Thinking
The case for brand-led sustainability
Written by Jon Ross
20 May 2022
Building a brand that is perceived as sustainable is now a critical requirement
The world is changing more rapidly in a direction where sustainable practices have become paramount to the future of the planet. Companies and brands are now focusing on sustainable production and practices to meet this future need. Moreover, sustainable products are surpassing in sales than ones that are perceived as non-sustainable, furthering the argument that sustainable products and practices are not only good for the planet, but they are also good for company growth.
However, because most brands are approaching sustainability in similar ways, they risk generating undifferentiated content, multiplying investments, and diluting the strength of their brands to pursue ever-higher standards. At Fallow Associates our interpretation is that this strategy is flawed since brand should be the real driver of differentiation.
Brand-led sustainability infuses a brand’s essence and differentiating values into every action that it carries out related to sustainability, transforming doing good into a competitive advantage.
In this way, sustainability can become a source of preference, brand value and ROI.

Sustainability is a global movement but a localised issue
Brands must lead the way
The call comes loudly from all stakeholders – from consumers to employees to investors – everyone expects more. In the void left by politics and institutions, many are looking to brands to lead the way: not only in guiding consumption habits, but in shaping day-to-day behaviours. Indeed, 90% of GenZ believe that brands must intervene on social and environmental issues.
Who Cares Wins
The increasing pressure on brands to embrace sustainability – which in its truest meaning includes social and environmental objectives highlighted by the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals – should be regarded as the biggest growth opportunity for brands.
To tap into this growing space – meeting consumer expectations and seizing business opportunities – brands must walk the talk. They must make real, tangible, and concrete impact and it is essential that they continue to update, adapt, and evolve to remain relevant in the eyes of their customers, and to avoid reputational damage.
Most brands are approaching sustainability in an undifferentiated way, chasing only compliance in the eyes of consumers and regulators. There are few initiatives and positions taken by brands that, once communicated, are really noticed, remembered, or that provide differentiation for the brand.
Break the Pattern
Most brands are approaching sustainability in an undifferentiated way, chasing only compliance in the eyes of consumers and regulators. There are few initiatives and positions taken by brands that, once communicated, are really noticed, remembered, or that provide differentiation for the brand. Indeed, where everyone repeats the same promises (e.g.: committing to reduce carbon emissions to net zero, dubious offset strategies or adopting 100% recyclable packaging) very few brands stand out.
It is therefore necessary for companies to quickly break this pattern to prevent eroding the uniqueness and distinctiveness of a brand.
Creating differentiation
Brands increasingly find themselves in a vicious cycle: as investing in sustainability continues to be an imperative to maintain relevance, standards rise, consumer expectations continue to grow, regulators clamp down, and brands are forced to react to the shifting standards. In this scenario of limited differentiation among the category, the only true criteria for distinguishing one brand from another eventually becomes its price resulting in it being perceived as just a commodity.
Brand-led sustainability
Taking a brand led approach means that every sustainable action, initiative and pledge is carried out through the brand. Brand and sustainability become intwined, and all sustainability activities are unique, consistent, memorable and instantly recognisable to that brand.
Sustainability is a global movement but a localised issue
What matters in the UK does not necessarily resonate elsewhere. In Germany animal friendly and locally sourced products feature high on consumers priority list compared to the UK where environmentally friendly and recyclable packaging dominate.
This shows that a highly emotional and cultural narrative is emerging, and brands must be aware of local differences.
What has also emerged is that UK consumers have a very high desire to behave sustainably but, the follow through on behaving sustainably is very low, creating a vast intention- action gap that brands can play a part in closing.
Closing the gap
Closing this gap represents both an enormous opportunity and challenge for brands in terms of reputation and future profitability.
There are four valuable insights currently emerging in the UK worth considering when developing a brand led sustainable strategy:
- Consumer’s expectations are now exceeding regulation so if brands only apply a box ticking process when it comes to sustainability, they will be falling short of consumer’s needs.
- A new kind of activism has started. Shareholders are now setting higher expectations for companies. Climate change has become a defining factor in companies long term prospects, and this is determining environmental strategy that influence future levels of investment.
- Covid-19 has accelerated society’s expectations of brands. Consumers are demanding that businesses be more environmentally and socially responsible.
- Consumer’s expectations are not being met. According to a recent survey in Marketing Week 84% of UK consumers say that being environmentally friendly is important to them, yet 68% cannot name a single environmentally friendly brand!
The Take Away
Sustainability is shifting from compliance to real business value. It is an imperative and is not just ‘green’. Embrace brand led sustainability, it represents a wonderful opportunity to enable a brand to stand out and grow a business by doing good.