recycled products.

Companies can influence societal change, and consumers respond to the initiatives that these companies endorse in support of social messages. Let’s look at an example of a successful sustainable branding initiative -

One of the world’s leading online retailers, Amazon, is taking its responsibility towards our planet seriously. Amazon has not only dedicated its time and resources to practising sustainability, but it has made an equal amount of effort in informing its consumers of this fact. A dedicated section on the Amazon website highlights articles, videos, and research related to energy sustainability and packaging. Not only that, but Amazon has also collaborated with brands like P&G and has been working with them to come up with a more sustainable packaging solution for their products.

The key takeaway from this example is that any initiative is futile if it does not reach the audience effectively. Amazon has overcome this by targeting not one, but two sets of consumers - theirs and their collaborators.

Like Amazon, other prominent brands like Ikea, Ben & Jerry's, KFC, and Ford are promoting sustainability through their messaging and practices.

It is evident that customers prefer sustainable brands. In order to promote their product as such, brands must understand and analyze how and what they communicate to their audiences. The practice of launching sustainable branding initiatives should be more than just attracting an audience. It should be the brand’s responsibility to establish a structure that has a significant environmental, social and economic impact.