“Sustainability” is the new buzz word in the business landscape and experts believe that it will turn into a trojan horse approach for businesses in 2020.
The start of a new decade that peers over the horizon will be most likely reshaping the business landscape more than it has ever done over the last ten years. It all started with digital transformations that changed our world completely, from the power of the smartphone to AI and automation. However, there is one more factor that had a major impact on how brands do business and how consumers purchase products and services, and that it: sustainability.
These days, words like “eco-friendly”, “sustainability”, or “green” have all become game-changers for all industries and their customers. And, make no mistake, it isn’t just about recycling or having fair trade practices, as important as these are. These changes touch every part within a company, from its physical workplace to all its operations.
But how exactly is sustainability transforming the business landscape? Here are major changes that the business landscape is experiencing thanks to the hype about going green:
Consumers prefer green businesses
Truly, there has never been a better time than today to launch a sustainable business. Today’s consumers, particularly Millennials, increasingly share their desire to see brands embracing sustainability. Whether they do it on social media, through environmental activism or protests, or everywhere in the media, consumers really want brands to understand their message.
Today, businesses have to face the buyer persona that is represented by the “conscious consumer”. They have become more and more aware of environmental concerns meaning they have also become more aware of the negative impacts of businesses on our planet. So, since consumers are the ones that dictate whether a business is successful or not, it isn’t a surprise that businesses had to adapt to these trends.
A recent study from SurveyMonkey discovers that one in three consumers choose eco-friendly products and that 35% of consumers are also willing to pay more on products that come from green businesses. Moreover, 56% of consumers are also likely to consider paying a higher price.
So, with more consumers being more willing to open their wallets for eco-friendly products, going green starts to become a top priority for brands because consumers are ready for sustainable businesses.
Brands are going greener
‘Going green has become very attractive as a business strategy. From greener trends in consumption to favorable or stricter government policies and better green opportunities, businesses from all industries are shifting their focus on how to become eco-friendlier.
Also, considering consumers’ shifting preferences, companies worldwide are all making efforts to incorporate green practices into their business models. For example, the famous fast-food company is currently trying to switch to using paper straws instead of plastic ones. Its biggest competitor, KFC, has already made the shift in most parts of the world.
Other examples would be H&M and Zara, which are both very famous fast-fashion companies that reshaped their approach towards a sustainable way of doing business. For example, the H&M company has not long ago released its Conscious Collection which only promotes clothes made from recycled materials.
Nike and Adidas, other famous brands from the fashion industry, have also both started to promote sustainable fashion, pledging to use only recycled plastic by 2024. In the tech sector, tech giants like Apple, HP or Dell are all going green by committing to new recycling programs and energy-conscious supply chains.
However, not only giants from different industries are going green but also small companies. Many businesses have made green thinking a part of their company culture from doing business with green vendors to reducing their waste and recycling and reusing waste using specially-designed machines.
Moreover, apart from brands going green, the business landscape has also been bombarded with thousands of eco-friendly startups over the last several years.
Yet, unfortunately, as with every other trend becoming popular, there will also be those who will be faking it to seem like they are part of it when, in fact, they are bringing just as much damage to our planet as they did until now. Those are the companies that are guilty of “greenwashing” by promoting themselves as eco-friendly brands while merely going through any change.
Greenwashing doesn’t necessarily mean that companies lie about being green. It can also mean that they are distorting the truth. For example, some brands promote their products as being organic but, however, fail to mention how much pollution is caused by the factories that produce them.
Sustainability is a winning marketing strategy
Sustainable branding matters now more than ever before. Consumers care more now than ever about green products and services and companies are noticing!
With environmental degradation and concerns hitting the headlines lately, news articles and documentaries on how our world is changing for the world, today’s consumers can no longer be fooled by companies who are only chasing profit.
Brands needed to change their approach in order to attract today’s consumers, particularly Millennials. And, since the Millennial consumers are called the “green generation”, many brands are starting to see the business opportunities in the sustainable lifestyle and behavioral changes of Millennial consumers.
In today’s marketing landscape, there’s a huge hype about what technology and automation can do from taking a brand’s message to consumers worldwide to leading to a huge increase in sales. Yet, most marketers tend to forget that technology is powerless if there is no response from real humans. And, sustainable branding addresses exactly this issue because it can trigger a strong human response.
For example, showing images or videos of how much damage humans have caused to our planet can trigger powerful emotions in consumers. Moreover, showing them how your brand can contribute to stopping it or making it better will appeal to the emotional core of the matter.
To conclude, sustainability in the business landscape isn’t going anywhere. In fact, it is not only expected to stay but to even trigger greener trends among consumers which will also encourage more companies to pledge for a sustainable way of doing business.
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