I’ve been posting a bit on Twitter about whether or not businesses can generate brand value out of embracing sustainability. As usual it’s met with polarising views ranging from the questionable to the absurd (one of the reasons I love Twitter ) but it’s certainly got me spending more time on the look out and thinking about whether eco=brand.

I don’t think I’d be doing my clients an injustice if I said they didn’t approach the green house with a brief to help them recycle more in order to add value to their brand. In an operational environment such as waste management it is almost always cost that is the principle driver – something neither I nor you should have a problem with because anyone who tells you that you sacrificing commercial sensibility just to win some brownie points with consumers is a good idea is living in a dream world.

What tends to happen instead is that businesses want to have their cake, eat it and recycle it (see what I did there?) and that is absolutely fine. Better than fine. It’s great. We get to become best friends with our clients because we save them money on operational services AND increase their levels of sustainability. So how do you get from there to increasing levels of consumer perceptions of sustainability?

I’ve come across a few examples in the last couple of days:

Starbucks have launched their ‘Big Picture’ campaign including their ‘Pledge Day’ where customers are asked to bring their own reusable cup this week. Now before the sceptics amongst you spin yourselves into an ecotizzy it isn’t just a throwaway (geddit) marketing gimmick. I know this because you only have to look at Starbucks website to see how much importance they put on what they call Environmental Stewardship. They have created some great viral marketing consisting of very cool videos (the track is by a band called The Drums by the way) and, overall, I think it gives a fun and positive message.

A lesser but no less important example I saw in the shop window of a Holland and Barrett store in London at the weekend. Holland and Barrett sell vitamins and health supplements and they have stopped using plastic carrier bags in their stores. This could have been something they did and didn’t tell anyone but, instead, they have opted for a simple sticker in their shop windows (there isn’t even any big marketing on their website). However, I think it’s another good example of sharing your positive news with the public – letting them know that your environmental commitments do not stop at a paragraph on your corporate website and that you are putting words into action.

So, the questions are will it add value to the Starbucks/Holland and Barretts brand? Will it drive more consumers to their stores? Will a strong environmental stance prove to be a contributing factor to people’s purchasing decision? In my opinion the answer to all these questions is YES.

There will come a time where the marketing message is lost. This will be when it is a society normality that a business produces Zero Waste, uses no fossil fuels, generates its own energy, produces no carbon and gives free hoverboards to its staff but we aren’t at that point yet so I think it’s an entirely reasonable, feasible and commendable thing to tell the world when you have made a positive action.

There is a great book by John Grant on the subject that I read recently that goes into far more detail than I ever could in a blog post. If you are interested in whether eco=brand then check it out here or, better still, give me a call and we can chat about it

Phil