Why is Sustainability Important for Brands in 2021?

Posted on: January 29th, 2021

Not long ago, businesses could easily thrive in the market with nothing more than a great product, a great story and a sprinkling of differentiation from the competition. But as today’s consumers become more sophisticated and demanding regarding social responsibility, a great product or story is no longer enough. This leads to the question, why is sustainability important for brands?

Yes, consumers still expect a great product from your brand – especially if they’ve been brand loyal for a number of years. But a new Capgemini Report reveals that 79% of consumers are beginning to change their purchasing habits and that change is based on social reasonability and the brand’s overall environmental impact as perceived by the buying public.

For those who believe that shift in purchasing habits will normalize once the pandemic is over, think again. The report goes on to state that Covid-19 has only increased consumer awareness as 67% of respondents say they will be more cautious about the scarcity of natural resources and 65% will be more mindful of their overall consumption.

Shifting an organization to be more sustainable today is not an easy task. Going back to why is sustainability important for brands, there is now evidence showing how making the initiative a priority can be beneficial to the bottom line.

• While sustainably marketed products accounted for only 16% of the market, they delivered more than half of the market growth and grew 5.6 times faster than non-sustainable products.
• The purchase motivation for a product grows threefold if the product is shown to have sustainability benefits.
• Perhaps the strongest evidence of all towards making sustainability a priority at your organization comes from research by Trivium Packaging, which reports that nearly three-fourths (74%) of consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable packaging.

Consumers are also growing increasingly more aware of something called “greenwashing”. According to Investopedia, “greenwashing is the process of conveying a false impression or providing misleading information about how a company’s products are more environmentally sound.”

In other words, companies can no longer make it appear as though they’ve adopted sustainable practices in their operations – customers now want to see qualitative proof void of marketing jargon.

Going back to the question of why is sustainability important for brands? Simply put, the purchasing power of the consumer demands that their dollars go towards brands with a commitment towards environmental conservation. Yes, they want a great product. But they also want a company whose personal values and morals mirror their own.