How can brands save our planet and unlock growth?

To save our planet, brands must take part in driving change; it is no longer just an opportunity, but a responsibility. 64% of consumers expect brands to lead on sustainability, yet less than half of CEOs are integrating sustainability into their business strategy. Whether it’s fighting food waste, tackling social inequality, reducing carbon emissions, eliminating single-use plastics or harnessing a new source of protein, no one has an opportunity to drive behaviour change better than brands. 

SUSTAIN features thought leadership from brand owners and those who advise them on the key questions. How do they see the value of sustainability? What is the growing ask for brands to lead on sustainability and how should they best respond? Do consumers really care, or just say they care? What is really driving their behaviour? And, beyond their own commercial interests, is it the responsibility of brands and companies to use their power to contribute to and shape the world’s sustainable actions? Contributors include WWF, CNN, Gap Inc., Waitrose & Partners, AstraZeneca, PwC, Too Good to Go, Eat Grub, Carbon Trust, Leon Restaurants, TBWA\WorldHealth and many more.

Hall & Partners has identified a growing appetite for brands that have a clear purpose along with a commitment to contribute positively beyond their own interests. Brands and the companies behind them have huge power to influence and do good in the world – and this is exactly what people expect them to do. However, brands need to be led, built and measured differently.

Hall & Partners has therefore developed a new template for building and evaluating ethical brands. Sustainable Beliefs offers ten actionable ways that brands can save the world, from Taking small steps to create step change to Focusing on the gain, not the loss. It focuses on the importance of integrity and inspiration, finding new ways for brands to deliver beyond their own interests and make a positive contribution to the world. Hall & Partners’ findings show that, when brands do this, there is an opportunity for them to build a new kind of consumer relationship.

Vanella Jackson, Hall & Partners’ Global CEO, says: “Momentum is building, and brands ignore this at their peril. It is clear that we have better insights into how people’s views are evolving and how we measure the impact of sustainability on brands. Sustainability can no longer be pushed aside as an interesting CSR issue. Understanding the relevance of sustainability to brands, and its potential to help differentiate, is increasingly important – particularly if you hope to engage the new generation.”

About Hall & Partners

Hall & Partners is a global strategic brand consultancy, supporting leading business and brands through market research, helping to create commercially and emotional rewarding brand relationships. We like to challenge traditional thinking, pioneer the latest technology and take the lead in innovation. Hall & Partners is a part of Omnicom’s Brand Consulting Group.

For more information, visit www.hallandpartners.com Twitter @hallandpartners.