How can you market sustainability?

1 Know your why

Before you start marketing sustainability, you need to have a clear and compelling reason for doing so. What is your sustainability vision and mission? How does it relate to your core business purpose and values? How does it benefit your customers, stakeholders, and society? Having a strong why will help you craft a consistent and credible sustainability story that reflects your brand identity and differentiates you from your competitors.

3 Know your who

Finally, you need to know your who. Who are you marketing sustainability to? What are their needs, preferences, values, and expectations regarding sustainability? How do they perceive your brand and your sustainability efforts? How can you reach them and influence them effectively? Knowing your who will help you tailor your sustainability message and channels to your target audience, as well as create value propositions and emotional connections that appeal to them.

4 Use storytelling

Storytelling is a powerful tool for marketing sustainability, as it can help you convey your why, how, and who in a memorable and engaging way. Stories can also help you humanize your sustainability efforts, showcase your personality and passion, and inspire action and change. To use storytelling effectively, you need to have a clear structure, a compelling plot, a relatable protagonist, a relevant challenge, and a meaningful outcome. You also need to use vivid language, visuals, and emotions to capture attention and elicit empathy.

5 Avoid greenwashing

Greenwashing is the practice of making exaggerated or misleading claims about the environmental or social benefits of a product, service, or company, without providing sufficient evidence or context. Greenwashing can damage your brand reputation, erode customer trust, and expose you to legal risks. To avoid greenwashing, you need to be honest, accurate, and specific about your sustainability claims, and back them up with credible data, standards, and certifications. You also need to acknowledge your limitations and challenges, and communicate your efforts to improve and learn.

6 Seek feedback

Marketing sustainability is not a one-way communication, but a two-way dialogue. You need to seek feedback from your audience, as well as from other experts, stakeholders, and peers, on your sustainability efforts and messages. Feedback can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, address gaps and misconceptions, and improve your performance and impact. It can also help you build relationships, trust, and loyalty with your audience, as well as foster co-creation and collaboration on sustainability solutions.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?