(First published in Mumbrella)
Politicians love using the pub test for judging policy – but is your sustainability campaign equal to the test? Would an ordinary patron at your local pub understand what you’re doing and why you’re doing it? Would they think you’ve got the track record to back it up? Would they even care?
Brands are increasingly exploring ways to get more exposure from sustainability actions and are responding to heightened expectations from customers for sustainable products and services.
Using sustainability to differentiate your brand is smart. But, as we know, it’s not always done authentically, and that creates risk.
Most companies today are dabbling in sustainability basics and the threat of increasing regulation on the horizon means more businesses will be forced to engage more deeply. In a sea of green claims, it’s hard to differentiate – and the middle of the pack is an expensive place to be.
To be clear, it should be hard to differentiate. The climate crisis is no longer a can we can kick down the road. We are living in it now. What has been done to limit global warming so far, and what we have planned, is insufficient.
Gone are the days when introducing a net-zero target is going to win accolades or convert customers. Brands need to think, and act, bigger.
So, before you jump on the sustainability marketing bandwagon with a campaign to ‘sell green’, ask yourself these three questions.
Will your campaign change anything?
If your campaign rolls out tomorrow, what will it do to challenge the status quo? Does it call out a problem or behaviour? Does it provide solutions or educate? Is it provocative?
If all your campaign does is use a tenuous green link to sell more stuff, at best it will not be very successful and at worst it will get called out.
What power will your brand’s voice have in the conversation?
Maybe you have a strong, sustainability-led campaign idea – but you’re not sure your brand should be the face of it. With consumers growing ever more skeptical of companies’ sustainability claims, authenticity is key and it’s important to consider the weight and impact your brand voice will have on the broader conversation, and consumer trust. Is your brand taking the action required to back up the sustainability talk?
Do you have a sustainability approach that goes beyond the basics of ESG? Are you satisfied being less unsustainable than you were last year, or are you truly trying to transform how you do business?
A misstep here, even with the best of intentions, isn’t just a risk to your brand reputation. It risks damaging the broader effort to win hearts and minds as we transform to a sustainable way of life.
How sustainable is your product or service?
Is there evidence to back the claims you’re making in your campaign? Perhaps your company is based on a circular business model, or your products and services enable consumers, or customers, to be more sustainable themselves.
That’s a great place to start. But there can never truly be a sustainable business in an unsustainable system. Do your sustainability claims and comms make it clear you understand the distance yet to travel?
Asking yourself these questions and being really honest about the answers will save you a lot of pain.
We all love to see a campaign connect with consumers on a deeper level, about something they care about. We love to make consumers feel something. But we need to make sure that feeling isn’t outrage when your sustainability proposition fails to pass the pub test.
Karen Dunnicliff is the communications director at Salterbaxter Australia. Salterbaxter is a global specialist sustainability strategy and engagement consultancy that has been dedicated to progress for over 25 years.