• by Maarten Albarda , Featured Contributor, 6 hours ago

The current political climate… ermmm…. environment…. (wow, all these words are now politically charged), OK, the current political leadership has had an impact on a wide variety of issues that were important to advertisers over the last decade. Or at least they said so (as I wrote here).

A new casualty seems to be sustainability. The current administration is clearly focused on what they call energy dominance (“drill, baby, drill”). This must be seen within the broader "anti-woke" political climate that has led some companies to scale back on public diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)  and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments, fearing political backlash.

However, as is the case with DEI (see my previous article), there are also companies where the momentum behind corporate sustainability has not disappeared. Many businesses have already integrated sustainability into their operations and supply chains, and they see the economic benefits of this factor in their bottom line. Enter the "CMO Blueprint for Sustainable Growth" from the UN Global Compact, recently released in Cannes and supported by a “who’s who” of advertising and marketing platforms and companies.

For instance, the lower costs of clean technologies make these technologies attractive. Also, for globally operating companies, the European Union and other international partners are implementing stricter environmental regulations and reporting requirements, meaning companies can’t just ignore sustainability initiatives.

According to a study by Kantar’s BrandZ, sustainability perceptions account for 45% of a brand's corporate reputation, making it the most critical driver of consumer sentiment. Kantar BrandZ data also shows a strong correlation between sustainability perceptions and purchase intent.

A PwC report shows that products with sustainability attributes can achieve a revenue increase of 6% to over 25%, while Boston Consulting Group found that companies that incorporate sustainability in their businesses are 1.4 times more likely to experience innovative breakthroughs.

Need some real-world brand proof points?: The sustainability efforts of Diageo’s Don Julio led to strong brand equity growth and a sustainability scorecard that was significantly above the category average. And Mastercard’s "Where to Settle" campaign, aimed at Ukranian refugees, resulted in double-digit gains in brand favorability and usage intent.

What has been less impressive is how most other marketers have treated sustainability initiatives. They have often been regarded as either a stand-alone PR initiative, or a separate campaign platform.

The two brand examples mentioned above show that -- as is almost always the case -- the more successful approach is to truly embed and integrate these initiatives in a natural way into the brand’s overall storytelling.

So whether you like sustainability or not, for many businesses it makes sense to embed sustainability into their core business strategies. Brands can unlock real value from them, provided there’s an organic way to build these initiatives into their storylines.