How to build trust with sustainable branding
Consumers are well aware of the role businesses play in sustainability, and they exert influence through their pocketbooks. As of 2015, sixty-six percent of consumers were willing to spend more on a product from a sustainable brand, while this figure jumped to seventy-three percent for millennials (Forbes, 2018). Meanwhile, sustainable businesses have found their stride. Unilever's brands that prioritize environmental and social concerns have seen double the growth of the others in its portfolio.
This is why it is crucial to build trust by developing a sustainable brand.
Sustainability means economic, social, and economic responsibility. Businesses can leverage the seventeen sustainable development goals defined by the United Nations.
5 Tips for Sustainable branding
#1) Build Longevity into your Business Plan
Think of your product or service as a force of change across its lifespan. This helps you to adopt the holistic perspective needed to develop a sustainable brand.
This could mean avoiding risk or even transforming your entire operational system. Establish aims that make the most sense for your business model and customer base. While a complete overhaul for your business model may not be achievable, approach sustainability through the problem solving lens.
Think of how your business values and the needs of the planet intersect. If you believe in efficiency, for example, why not apply this philosophy to every element of your supply chain to ensure that extra costs, waste, distances, and raw materials are minimized. Share your successes in terms of their sustainable benefits.
#2) Drive Innovation by Making Smart Improvements
Sustainability doesn't only mean choosing from a limited range of existing options. It can also mean solving problems through critical thinking to develop new methods, processes, or designs that change the status quo. If you have the funds to invest into research and development for sustainability, it could reap huge rewards for your business in the long term.
#3) Extend innovation to Engagement
An innovative approach can manifest in small ways, too. Perhaps you wish to open the lines of communication between your company and its stakeholders. Consider things like holding live interactive Q&As or setting up a leadership board to drive progress toward goals to go beyond standard communications strategies to give stakeholders a stronger sense of ownership and involvement in the company.
#4) Find Novel ways to Communicate Transparency
Remaining transparent means allowing stakeholders to confirm the validity of your claims. Transparency comes in many forms involving finance, production, operation, and supply-chain of your business. Companies that are forthcoming with this information put their stakeholders at ease.
There are plenty of ways to report your company's sustainability goals and progress to stakeholders, such as in ESG reporting or with thought leadership. Consider the user experience of your constituents by translating cumbersome reports into infographics, or making a short video to document the improvements to your facilities.
Finally, it is important to share the human dimension of your company's story by telling the stories of individuals within your business. This will give a face to your organization.
#5) Tell Stories that Reflect Leadership
Consider your sustainable brand message a badge of honor. If no other company has attempted what you have done, it makes you the leader. While it can be risky to take a leadership stance, it is also important to consider the alternative: a leadership vacuum. One can lead to far worse risks than the other. Leadership doesn’t have to require bold action. It can also mean smart, well-reasonsed action in times that are challenging to navigate.