How brands are successfully communicating their sustainability efforts — and how their stakeholders are asserting their own needs and preferences
Hershey on Monday released its most recent CSR Scorecard, which reflects substantial progress on a range of sustainability programs and new initiatives over the past year.The company says it is on track to meet or exceed all of its 2015 sustainability targets set forth in its last full CSR Report. The latest scorecard is organized around programs and initiatives in four key areas of social responsibility: Marketplace, Environment, Workplace and Community.Some notable achievements Hershey has highlighted include: Read More...
When it comes to building brands and driving change, effective communication is a prerequisite. Unsurprisingly then, communications are often the first port of call when it comes to the unique challenges and opportunities that sustainability represents for today’s brands.However, emerging cultural, economic and technological trends related to sustainability are forcing brands to think differently about the role of communications in their wider brand ecosystem. As is so often the case, when the game is changing this quickly, a more effective solution requires a redefinition of the problem. Read More...
Agriculture, coal power, steel manufacturing and several other high-impact business sectors face an economic loss when accounting for damages to natural capital, according to a study released by the TEEB for Business Coalition during the recent Business for the Environment Summit in New Delhi. Read More...
The trick to communicating sustainability is to start with the right ingredients. Sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Of course, we all know that it’s not so straightforward in practice.There is a raft of urgent economic, social and environmental needs out there that must be addressed. It can be tough to decide what your organisation is going to focus on. Where to begin? Read More...
In an effort to mitigate consumer confusion and help maintain the integrity of recyclable materials streams, three laws proposed in North Carolina and Alabama would require containers made from biodegradable or compostable plastic to be labeled “non-recyclable,” according to Plastics News. Read More...
A new report by UK-based analyst firm Verdantix says most companies have inadequate budgets for sustainability communications and are running risks by failing to integrate sustainability themes into their brand identities. The report, “Rethinking Sustainability: Brand Risks and Opportunities,” identifies five archetypes of how companies communicate about sustainability. Read More...
CR magazine last week released its 2013 100 Best Corporate Citizens List, which ranks companies based on disclosure and performance measures covering environment, climate change, employee relations, human rights, governance, finance and philanthropy. Read More...
For the centuries that tertiary education has been part of society, further education was a privilege afforded those who could afford it. But with the advancement in recent years of communication technologies and speeds, the battle for the student dollar is now being waged online. Read More...
French consumers want to know more about where their products come from to make more sustainable choices. Besides, trust in business is higher when brands take action for sustainability, demonstrate their achievements and communicate well. Read More...
"How will it deliver value?" is a commonly heard response to a proposal for a new sustainability communications campaign.Behind this innocent little phrase is a dangerous assumption that sustainability communications is a separate strand of activity with a message aimed at a hypothetical audience segment of 'greens.' Read More...
As President Obama prepares to unveil his budget for the coming year, 33 multinational companies, including eBay, IKEA, L’Oréal, Nike and Limited Brands, have signed a “Climate Declaration” urging federal policymakers to take action on climate change. Read More...
Ethical Markets, the World Business Academy (WBA) and the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business recently announced they are accepting nominations for the 9th annual EthicMark Awards for ads and media campaigns that “uplift the human spirit and society.” Read More...
The National Basketball Association and Sprint last Thursday launched a weeklong green initiative featuring community sustainability projects, recycling programs, green giveaways, special on-court apparel and auctions to encourage fans to “go green.” Read More...
In early March, Cone Communications teamed up with ORC International to conduct a survey of over 1,000 adults to better understand how consumers interpret and grapple with the flood of environmental information coming their way. The survey included many questions on how consumers seek out information, usage and disposal instructions, and how well they actually understand what it is that they are being told. The results are now a part of the 2013 Green Gap Trend Tracker and boil down to a series of statistics. Usually, a list of percentages can be tedious and meaningless if taken out of context. Read More...
Starting this month, Sustainable Brands will bring you a treasure trove of insight, examples and opinions on communicating sustainability, all to help you persuade, motivate, nudge and inspire people and brands to do things differently. That’s a very important goal; once impetus is established people can achieve great things. Read More...
A 2012 Gallup poll reported sobering news for Corporate America — only 19 percent of the public has significant confidence in big businesses, 41 percent has some and 39 percent has little or none. The only institutions doing worse in the public’s eye are HMOs and the U.S. Congress.This comes as no surprise given the plethora of corporate controversies, CEO scandals, bailouts and environmental accidents that have dominated headlines in recent years. These types of stories often overshadow the good work being done by more conscientious brands, making it difficult for them to stand apart from less-responsible competitors. Read More...
Bacardi Limited has achieved a nearly 50 percent drop in water usage and roughly 33 percent reductions in both energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in the last six years, according to its latest corporate responsibility report, released online Wednesday. Reductions were achieved through a combination of conservation measures that included more efficient equipment and greater use of renewable energy sources.The digital report, “Our Spirit is Clear,” embodies Bacardi’s commitment to reduce both its carbon footprint and impact on the earth’s natural resources. The company says the water saved is equivalent to providing a glass of water to every person on the planet. Read More...
“The world is not made of atoms, it’s made of stories.” — Muriel Rukeyser Read More...
H&M for the first time has made its supplier factory list public alongside its annual sustainability report, released last week. Read More...
SAP AG today announced the SAP Integrated Report 2012, its first report that brings together the information usually shared in an annual report with the information normally contained in a sustainability report. Read More...