Finch & Beak is now SLR Consulting, a global organization that supports its clients on setting sustainability strategies and seeing them through to implementation.
We invite you to check out the SLR website, so you can see the full potential of what we offer, from sustainability strategies to implementation covering Climate Resilience & Net Zero, Natural Capital & Biodiversity, Social & Community Impact, Responsible Sourcing and more.
Today, consumers expect more from companies. A 2014 survey by Accenture, UN Global Compact and Havas among 30,000 consumers across twenty countries shows that 72% of people globally say that business is failing to take care of the planet and society as a whole. It’s clear that there is a striking gap between what consumers expect and the response of business. Although there is a frustration for business that the consumer does not want to pay more for sustainable products, there are clear financial benefits to build meaningful, sustainable brands:
A great example of a brand that integrated meaningfulness in its business model is TOMS. With their one-for-one giving model they easily tie social impact to consumer product purchases and show how easy it can be to support a worthy cause. Having ‘giving back’ woven into their company DNA they are on the outlook to create positive change. For each pair of shoes you buy, TOMS provide shoes, sight, water, safe birth and bullying prevention services to people in need, and improves for many people their quality of life. For its annual One Day Without Shoes campaign, TOMS engages with consumers by asking them to go barefoot for one day, in order to experience what it is like to live without shoes. To raise awareness TOMS encourages participants to share their experiences by posting photos of their bare feet on social media using the hashtag #withoutshoes.
Developing a meaningful brand is not something you do overnight. The potential downside of becoming a Meaningful Brand is greenwashing. To avoid greenwashing, one should keep in mind that being a Meaningful Brand can only be achieved after the societal impact of the organization has been identified and sustainability issues have been managed and embedded in the organization. And since 58,1% of corporate respondents stated that sustainability activity is not integrated tightly enough into the broader business strategy*, there is still a lot of room for sustainability improvement in 2015. There are 3 key steps towards building a sustainable brand:
Are you inspired to start working on your sustainable brand? Please contact us at hello@finchandbeak.com for more information.
* The State of Sustainability 2015 by Ethical Corporation
** Image source: Flickr, Chareze Stamatelaky
Finch & Beak
hello@finchandbeak.com
+34 627 788 170