How consumers are shaping corporate sustainability strategies: Tal Donahue comments for Net Zero Professional

According to a new consumer survey from IBM’s Institute for Business Value, some consumers are willing to up to 70% more for products branded as sustainable.

Meanwhile, while 86% of companies across a range of industries have a sustainability strategy only 35% of them have actually acted on that strategy…

Senior Associate Director Tal Donahue recently provided insight into the communications and reputation management challenges facing brands operating in this landscape.

Tal Donahue, senior associate director at Infinite Global, believes that many brands are seeking to project their sustainability credentials to remain competitive. This, he says, is to be welcomed, as it builds awareness and generates momentum for wider change.

“There is, rightly, a low tolerance threshold for anything that could be construed as greenwashing,” adds Donahue. “In the UK, the advertising regulators have taken an increasingly tough line on environmental claims. Even when a company may in fact be making positive operational changes, claims made in advertising slogans which are absolute but unsubstantiated will be treated with short shrift. Catching the ire of the regulator has broader implications, not least for bigger brands, because of the inevitable resulting negative publicity. Accusations of greenwashing in the headlines can quickly erode good will that has been carefully built up, and reputation repair may be needed.”

Click to read the full article here, and find out more about climate change reputation risks for brands in our recent blog here.