The latest developments supporting a shift toward sustainable consumption, as well as specific ways brands are encouraging less wasteful behaviors.
This is the first in a three-part series by Fruitful Strategy's Jennifer Rice, in which she explores sustainable, world-changing brands. She will delve further into the topic in the workshop "Sustainable Brands 101: Integrating Sustainability at the Brand Level" at SB '13 on June 3.
Consumption (noun); the action of using a resource. We know consumption is a primary driver of the inherent unsustainability of modern living. For those yet to be convinced that our way of life is not sustainable (adjective — able to be maintained at a certain level), reflect on the fact that last Friday, May 10th, levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere peaked at 400 ppm. Also reflect on the fact that the desire for a $1 T-shirt has driven the most appalling standards in many apparel supply chains and the recent deaths of over 1000 garment workers in Bangladesh.
Calling all innovators and implementers! Beginning in June, Sustainable Brands will launch a new “Issues in Focus” editorial package examining ways brands are “activating sustainability” — driving behavior change toward sustainable consumption.
Research on sustainable consumption has boomed since the mid 2000s. The rise of social media as a tool for interaction with, and scrutiny of, brands has increased consumer interest in sustainability, alternative products and lifestyle.
I live as the sole injection of estrogen in a house full of testosterone with my husband and two young boys, aged nine and six. But suddenly I am swimming in estrogen.
This is an edited excerpt from Pablo Barros' upcoming book, Behaviour change, consumption and sustainability: how companies can influence individuals in a world in transition, due for publication in September 2013.
In 2003 Ford Motor Co. launched Driving Skills for Life (DSFL), a program the automaker created to teach newly licensed teenagers the necessary driving skills beyond the offerings of most drivers' education courses.
Last week, Yum! Brands – parent company of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell – announced the release of its online Corporate Social Responsibility Report, “Serving the World.”
As Earth month begins to take shape, Toyota has partnered up with the Wyland Foundation, the water conservation non-profit founded by renowned marine life artist Wyland, to launch the second annual National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation.
Nestlé has published a set of 30 social and environmental goals focused on countering the global nutrition crisis and environmental decline, to be achieved by or before 2020.
Walmart announced it has achieved its objective of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in all facilities built before 2005 a year earlier than expected.
Environmental concerns among citizens around the world have been falling since 2009 and have now reached twenty-year lows, according to a multi-country GlobeScan poll.
In response to its recent abandonment by nearly 100 international corporate customers, Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) has announced an immediate end to the clearing of natural forest across its entire supply chain in Indonesia. Disney, Levi’s and Mattel were among some of the major brands to jump ship after years of criticism over the paper company’s role in harming Indonesia’s endangered rainforests and communities.
Byronesque, an online vintage retailer, has created a provocative campaign aimed at making New York Fashion Week attendees think twice about purchasing next season’s ‘it’ designs.
Shifting to a sustainable economy requires a new kind of brand-consumer partnership. As consumers begin to vote with their dollars for more innovative products and services that both delight the purchaser and support the long-term health of society, they help create competitive advantage for those brands that best deliver. Getting there requires convincing less conscious consumers that they can have their cake and eat it, too (drive positive change and indulge their needs), and helping them learn how to choice-edit for the best personal, planetary and societal impact.