2 reasons why brands are failing the planet

According to a Capgemini study, “79% of consumers are changing their purchase preferences based on social responsibility, inclusiveness, or environmental impact”. In fact, HBR found that products marketed as sustainable grew 5.6 times faster than those that weren’t. Unfortunately, greenwashing frustrations at an all-time high with 50% of those surveyed by AdWeek believing “that brands and agencies should share a legal responsibility when it comes to misleading claims related to environmental impact”. If sustainability is critical to success, why are brands continuing to fail in this space?

#1 Brand tracking measures prioritize profit over planet

Profit and market share have been primary measures of brand success for over fifty years. These metrics are frequently prioritized over sustainability measures. To combat this misalignment, Mars introduced purpose measurement into executive bonuses and brand tracking.

#2 Brand marketers are expected to be sustainability communications experts.

Sustainability initiatives are often executed by technical experts and marketing teams are looped in later down the line. Brand teams are expected to just know what to do to communicate about sustainability without proper learning or tools. This results in a mash-up of sustainability messages that fail to resonate or drive change. Recognizing this challenge, P&G accelerated progress through partnerships with academic institutions and non-profits.

Sustainability needs to be embedded into everything brands say and do. If we want to stop failing the planet, we need to take it a step further and embed sustainability into everything brand teams say and do.

This post was created with Typeshare