What is sustainable?

One of the buzzwords that is increasingly used in the corporate world is ‘sustainability’. Over the last few years it has firmly entrenched itself in the vocabulary of branding. Yet I’m not entirely convinced everyone has a good grasp of what it means.

Application 1
In these ‘recovering’ times when there is still much doubt about our future business prospects, ‘sustainability’ is being used to describe an organisation’s potential to survive on a long term basis, suggesting that it will have to adopt beliefs, behaviours and practices consistent with being able to achieve this.

Application 2
‘Sustainability’ can allude to an organisation’s responsibility and commitment to helping save the planet and its people.This can refer to the influence it has on external communities with which it may or may not come into contact, and/or the influence it has on its own employees.

Application 3
‘Sustainability’ can also jump into the change arena and suggest ‘transformation’ and ‘innovation’ and ‘moving away from conventional thinking and practices’. It often refers to the way we live – the new options we have available as individuals to build sustainable communities, living and working harmoniously with the environment. 

Not many people associate its relationship with an organisation’s brand. Not many see it as a core function of the business, relegating it to a compliance requirement associated with managing business risks and yet another box that needs to be ticked in the annual report each year. This is an increasingly regulated world where we are expected to cut emissions and move to low-carbon sources. It makes sense for an organisation to do this claim a stake in a sustainable future and add strength to its brand. For companies who are reliant on fossil fuels and water say, their sustainable actions may well determine the future viability of their business. With sustainability underpinning your brand, it may well provide a competitive edge over similar brands. Sustainability may not sell more product, but it can enhance brand credibility of the company behind the product and the potential to impress investors and attract them its way.

Because sustainability is now a consideration at most brand touchpoints, it has become one of the supporting pillars of the brand, alongside such essentials as culture and values. Audiences are increasingly aware of it as it gains more exposure in the media. This has prompted stakeholders, employees, suppliers, government and the press to ask questions on the subject relating to how an organisation manufactures and sells its products, what they’re made of, how it treats its employees, how it supports local communities and so on – questions directly relating to how it operates and whether it thinks beyond the factory gate about ‘the bigger picture’. At the end of the day, people want to know whether the organisation is a good citizen.

People are increasingly less forgiving of companies caught polluting, funding governments, covering up financial irregularities, paying outlandish bonuses and having poor attitudes to workplace relations. Organisations seen as ‘responsible’ and adopting acceptable behaviours are finding new favour in the investor community.

This has lead to companies investigating ways to leverage their sustainability focus to gain exposure and build value into their brand.  Sourcing coffee from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms, cars made from high proportions of recyclable materials, energy efficient appliances, proportions of revenue donated to AIDS research, local community initiatives, educating children in Third World countries – there are many opportunities to contribute.

The challenge for companies is to align sustainability initiatives with stakeholder expectations and ensure they are consistent with the overall business strategy. There is a risk however, that some customer segments will have little or no regard for the company’s interest in this area, while some will have high expectations.

Failing to address sustainable business practices can have dire consequences either directly or through  supplier relationships. Nike’s image has been battered on several occasions with revelations concerning its supply arrangements with Third World ‘sweat shops’. An article in the San Francisco Bay Guardian from an Indonesian worker summed up her experience of Nike “... labourers faced with forced overtime, minimum-wage violations, illegally low training wages, and abusive employers in countries such as China, South Korea and Indonesia to which Nike has contracted its manufacturing.” This is the stuff that PR company dreams are made of.

Organisations must recognise that ‘sustainability’ needs to be a recognisable mindset, not a part time indulgence. There are many instances of ‘greenwashing’, jumping on the sustainability band wagon and using public relations activities to crank up false perceptions. It is surprisingly easy to identify these organisations.

An organisation’s attitude to sustainability therefore has a direct bearing on people’s perception of the organisation, its brand and the ultimate value of the brand.


Tony Heywood is an international branding consultant and founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia with affiliates in Melbourne, Gold Coast, London, Singapore and Mumbai.

View some of Heywood’s work on www.heywood.com.au

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