HyperQuake strategists are participating in a 13-week webinar entitled “Sustainability Boot Camp” hosted by Sustainable Life Media. This first session was bonus preview that featured Jennifer Rice, founder and chief strategist of Fruitful Strategy discussing “Key Factors in Building Your Sustainable Brand Strategy.”
10 Strategies for Building a Credible Sustainable Brand:
1. Be proactive
2. Be transparent
3. Know your limits
4. Be relevant
5. Borrow credibility
6. Leverage brand strengths
7. Create a brand
8. Be consistent
9. Educate
10. Engage
Many of the ideas boil down to basic common sense and authenticity, but there were a lot of great brand examples attributed to each of the above factors and quick stats that caught my attention. Namely, only one out of 1,018 brands lived up to its green claims, and 25% of companies have said that they make the efforts purely for the public perception of being sustainable. Only 7% claim that their sustainable efforts are because they care about the environment. No wonder there is such a backlash toward Greenwashing.
Kudos to brands like Patagonia, Timberland, Home Depot and even some surprises like SC Johnson, Walmart and BP who are making efforts toward more credible sustainability. Thankfully, you don’t have to be perfect to make an effort.