What is Sustainability?
Sustainability can mean a lot of things, but to a business student, it means to have your business utilize resources wisely and follow environmentally friendly practices in order to maintain long-term growth and profitability.
Sustainability & Marketing:
Sustainable marketing is all about aligning your marketing strategy to promote products and services that follow good environmental and social standards.
Society has raised more awareness towards the environment, and consumers are beginning to care more about sustainable practices. Studies show that around 88% of consumers want brands to lead them towards a more sustainable lifestyle as mentioned in Social Media Explorer’s “Sustainability Marketing: What Every Brand Needs to Know” .
By showing consumers that your business promotes eco-friendly products and services, your brand and reputation becomes better in the eyes of the consumers. Those same consumers are more likely to remain loyal to your brand, which puts you a step ahead of your competitors.
According to the research of TotemPool’s “What Is Sustainable Marketing And Who Are The Key Players” , there are five key sustainable marketing principles:
- Consumer-oriented Marketing
- Customer-value Marketing
- Innovative Marketing
- Sense of Mission Marketing
- Societal Marketing
All of these concepts revolve around using innovation and consideration for the consumer, company, and society in order to capture customer value. Value drives growth and profit.
Practicing Sustainability:
From sustainable packaging to reducing water and energy usage at your company, there are many ways to show your company is sustainable. Many of the larger, influential companies are taking the lead on sustainability and are reaping the benefits from it.
For example, Unilever is looking to reduce half of their product’s environmental footprint.
Many companies are integrating their sustainable products and services into their advertisements. In addition, companies are publishing a yearly Sustainability Report on their websites in order to showcase their emphasis on this new trend.
All in all, sustainability has become a major player in the business world. As a Marketing major, I have learned the importance of aligning my company’s marketing strategy with sustainability as it boosts the company’s reputation and increases profitability and long-term growth.
Additional Resources:
What Is Sustainable Marketing And Who Are The Key Players (totempool.com)
Sustainability Marketing: What Every Brand Needs to Know – Social Media Explorer