How brands tackle sustainability messaging directly correlates to how much action consumers are willing to take, but what motivates people to act is anything that directly impacts them personally.
The “Effective Sustainability Communications: A Best Practice Guide for Brands & Marketers” report jointly released Wednesday by the New York University (NYU) Stern Center for Sustainable Business (CSB) and Edelman uncovers which environmental sustainability claims motivate consumers the most.
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“At NYU Stern CSB, we have documented the growth in market share for sustainable products, but we need that growth to scale much faster through increased consumer demand and adoption from mainstream brands,” Tensie Whelan, founding director of NYU Stern CSB, said. “Together with Edelman, we have identified a roadmap for how to commercialize sustainability through effective communications—what to say, where to say it and to whom.”
Exclusively premiered at the Cannes Lions Festival by Randi Kronthal-Sacco, senior scholar at NYU Stern CSB, and Edelman CEO Richard Edelman, the study was done in partnership with nine global brands spanning apparel, food and beverage, technology, household items and personal care, including The North Face. It showed that by dissecting the top-performing claims across all nine brands, researchers could extract best practices for marketers to use to unlock the potential of action-based sustainability messaging to drive growth.
“We’ve demonstrated the commercial case for sustainability for mainstream brands. The sustainability amplifier effect is real and can help brands reach and engage more people,” Kronthal-Sacco said. “We hope this mobilizes brands and marketers to act and put sustainability at the core of business strategy, innovation and communications.
Results demonstrated that effective sustainability messages have a “powerful amplifier effect,” increasing brand reach and relevance by 24-33 percentage points compared with a high-performing category message alone. Responses from the 2,700 survey respondents showed that many consumers are attracted to simple, jargon-free sustainability messages that relate to them and their world. The results also showed that the top-performing claims had no demonstrable demographic or psychographic differences or political polarization.
“Every leader thinking twice about sustainability on the grounds of it being ‘divisive’ needs to know this: If you communicate sustainability the right way, it will appeal across political affiliation, income, gender, education levels and age groups,” the Edelman CEO said. “Sustainability is an amplifier and if brands embrace it, we can exponentially increase growth and trust.”
The sustainability claims that resonated the most were those that protected human health, saved money and produced less waste. Next were those that consider local farmers, followed by messages talking about children and future generations. Animal health was next in line, with sustainable supply chains—specifically, the terms “sustainably sourced” and “sustainably produced”—en suite. Local sourcing of products and their ingredients are another area of interest.
The sustainability claims that didn’t go over quite as well include those that veer into scientific territory—for example, air pollution, regenerative ingredients or carbon neutrality. Consumers also care less about the scientific causes behind sustainability unless they are tied to a reason to care, for example, only caring about air pollution if it means cleaner air for them to breathe. Traceability was also a lower resonating claim, as was certification. Plus, consumers only care about packaging if it’s made of 100 percent recycled materials, the study found, or if the packaging claim includes a reason why the consumer should care.
While strong claims performed well across demographic and psychological cohorts, the environmental claims were of particular interest to Gen Z and Democrats.
The biggest takeaway? Unless brands can give consumers a personalized reason to act, efforts will be brushed aside.
