Sustainability is more than just an industry trend. For those companies doing it right, it can prove to be a business advantage. But more than that, it’s a looming imperative for the planet: Climate change experts say that carbon emissions must fall by roughly half by 2030 before climate problems become irreversible.
The business and agency world is responding with efforts and experts to help change attitudes and business practices. The number of chief sustainability officers at companies jumped threefold in 2021 year over year, according to a study by PwC, and more agencies are bringing sustainability experts into their ranks to meet client demands for sustainable practices and campaigns.
It’s a sign that the agency world is helping to lead the charge on sustainable business practices, and those who take up the mantle must have authority on the subject to win clients over. Sustainability is now being integrated into agencies’ conversations about strategy, growth and purpose, and it has also emerged as a competitive advantage. Making sustainable efforts core to an agency’s business can recruit and retain talent, drive demand and be a source for growth.
“Now, successful business leaders and brands are the ones who raise the bar on sustainability. Brands and corporations have a growing focus on climate change and understand that failure to act will cost society, the economy and the environment,” said Allison Dowd, global sustainability senior manager at Wunderman Thompson.
Helping brands tell their stories
Many changes need to be made globally to slow climate change, but those shifts also need to be communicated—and agencies are specialists in communication.
“There’s a lot of open questions about how you talk to not just customers, but how you talk to the culture itself,” said Toby Barlow, chief creative officer at Lafayette American, a Detroit agency that specializes in telling the stories of brands as they transition to greener operations, including BorgWarner in the auto sector and manufacturer Owens Corning.
“It’s figuring out how to tell those stories that is an ongoing dialogue with employees and with customers … because more and more customers are coming, asking, expecting it—it really is built into the whole purchase cycle,” Barlow said.
Anna Lungley, chief sustainability officer at Dentsu, said that to translate a company’s sustainability efforts to consumers, agencies need to teach clients not to talk in science-based terminology.
“Sustainability is very complex and not particularly engaging if you’re talking about it in technical terms. We try to help brands break that down into something that’s accessible, that’s aspirational, that’s rewarding and fun,” said Lungley.
Dentsu helps nudge consumer behavior so people understand the benefits of switching from gas to electric or choosing plant-based options, or with a client like Ikea, opting to shut down its stores on Black Friday instead of running the traditional holiday sales.
