2021

Key Takeaways for Business

1. Don’t assume you know what your customer thinks about sustainability

Too often, sustainability leaders downgrade consumers to being just one more stakeholder group or, even worse, don’t consider them at all. Consumers should be included as a distinct stakeholder group, and their views carefully considered and balanced, alongside other stakeholder views. It is also important to gain a deep understanding of consumers. (See P.25)

2. Whilst tackling the climate crisis, don’t forget about social issues

In the rush to tackle climate change, don’t forget that social issues also resonate highly with consumers. This means that a broader sustainability plan and messaging to consumers are important. (See P. 25)

3. Use bold, clear and direct communications

The use of direct, bold and clear communications around a small number of issues helps consumers to recognise, and more confidently and quickly assess a company or product based on its environmental or ethical credentials. Our research shows that many sustainability terms – even the term ‘sustainability’ itself – are often not understood or are misunderstood. ‘Sustainability’ is heavily associated with environmental topics, which lacks the breadth often implied by corporate sustainability teams. Three simple rules will help to ensure your sustainability communications are effective. (See P.26)

4. Use the segmentation inside your business to engage colleagues and influence decision making

Consumer insights are powerful because they help companies make better decisions about action and communication. Likewise, for business sustainability leaders, colleagues can provide useful consumer insights. Those with a sustainability role would benefit greatly from better understanding the organisation’s senior team through the lens of sustainability segmentation. Doing so would allow you to deploy the right tactics to maximise engagement and influence decision making. (See P.26)

5. Keep looking for leading signals in your data

By looking for trends in your consumer research, you will be able to spot important signals – threats as well as opportunities – for your business strategy. (See P.27)