Can Sustainability Sell?

Designed for companies and marketing professionals, this publication aims to convince the corporate sector that "far from depressing sales, sustainable principles could be essential to protect both brand health and future profitability." According to the document, there are new business opportunities related to transparent corporate communication on sustainability issues and companies will benefit from choosing to endorse sustainable principles and communicate about them. By sharing examples of successful case studies and contributions from communication professionals, companies and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the booklet aims to demonstrate the value in developing sustainable practices, and communicating these to consumers.

The document defines sustainability as "a collective term for everything to do with responsibility for the world in which we live. It is an economic, social and environmental issue. It is about consuming differently and consuming efficiently. It also means sharing between the rich and poor, and protecting the global environment, while not jeopardising the needs of future generations." It proposes that corporate social responsibility is likely to continue to grow in importance as a result of increased pressure from consumers, non-governmental organisations, government, and other private sector companies as well.

It explains how UNEP's Sustainable Consumption Programme aims to create space for consumption for those most in need and at the same time improve environmental outcomes. Its main activities are to:
inform (consumer trends, life cycle assessment, indicators); inspire (eco-design, product and service systems, assisting governments in implementing policies); and communicate (advertising, training, education). At the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) Rio+5 Earth Summit, governments were recommended “to encourage business, the media, advertising and marketing sectors to help shape sustainable consumption patterns.” Building on these principles, UNEP launched an Advertising and Communication Forum to answer the question: “How to best communicate to promote sustainable consumption and production patterns?”

The booklet explains that advertising cannot be expected to lead the way on social activism, but is very effective at listening and reacting to public will. The Advertising and Communication Forum aims to: raise awareness of the advertising industry on environmental and sustainability issues; establish a platform for dialogue with other stakeholders such as consumer organisations, industry and governments; and share information.

According to the document, communication is the key to success for promoting sustainable consumption and the advertising sector plays a role in influencing
consumption patterns by representing a link between producers and consumers. It is proposed that there is a need to use the creative talents and expertise found in the advertising industry to translate the concept of sustainable consumption/lifestyle into different images to promote a product or service.