Sustainability strategies are the talk of the town. They guide us towards a future that ensures operational efficiencies and longevity for responsible business.
Most look pretty on paper but fall short in action with shallow metrics for the measurement of intangibles. For some, the idea of sustainability remains intangible in value, but one cannot deny its polish on brand perception.
Under the pressure of publishing sustainability reports, organizations risk treading the very fine line between greenwashing, defined as overexaggerating results, and greenhushing which reflects underreporting and, in some cases, the concealing of sustainability efforts or results. In most cases, both can be a result of a lack of direction in navigating sustainability targets, and both risk negative brand impact and stakeholder confidence.
Greenhushing can be tempting when an organization either misses on the delivery of a sustainability target, doesn’t do enough towards said target, or doesn’t know how to communicate its sustainability efforts.
An alternative to resorting to greenhushing or greenwashing is choosing to do what you can with what you have.
• Start where you can and keep your goals realistic and measurable.
• Avoid grand targets that may not have the internal capacity to be championed.
• Create smart partnerships that not only support your target(s) but also reduce the strain on internal teams who may not be equipped to fully absorb the weight.
A great example of doing what you can with what you have is South Africa’s Castle Lager and its incredible “Bread of the Nation” initiative. The brand has repurposed the by-products of its beer brewing process, to produce 30,000 loaves of bread for communities in need. From an ESG lens the initiative forms part of its environmental sustainability strategy, while also solving for its social commitments towards food insecurity in South Africa.
The brand (i) milled flour from its own by-products, including over 200,000 tonnes of spent grain that would typically be discarded, (ii) partnered with a local bakery to produce the bread, and (iii) enlisted the help of a local NGO with feeding schemes around the country, to deliver free loaves to South Africa’s most vulnerable.
Castle Lager has big goals of sustainability, including the reduction of carbon emissions and the minimalization of operational impact on the environment. But they have started doing what they can with what they have. They have held hands with those of a similar vision and have created value for those in need.
At Advantage Advertising, communicating the sustainability efforts of clients is important to us. We shift CSI and ESG from a marketing strategy to a revenue strategy and amplify the good business that corporates want to do in Namibia.
Consequently, we have created a dedicated department called The Alliance which focuses specifically on developing data-driven impact solutions for our clients. With a foundational principle of Shared Value, The Alliance guides corporates on the path away from profit vs purpose and towards profit & purpose.
Housing a researcher and strategist, The Alliance is equipped to amplify the CSR and ESG efforts of businesses looking to go beyond business as usual.
True to its name, The Alliance is about working together for desired impact to help you do what you can with what you have, without resorting to greenhushing or greenwashing.
We would love… and we would love to collaborate with you. Please get in touch on info@advantage.com.na
*Ama Owusu-Agyemang is Head of Strategy & Shared Value at Advantage Advertising & Communications
