There was a time when being a sustainable business meant that you wouldn’t print out emails. Or maybe you printed them on recycled paper. Or used both sides of the paper.
Do you remember when that used to be proudly included in some companies’ email signatures?
Of course, that would be laughable now. First, because there’s so much more businesses can (and should) do to lower their impact. But also how are you going to tell your story if you keep hiding it in the footnotes?
Don’t bury the story in an overlooked corner of your About page and let it collect cobwebs in the hope that someone someday will find it and care.
Think about it this way:
How can you weave your sustainability story on every page of your website and in every marketing material you put out there?
According to Nielsen’s 2019 report Consumers Buy The Change They Wish To See in the World (source), 73 percent of global consumers (let’s call them people, shall we?) say they would definitely or probably change their consumption habits to reduce the impact they have on the environment. And 46 percent of those surveyed said they would be willing to forgo a brand name in order to buy environmentally friendly products.
For these people, commitment to their values is stronger than brand loyalty.
These people want to know they’re making a difference. But they’re not going to hunt for information. They’ll choose companies that bring the information to them. Companies that make them feel empowered, knowledgeable and belonging to a desirable group. It’s human nature.
According to the Nielsen report, “in markets where the broader sustainability claims are now ubiquitous, consumers want companies to get more specific.”
Ok, but how?
Take Axel Arigato, for example. This Swedish footwear brand is working towards tracing, measuring and evaluating their collection towards environmental standards. So far, they’re at 20 percent. They’re not doing it on their own, because that’s not what their expertise is. They’re partnering with BCOME, a company who has developed the tools to evaluate the level of environmental, social and ethical responsibility of a product.
And what does Axel Arigato do with the data? It displays it on the website, right under the product specifications. It’s not in an internal report. It’s not in a CSR exec’s top drawer. It’s not in a footnote on their website or on a 404 page redirect.
I’m looking forward to one day when all of this will become laughably mainstream, much like not printing your emails is considered now.
Photo by Photo by Mona Eendra on Unsplash
