the disconnect on sustainability
Consulting firm Morning Consult’s recent “What Sustainability Means to Consumers” report unveiled a concerning knowledge gap between consumers’ intentions around acting sustainably and an understanding of what sustainability is - along with what brands/industries are actual doing (or not doing).
In the Hospitality Industry, consumers believe it is time for brands to go beyond marketing - bridging the gap between consumer expectations and actual actions. Further, greenwashing is a non-starter, it’s time to get serious about incorporating sustainability into operations, no matter the business.
Consumers understand that sustainability in Food & Beverage is crucial but there is a current lack trust in brands and food systems to act accordingly. There is a lot of opportunity in this space.
The Tech Industry shoulders huge responsibility for moving forward sustainability at large, both with their own efforts (including innovating on business models + in accordance with increasing revenues) but also moving the needle of other industries, as well, to align with forthcoming stope 3/supply chain disclosures.
Retail = Resale. If a brand isn’t acting in circularity (i.e. not a linear to landfill business model), they are likely to slowly but surely either innovate for circularity or not stand the test of time.
Many Financial Services brands still invest heavily in support of fossil fuels, which many consumers are not aware of. Debt finance, largely bank loans and bonds, account for 90% of new capital for fossil-fuel companies.
Media: There is an urgent plea from younger generations to stop downplaying facts around the Climate Crisis in favor of the pocketbooks of network owners. A habitable earth is a bi-partisan issue. Unless they have some big plan to board a billionaire’s rocket to Mars, we need to focus on climate now for the future.
Consumers are overwhelmingly more aware of the climate crisis now more than ever - the truth is that it is happening all around us. As such, every job should be a “climate job” - i.e. every industry must adapt to sustainable, alternative futures - as brand reputation and company resilience will absolutely depend on it.
Oh, and so will the actual future.
