communication

Celebrating five years of getting sustainable stories hit the headlines

Szilvia Szabó — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 09:59:22 +0000

Celebrating five years of getting sustainable stories hit the headlines

Tags

Sustainability

Business Sustainability

Climate Communication

communication

Topic

Communication

Sustainability is carving out more space in the media year after year, still it is an uphill battle to fight for attention, especially when you have limited sources.

Fiona Donnellan, a real pioneer in this field, founded Sustainable PR public relations agency in 2019 to defy the odds and open up media opportunities for Irish eco-conscious and sustainable businesses to amplify their reach and catalyse positive change.

Now celebrating five years of actively shaping the media landscape, she shares what propels her forward:

"My focus on working with sustainable brands is a commitment to making a positive impact, resonating with consumers who increasingly value ethical and eco-friendly practices and products."

Fiona adds that sustainability and sustainable living have been part of her everyday life, and merging her passion with her profession seemed like a natural fit when she decided to leave a great job to pursue her dreams in 2019.

Fiona Donnellan, Founder of Sustainable PR

"I work with smart, eco-conscious, and sustainable brands that care about the planet, providing simple and effective PR strategies and storytelling to enhance their reputation," says Fiona.

With over 12 years of experience in PR, journalism, and communications, she is dedicated to getting purpose-driven brands the attention they deserve while promoting sustainability and ethical practices in business.

Her current and previous clients include Volvo, Etsy, Street Feast, De’Longhi, KIND Snacks, Thanks Plants, Sligo’s The Canopy, Cairde Sligo Arts Festival and Shells Cafe.

While embracing PR can seem like an inaccessible opportunity for many smaller businesses, Fiona firmly believes there is a lot of untapped potential here, regardless of the size of a company or organisation.

“I think some businesses and business owners know they need marketing and PR, but they're not quite sure how it all works, so then it can seem out of their reach or expensive, but actually, I can custom campaigns for any sized business.

I’m also so proud of how much cut-through my clients have had in the press; they’re competing with all the top brands, but they’re independently owned, sustainable Irish brands for the most part. How cool.”

When she started Sustainable PR five years ago, she recalls that talking about sustainability was more low-key and a niche area.

However, since then, it has become part of many business strategies and is getting more attention than ever.

Sustainable PR is public relations agency based in Sligo, amplifying the voice of eco-conscious and sustainable brands.

“It’s also something customers look for now when they’re buying. One recent survey I saw said 65% of customers want to buy purpose-driven brands, which is a huge shift, and that’s down to how we communicate about it,” Fiona explains.

Communication is crucial in shifting conversations about sustainability, but it is easier to be said than done to get it right.

“I have to be careful not to use too much jargon when I’m pitching stories just because I live and breathe sustainability. I have to be mindful that not everyone does, so it’s about explaining it clearly and concisely.

To break through the noise, you have to put it in simple terms, I think. Too convoluted, and your message will be lost.”

One project she has been recently working on is helping The Good Neighbour refill store communicate that they are changing locations so existing and new customers know about the move.

“I worked with the owner Jess Dollinger on a press release with all the information and sent the press release along with gorgeous images to journalists across the country.

The Good Neighbour was then featured on LovinDublin, in Irish Country Magazine, and on FM104, and Jess spoke to Dublin City FM and South Dublin FM.”

This two-month campaign was a great success, as Fiona managed to get the exposure they were after.

Jess Dollinger, owner of The Good Neighbour refill store is one of Sustainable PR`s clients.

She adds that there is no magic formula to make things work, but every press release or story can be reshaped if it`s not working, for example, by drawing on the personal story of a business rather than the product itself.

She adds that other clients might be looking for a more long-term PR campaign in the build-up to Christmas from September to December.

“Every year, I work with Emmet Bosonnet from Kopper Kreation, a homewares brand that uses reclaimed and recycled materials, to get news about his beautiful products out there.”

Building on all the learning curves and successes, Fiona is optimistic about the future and looks forward to continuing to champion sustainable brands.

“When I started out, I made a wish list of clients I’d love to work with, and I’m so proud that I got to check all these brands off my list. Time to make a new list.”

She feels the media landscape will change significantly again in the next five years, shifting from print and radio to TikTok and podcasts.

Therefore, evolving her business is inevitable to ensure she can keep up with the new trends and benefit her clients.

"There is a growing global consciousness about environmental and social responsibility, and my agency complements this," Fiona adds.

"I want to see people making smarter, mindful purchases rather than overconsuming."

Fiona’s dedication goes beyond her professional life as she takes up the role of Climate Ambassador with An Taisce, advocating for environmental education and action.

Besides, as a proud member of the 1% for the Planet movement, she is dedicating 1% of the annual profit generated by Sustainable PR to support nature conversation efforts in Ireland.

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Tips to build a company’s reputation for sustainability

Bronagh Loughlin — Wed, 10 Jan 2024 11:40:37 +0000

Tips to build a company’s reputation for sustainability

Tags

Sustainability

communication

Topic

Business Sustainability

Sustainability and reputation are very much connected. Managing your social and environmental impact can have various effects on your business and your brand scaling, from having a unique market positioning to ruining the reputation of the organisation.

How to build a sustainable brand?

Building a sustainable or eco-conscious brand is no easy task. Whether you are just starting a business and want to be more eco-friendly, or you are already established and want to become more sustainable, it can be challenging.

However, it is achievable which is why many businesses across the globe are harnessing more green credentials. In saying that, sustainability cannot simply be a brief thought, but time and dedication must go into it.

Building a sustainable brand is not just about making your products and services more environmentally friendly. Rather, you need to look at the entire process that goes into creating your products and services and make changes from there.

In other words, sustainability encompasses environmental issues concerning how the business is run and its supply chain. It also consists of social and ethical issues like diversity, fair wages, and working practices.

In addition, the traceability of the products you sell, how transparent you are with stakeholders and customers, and the governance of the brand.

With all of this in mind, below some practical tips to build a company’s reputation for sustainability.

Brand honesty and transparency

Transparency is key when it comes to building a sustainable brand. Failing to share honest information or details on how exactly you are sustainable could result in greenwashing or green botching (sustainability actions backfiring or poorly implemented), which can have negative effects on both brand image and reputation.

Even if you are just starting with sustainability, customers will appreciate it. You need to tell them where you are on the journey and what the next stages are in your plan to become more eco-friendly. It doesn’t stop there, you need to update them on your journey too.

To build a reputation for sustainability, you must appear as a leader and understand exactly what you are talking about.

When trying to figure out how to communicate with customers, acknowledge that some may not have a good knowledge of sustainability.

Therefore, communicating your processes and what exactly makes your products environmentally sound is essential while addressing your consumers’ specific concerns around sustainability.

Make your products more circular

Another way you can build a strong reputation for sustainability is by making your products more circular. This shows customers you are committed and taking action against issues like waste and pollution.

Additionally, making products circular often increases their lifespan, so you are ultimately creating more value for your customers. Implementing sustainable business practices will encourage your competitors and other companies to follow suit, and we are all trying to achieve the same goal here.

Circularity refers to reusing, recycling, and refurbishing products. Therefore, it could mean using materials or resources that would have otherwise been discarded to create a product or fixing a product to make it high-quality and usable again.

When thinking of how to make your products circular, it all comes back to trying to keep items in circulation for longer and avoiding disposal.

Circularity isn’t about reinventing the wheel but figuring out how to extend the lifespan of products and resources.

Build a more eco-conscious supply chain

One way to display your dedication and commitment is by looking at how you can make improvements in your supply chain.

Think about where your materials and resources come from, who your partners are, what their values are, and whether they are working towards sustainability.

Partnering with like-minded organisations can make a big difference and help you contribute even more positive change.

Take fashion, for instance, if you are working towards becoming more environmentally conscious, you need to know where the clothes are being created and who is creating them. Are the workers receiving a fair wage? What are their work conditions like? What is the environmental impact of the production?

Embed sustainability into your company’s mission and vision

The brands that have a strong reputation for sustainability are those that have recognised the correlation between sustainability and their business activities and goals.

These organisations have not made sustainability a separate goal but made it part of their reason for existing.

They have a purpose beyond generating profits and making sales. Sustainability is a factor in everything they do, and they consider it in every business decision that is made.

Beyond the positive benefits for the planet, showing this commitment can help them to win more customers, raise awareness, attract new talent, and build a better working organisation.

Set goals and genuinely measure your impact

In an effort to build a reputation for sustainability, you could run the risk of getting a reputation for greenwashing if you do not set goals and measure your impact.

Choose the issues you want to focus on primarily, set measurable objectives with timelines, and then measure your impact. For example, carbon accounting can give you a sense of your company’s carbon footprint and how it can be reduced.

Additionally, running a materiality assessment or completing ESG data tracking using popular standards like the TCFD reporting* can help you understand where you are with your sustainability targets. Doing this will help you understand your impact and how you can make improvements.

Without numbers or measurements, how can you know where you need to make changes?

Once you have defined your goals and measured your impact, communicate this in an impact report so your audience understands where you are on your journey, too.

Summary

According to Forbes, 88 per cent of customers will be more loyal to a business that supports environmental or social issues. They are choosing to support companies with a reputation for sustainability.

Addressing climate change will not only help you reduce your impact to protect the planet but also increase sales, win customers, and improve your brand image and reputation.

The best way to start your journey is to educate yourself and continue to learn about the latest updates. There are several courses available that could help you improve your understanding and implement practical steps that lead to building your brand.

*TCFD reporting - Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures

Headline image: Unsplash

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EU to ban “climate neutral” and other sustainability claims

Climate Journal reporting — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 10:01:02 +0000

EU to ban “climate neutral” and other sustainability claims

Tags

EU regulation

communication

Sustainability

Article update:

On the 18th of January 2024, the EU Parliament gave the green light to the directive discussed in this article that will improve product labelling and ban the use of misleading environmental claims.

Highlights of the new regulation coming:

Generic environmental claims and other misleading product information will be outlawed
Only sustainability labels based on approved certification schemes or established by public authorities will be allowed
Guarantee information has to be more visible, and a new guarantee extension label will be introduced

Note:

The directive now also needs to receive final approval from the Council, after which it will be published in the Official Journal, and member states will have 24 months to transpose it into national law.

The original article below was published in November 2023.

Most companies are busy putting energy and resources into turning the wheel of their operation towards more sustainable business practices, measuring their environmental footprints and announcing sustainability strategies and pledges.

However, when it comes to communication, fighting greenwashing and deciding what is true and what is false regarding sustainability messages has become a major challenge for consumers, investors and other stakeholders.

According to the latest provisional agreement by the EU Parliament and Council, new rules are coming to ban misleading advertisements and provide consumers with better product information from 2026.

This proposal will hit hard on commercial communication using “generic environmental” claims or adopting questionable green marketing approaches.

These set of rules aim to combat greenwashing and help consumers make better purchasing choices.

The new regulation will banish the use of terms such as “environmentally friendly”, “natural”, “biodegradable”, “climate neutral”, or “eco” without proof of recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to the claim.

To combat misleading messages regarding a company or product’s carbon footprint that has become extremely popular, the new regulations will also ban claims based on emissions offsetting schemes that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive impact on the environment.

Practically, businesses must be prepared to have authentic and credible verification based on approved certification schemes or established by public authorities of any sustainable message they use regarding their products, services or the company.

Besides fighting greenwashing, the directive will also push commercial organisations to make guarantee information more visible, as many people are unaware that all goods enjoy at least a two-year guarantee in the EU.

The final vote by Members of the European Parliament is expected to take place in November 2023.

Upon approval, the directive will come into force, giving member states 24 months to incorporate the new rules into their law.

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New narrative to position Africa as an ideal impact investment frontier

Climate Journal reporting — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 14:55:04 +0000

New narrative to position Africa as an ideal impact investment frontier

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The African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA) launched a new communication channel, The Africa Advantage digital magazine, to smash assumptions and showcase the continent as a globally competitive destination for impact capital.

As an ecosystem builder and a network of social investors collaborating to mobilise and deploy impact investments in Africa, AVPA hopes that with this new format, they can better present market potential, innovation, human capital and a wealth of untapped opportunities.

“Africa's complex and unique social challenges have often been viewed as an embarrassment, but instead, we see them as exciting impact investing opportunities for social transformation”, says Dr Frank Aswani, CEO of AVPA and the Editor-in-Chief of The Africa Advantage magazine.

The first edition of the publication features a collection of sector or opportunity-specific articles written by African experts, highlighting the unique opportunities not just for Africa but the world at large.

Topics include Africa`s impact investing landscape, interviews with leading changemakers, impact entrepreneurs and policymakers such as Ojoma Ochai, Managing Partner of The Creative Economy Practice at CC Hub, which aims to stimulate innovation and technology application to catalyse African Creative Economy growth.

Dr Frank Aswani, CEO of AVPA and the Editor-in-Chief of The Africa Advantage magazine.

Dr Aswani adds:

“We intend to connect a diverse network of social investors, ecosystem enablers, innovators, policymakers and knowledge actors, not just within Africa, but also with those from Asia, Europe, North and Latin America.”

AVPA believes that while Africa faces socio-environmental challenges similar to those of other developing regions, it contains unique features that, when fully exploited, can potentially bring innovative sustainable solutions to regional and global challenges.

The organisation emphasised that unique opportunities could arise from a continent characterised by its young and diverse population, rich natural resources and various social challenges, providing unparalleled opportunities for testing innovative and globally scalable solutions.

They see these factors as enablers, making Africa the ideal sandbox for innovations with positive societal and environmental impact while testing new markets, products, services, new finance structures and impact business models.

The scope of The Africa Advantage magazine is to go beyond information dissemination and build a foundation to catalyse discussions and ultimately stimulate incremental impact capital deployment to and on the continent.

Headline image: Unsplash

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The impact of carbon labels on consumer behaviour

Bronagh Loughlin — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 10:41:30 +0000

The impact of carbon labels on consumer behaviour

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If items sold in stores were labelled according to the carbon emissions embodied in them, would customers be encouraged to shop more eco-consciously?

Carbon labelling is a relatively new concept that enables manufacturers to display information surrounding the impact their products have on the environment.

The concept behind a climate label is that the label on a product not only tells the consumer what the product contains but also tells the planetary costs that went into manufacturing the product.

These expenses are typically hidden from consumers and might range from water usage to animal welfare and carbon emissions.

Think of a climate label like a nutritional label on a food product that helps customers make better choices.

However, just like a nutritional information label, we must question whether this is an effective approach to encouraging consumers to shop more sustainably.

A group of American researchers sought to determine this with a SUSDIET project.

They completed a study in a suburban grocery store in Ballina for 12 weeks in 2008. They identified five categories of grocery items with a high turnover and wide product choice.

These 37 products were then categorised according to their CO2 emissions generated up to the point of sale.

The labels were in place for 8 weeks, and over the eight weeks, the number of black-labelled sales fell from 32 per cent to 2 per cent while the share of green-labelled sales soared from 53 per cent to 57 per cent.

A further analysis unveiled three different trends of consumer response.

The products were labelled with one of three symbols:

average or medium (yellow footprint),
lower than average (green footprint),
higher than average (black footprint).

The classification was significantly influenced by the energy used during transport and the energy embodied in the packaging.

In other words, when green-labelled products were also the cheapest, there was a strong consumer response.

However, if the green-labelled goods were not the most affordable, the reaction to the labelling was weaker.

Carbon labelling has been found to increase people’s willingness to pay more for a product.; Image: Unsplash

Other research has also been conducted to analyse the effectiveness of carbon labelling for driving behavioural change.

Some findings have concluded that those who express higher environmental concern and typically purchase eco-friendly products are more likely to buy carbon-labelled items.

Researchers across the globe agree that carbon labels successfully get customers to consider the ecological impact of their choices.

A paper published in 2018 revealed the presence of a carbon label makes customers more likely to purchase a product.

Additionally, European shoppers were found to be willing to pay premium prices of 20 per cent for a product. Other studies have also backed up these findings.

A Carbon Trust 2020 survey uncovered customers were more likely to think positively about a brand when it could showcase its environmental impact on its products.

Besides, a TENZING study confirmed carbon labels could help alter consumer behaviour.

Research does still note that customers have a poor knowledge of carbon measurements.

Therefore, when carbon labels are re-designed using familiar symbols like traffic light colours, a consumer’s understanding increases significantly.

Considering the potential positive impact of carbon labelling seems to be a way to make sustainability communication more consumer-friendly while incentivising and encouraging sustainable choices.

Research has proven that carbon labelling does precisely what it is supposed to do - drive behavioural change.

According to the Carbon Trust, most consumers actively want carbon labelling.

Their survey found that over 10,000 people from Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, the UK, the Netherlands, and the US support carbon labelling on products. Carbon labels could have a significant role to play in the transition to a greener world.

However, the latest EU proposal on banning vague carbon and environmental claims concerning products and services will also force organisations to be strict on labelling.

Headline image: Unsplash

This article is published in collaboration with the Profit with Purpose Magazine.

To read more insights regarding carbon management, you can download the latest digital edition of the magazine that further explores topics such as carbon offsetting, regulations and more.

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How to get people involved with sustainability and keep them engaged?

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Sep 2023 12:40:58 +0000

How to get people involved with sustainability and keep them engaged?

Tags

Sustainability

Business

communication

Topic

Sustainability Communication

Expert opinion by Joanna Mulkeen, Founder of One Step Closer

In the past years, more and more companies put efforts into managing their carbon emission and pledging to become net-zero while introducing other sustainability practices.

However, most companies and organisations have no measures of how successful their sustainability communications are in reaching and influencing their audience, and there are often no set KPIs for active audience engagement.

But this is about to change. New regulations, like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), will require companies and organisations to map and report on their engagement efforts starting in 2024.

People trust companies and organisations more than governments, media and even NGOs to bring changes to sustainability, according to Edelman’s Trust Barometer 2023 report. It also found that climate change concerns people more than nuclear war, inflation and food shortages.

There is a growing demand amongst consumers and employees alike to align with organisations and companies and look at them as ‘partners for good’.

I created One Step Closer, a unique Sustainability Engagement Engine, to allow people to engage with organisations’ sustainability actions in an easy and fun way, immediately seeing their actions’ impact.

I work with organisations to help them extract simple sustainability stories linked to bigger commitments and design engagement campaigns that allow their audience to vote directly and influence these actions while we communicate the results and the proven impacts.

Joanna Mulkeen, Founder of One Step Closer

However, citizen engagement is a hard nut to crack.

One of these challenges is that consumers want organisations to take sustainability actions but often don't believe what they say.

Then there is the complexity of sustainability challenges and strategies that can make it hard to create simple messages and translate them into campaigns.

Also, some organisations are shying away from publicly discussing their sustainability agenda as they fear being accused of greenwashing and any potential backlash.

Many organisations fear that simple sustainability messages will convey an insincere sustainability commitment.

Although, we have found just the opposite to be the case, as these straightforward campaigns can help anchor complex messages in a tangible and personally relevant way.

Also, organisations are holding back because not all aspects of their operations might be perfectly sustainable.

Sustainability mastery is impressive and sometimes inspirational, but as stories, they are often presented as passive pieces of content.

Journeys, however, are an invitation to explore together and perfectly placed to tell stories about intentions, failures, commitments, sacrifice and success – celebrating milestones along the way.

Probably one of the most used tools where complexity can become a barrier in this space is sustainability reports. But honestly, who wants to read a report? Why not let your audience become a part of it?

A perfect sustainability track record absolutely should not be a starting point.

If you have already done everything, how could people get involved?

It is human nature to ‘connect’ with stories that are not finished rather than the ones that are.

We have developed the ENGAGE Model for the One Step Closer platform with a focus on community actions around sustainability:

E – EMPOWER citizens by asking them to vote and influence positive outcomes

N – in a NEUTRAL space away from marketing fluff

G – make sure it’s GREGARIOUS so people can share

A – with ACTION-BASED activity that makes a difference

G – prove it’s GENUINE by showing the impact

E – ensure that it is EMPIRICAL so you can learn every time you do anything

I believe following this logic can help take small but meaningful steps towards common goals, and I have seen them deliver results beyond expectations.

One of our campaigns for Trinity College Dublin (TCD) in Ireland aimed to raise awareness about the importance of biodiversity and ‘nature spaces’ in our cities.

We asked students, staff, and the general public to vote if TCS should rewild the iconic 400-year-old lawns on their campus in the heart of Dublin.

The campaign attracted nearly 14,000 votes, with 90 per cent in favour of choosing wildflowers. It also generated over 50 pieces of media coverage nationally and abroad.

This simple yet powerful project gave participating citizens a sense of personal ownership of these wildflower lawns and a clear emotional connection to the sustainability challenges around biodiversity.

Citizen engagement campaign at Trinity College Dublin. Image: One Step Closer

We need to see examples of actions that work, and this is where the role of media is vital and how they report on sustainability challenges, inspiring people to regain faith that efforts and shifts in how we live are worthwhile.

Headline image: Getty images

This article is an extract from content originally published in the Circular Economy in Action special edition of the Profit with Purpose Magazine - you can read the full article and other features in the magazine.

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How to get your impact story featured in media?

Anonymous — Fri, 19 May 2023 11:14:40 +0000

How to get your impact story featured in media?

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Annual plans and New Year`s resolutions are probably behind you by now, but that shouldn`t hold you from exploring some untapped potential in boosting your impact.

Why not make 2023 the year when you get your stories in the spotlight to raise awareness and engage with your audience?

Writing a press release that catches attention, having a practical media toolkit that helps you spread news or delivering an engaging interview could give your message an extra boost, helping you to achieve your goals.

Why social innovators are not covered more in media?

The answer might be plainer than you`d expect.

Besides handling the everyday challenges and neverending to-do lists, one of the most typical reasons is the lack of confidence and knowledge of using media relations and tools correctly.

In addition, nervousness naturally kicks in when it comes to public speaking, giving an interview or even writing content.

However, with some learning and practising, you could make the leap and use the power of communication to advance your agenda.

Learning opportunities to boost your message

Using media communication tools can give you a headstart in raising your profile, reaching and activating a wider audience while increasing your impact.

Here are a couple of simple steps you can take:

Do media training for impact innovators, where you learn how to handle situations like speaking at a podcast, giving an interview, engaging with media at events or making the most out of press releases. Getting the hang of media communication is like learning ice skating - you start out a bit wobbly, but after practising, you start gliding and smiling.

Learning media and Impact Writing skills could significantly amplify your message.

Change your approach to writing and publishing your impact report, as it has so much communication potential that you don't want to miss it. Haven`t you published one yet? Maybe the time has come to start advancing your agenda by start sharing your impact in a professional manner.

Make it easy to find and use information about your work, campaign, or else about your mission. It might sound very basic, but in reality, this is the most typically missed step to unlock potential in media communication. The best way to do that is to prepare and start actively using a professional media toolkit.

It is easier than you might think to utilise opportunities in PR and other forms of media communication, including public appearances, which can be nerve-wracking.

There are various learning options, such as attending programs and sessions held by the Impact Writing Institute, where you can harvest the benefits of working with expert trainers whether you are joining as an individual or have tailor-made training at your organisation.

This is not about you getting famous but shining a light on issues that need to be addressed and enabling people to get involved.

What really matters is to get confident about speaking up and be ready to share your story in a way that engages and mobilises your audience.

Giving yourself a chance to learn and expand your horizon using media communication should definitely be on your radar for boosting your impact in 2023 and beyond.

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Greenwashing or force for good? Redifining the role of marketing

Bronagh Loughlin — Thu, 05 Nov 2020 11:40:22 +0000

Greenwashing or force for good? Redifining the role of marketing

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Communication strategies can drive positive change and business growth at the same time

This article provides a summary of the ‘Marketing as a force for good without greenwashing’ panel discussion from the annual Responsible Innovation Summit, held on 20-21 October, 2020. The session focused on ways to make the most out of your communication strategy to drive positive change and business growth and how to create a mix of values, transparency and sales.

How Has the Pandemic Influenced Marketing Trends?

The speakers were in agreement that the pandemic has influenced a number of marketing trends, and that will have a long-term impact on the industry.

Rosemary Walsh, Marketing Manager for Frank and Honest Gourmet Coffee Company, says, “One observation is, I don’t think we’ve ever been bombarded by as much information as we are now and I think it’s more focused when you’re at home and online.

Two things that I would highlight as a growing trend in marketing are authenticity and sustainability.

I think these factors will be so important for everyone working in marketing.” Brand Manager for Innocent Drinks Ireland, Laura O’Connell joins in, saying that, “Authenticity and the ability to cope with this situation goes beyond the usual thinking of creating good products; it’s about creating a good company which is walking the talk as well.

This year has been scary and confusing. People are looking for meaning, honesty and in a way having a human connection, even when it comes to brands.”

Eamonn Donlyn, CEO of Darwin and Goliath, says, “I’d say the general feeling is that we’ve all looked inward. This entire situation has been global, so everybody has had to deal with the same types of emotions in some form or fashion, even though everyone’s experience is different.”

Laura Costello, Senior Strategist, THINKHOUSE marketing agency

“The pandemic is a looking glass into our humanity, it jolts us back to how we re-centre, what’s important to us and what’s important to a business but it has also given us a lot of hope and movement, and now we’ve seen how our system is not immovable and how change is not beyond us in any shape or form”. says Laura Costello, Senior Strategist at Purpose and Planet and THINKHOUSE marketing agency.

How Can We Use Marketing as a Force for Good?

Marketing can be used to achieve business goals only but also can be a powerful force to tackle social and environmental problems.

Laura O’Connell explains that Innocent is what is known as a BCorp and how this way of doing business could be the new ‘business as usual’.

Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.

“In our board room at Innocent, we have two chairs, a green one and a blue one.

One represents the environment, one represents the community.

So, in every meeting, whether it's what are we going to order in for the office this week or if it’s a big marketing campaign, we consider those two people at the table.”

Laura says, adding that this consideration goes all the way from governance to hiring, practices and sustainability in their supply chains.

Laura O’Connell - Brand Manager, Innocent Drinks Ireland

“One of the benefits and attractions of greenwashing is it’s almost a necessary evil in some regards because it gets the message out there and now, we see metrics that this is working so if the authenticity piece is then married up with greenwashing, greenwashing goes away.” Eamonn Dowlyn shares his opinion.

He feels it’s becoming a thing where consumers are not just buying the product itself but wanting to know who's behind the product, where it was produced, maybe not enough to the mass population yet but the trend is here. The actual risk to the business is doing nothing in this space.

Rosemary Walsh - Marketing Manager, Frank and Honest Gourmet Coffee Company

Rosemary stresses that the role of marketing is to influence and drive awareness, and she believes that marketeers can be a force for good and that it is a really important responsibility to take on.

She acknowledges that it is tempting to go down the road of encouraging unnecessary consumption but actually having a platform to educate and influence positively is an incredible opportunity for businesses.

Laura Costello says, “What we’ve seen with COVID-19 is trends accelerating. We’ve seen purpose become more important and actually the business of sustainability expanding out.

It’s not just about the environment anymore, it’s about social justice, and the intersectionality of a lot of different issues”.

She feels marketing is a brilliant tool for change because all of the marketeer processes are wrapped up in how we create change,

so it’s actually an inspiring time in terms of looking at marketing as a tool for turning the tide.

Avoiding the Perception of Greenwashing

Eamonn feels there’s a risk right now for every marketer to do brand strategy around sustainability unless it’s clear that’s what your brand values are 100%.

He thinks for the companies that are nervous about that risk, and that they should stop trying to figure out the big brand strategy around sustainability.

Narrowing the focus on specific products as opposed to big brand ideas could be more a more effective step forward.

Rosemary Walsh says, “We’re all learning and it kind of goes with our name, but for me, my advice would be, to be honest. Most of us are on a journey.”

"The first thing that comes to my mind is focusing on one offer, one product, one plan, one thing that you have in mind. It might just be as honest as saying we’re not where we want to be right now, but this is what we plan.

We do this in Innocent, and we talk about our journey to sustainability, our strategy for the next few years. It doesn’t need to be this big massive, scary strategy.” Laura O’Connell adds.

“We wanted to be honest about our commitments to sustainability; how we source our coffee from Rainforest Alliance Certified Farms that benefit forests, communities and wildlife.

Initially, we discussed sending a film crew to South America to create an ad campaign that highlighted these efforts, but that wouldn’t be a very sustainable way to talk about sustainability.

Instead, we took the decision to fake the footage, shooting in garden centres and paddling pools instead of flying to South America, highlighting its sustainability message with a sustainably shot ad campaign. The feedback has been fantastic.

It communicates a serious message delivered with our trademark Frank and Honest humour.”

Communications Strategy

“I think there’s such value in creating a road map, you have your destination, and then the only thing I would add to that is to find your allies, build your crew and don’t feel like you have to do it alone.

I have learned so much through partnering with activist groups and with different clients, learning from one another. How different people approached it and coming from the agency side, it’s beneficial I think for our clients to have someone whose got their ear to the ground.” says Costello regarding her experiences working at a marketing agency.

In Laura O’Connell’s opinion,

we need to focus on what you want out of a campaign and let’s face it, marketing people want to get sales out of campaigns. Still, they also wish to create connections and loyal customers but also to communicate a bit of their brand.”

Rosemary Walsh says, “I think the number one biggest challenge in communicating our sustainability agenda and our brand strategy is around doing so in a way that will actually cut through with meaning to our consumers.”

Eamonn Donlyn - CEO, Darwin and Goliath, Researcher at ADAPT Research Centre

Eamonn thinks that there was always this massive gap between what we’re selling and who is selling it.

He explains that in the end, you have to sell what you put on the market.

People might mix in values and sustainability to some degree, but they want quality and price first. One way to bridge the gap is to engage at a different level than sales and use other elements, like storytelling which can be extremely effective in marketing.

So, how do you get these elements in your offer?

Laura Costello adds that creativity is such a powerful thing that could be added to the sustainability story and even marketing climate change in creative ways.

One thing that comes to mind whenever you are planning a communications campaign is thinking, how does this work in the short-term but also how does this fit in with long-term strategies? How do we measure it as well?

What does success will look like in terms of numbers and metrics?”

Rosemary Walsh says, “I don’t really have a recipe as such, but for me, it’s more about sticking to your brand values and being very clear on what they are and what the brand stands for and indeed, what it doesn’t stand for.”

“Firstly, don’t look at your offering, your business or your brand and think okay, now how do I somehow inject some sustainability in and greenwashing and all those lovely buzz words into my campaign, into my product.

Go back to the DNA of who your business is and who your brand is and then make your consumers care about what you care about, and that’s where the marketing comes in.”

Laura O’Connell shares her opinion.

Driving Changes in Communications

Eamonn spoke about how he is working with e-commerce currently and talking to people about sustainability. His advice is not to be afraid to get your hands dirty. Learn about how the products are made and the story of the whole creation. These stories will help people to understand.

Laura Costello was impatient for change to happen and decided to do a course, called Reclaiming Agency. It was about how marketers can rise and how people can change the world. This course changed her view, not just about her work but on how she was living her life.

“My recipe would literally be people. You need to build up empathy in people. I think that means learning and building that awareness that this is not just something for the marketing manager to live every day, it’s for everyone.”

Costello says about integrating values into branding.

Marketing professionals are all experimenting and getting used to the idea of stepping into the territory of sustainability since we have no other option in order to keep creating value for the economy and society and to stay in business.

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Session - Responsible Innovation Summit

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November 2020