Climate change is a very real danger, which has become all the more apparent in recent months and years. Despite pushback from a vocal minority, the country is largely united on the issue of climate change. This has brought key issues like sustainability to the fore, something which the US’ businesses and brands are having to engage with in new ways. Sustainability and brand image are inextricably linked – but how?
Corporate Social Responsibility
On a fundamental level, demonstrating a commitment to sustainability as a business is a positive PR move. One of the many ways in which businesses can lose control of their story is through – actively or passively – eschewing social responsibility in favor of profit generation.
describes a framework by which a brand can signal its commitment to more than extracting value from consumers or clients. It is a recognition of the brand’s own impacts ethically, socially and environmentally, something which can dramatically improve public and industry opinion of a given enterprise.
Market Differentiation
This can translate, in a more direct sense, into the markets in which brands operate, too. A well-evidenced, transparent and public commitment to sustainable practices is more likely to engender positive retail decisions by consumers in B2C settings, and increased interest from sustainability-minded businesses in B2B settings; the brand is differentiated from others in its market as a result of its commitments.
For example, if a business client is considering private transport overseas – and is aware of its own commitments to sustainability – it would be more likely to rent a private jet from a business that offsets the carbon emissions produced by its flights. On the consumer end of the equation, products that advertise tree-planting programs are differentiated from products by brands with a poorer ethical reputation.
Trust and Credibility
A vital part of the equation when it comes to public sustainability commitments is the ‘transparency’ part. Greenwashing is a real issue in certain industries; neither stakeholders nor consumers are naïve to the practice. Opaque sustainability goals can actively harm a business’s reputation in this regard.
Transparent goals and transparency in progress, conversely, can engender trust in both shareholders and the wider market. This trust translates to a positive reputation, with positive impacts on industry stature and market expansion.
Innovation and Creativity
As a final point, embracing sustainability as a core value within a business can do far more than win over clients or customers. Achieving sustainability goals within a business framework requires work and out-of-the-box thinking, which can lead to true innovation within the business industry.
Rather than falling back on tried-and-tested supply chains, manufacturing processes and corporate structures, a business could utilize sustainability as a catalyst for change. This could improve relationships between brands within an industry, too, forming cohesive bonds in the name of a better future.
