The B for Good Big Three
Laura Tran, our craft partner for sustainability, has a b for good download FOR YOU
This year I attended the B for Good Leaders Summit in Amsterdam for the second time, and just like last year, I'm sharing sustainability take-aways for any peer or company looking to refresh their sustainability strategy.
Take-away 1: follow a movement
Before going to a sustainability summit, one can easily feel uneasy at the idea of going to a self-promotion contest. And in a way it's true. The speech practically always starts with "I worked in [insert extravagantly pollutive/inequality prone industry] for 20+ years. And now, with the money I made from it, I founded and I'm leading this eco-business and we're so much better. (or in a few words, that's my redemption)".
Am I being too harsh? Maybe. When I started my career, the business of doing things for the sake of good was already a praised, available option. And to think about it, it's probably BECAUSE those people before my generation made this conscious effort to do better, so that today we may go from those sustainability seedlings and make them grow to a well rooted economy where doing things for good is the base of value creation.
That's one of the goals I took away from this: follow a movement. It’s totally valid to be a follower rather than an initiator of a movement, if that movement is headed in the right direction, and also if your contribution helps the cause.
Sustainability does not have to be revolutionary, it starts with ad-hoc initiatives leading to overarching changes in the business over time. Identify the sustainability initiatives that make sense to your company and join this trend to make it a reality at industry level. Here are some initiatives that caught my eye in the BfGl summit:
1. Rituals giving 10% of its profits to Charity and investments in well being
2. Unilever replacing 40% of its portfolio of products to more sustainable options in 4 years
3. The Good Roll building its entire supply chain from scratch in Ghana to provide fair wages from bamboo farmers to the top.
Take-away 2: add your stone to a goal that will fit in seven generations.
The Bfgl summit feels like you're Tom Hanks' love interest in Terminal. You're passing through this busy venue where people from all backgrounds and cultures come together. Some people are flying first class and some people are as high as a kite... but in a good way?
There’s still a lot we can learn from other cultures outside of our mainstream horizons. Spiritual activist and matriarch Cheryl Angel came all the way from her native american reserve to tell us about her life learning: the seventh generation principle. The decisions we make today should result in a sustainable world seven generations in the future. She told us about how seven gens ago, the choices made by the elders brought to today's gen cancer, diabetes and obesity.
What about if we could reverse that? Not just for the native americans but as a goal for all companies to create a positive change for seven generations? Taking this astral plane view transcends the common, arithmetic environmental impact measurement exercise. It brings us to one of my personal favorite Craftory righteous causes: progressing society.
Take-away 3: be accountable in your sustainability execution
Although today for-good businesses are praised around the world, accountability still has a long way to go. Sustainability accountancy sounds about as interesting as watching paint dry but it’s actually one of the biggest keys to change and to bring one by one, all your category stakeholders on board.
Even before taking big steps that shake your entire business such as becoming a B corp, sustainability accountancy starts at what you tell your consumers. Sustainability as a claim is probably one of the most vague topics out there for branding. What's green? What's natural? What's better for you? In 2024, it's table stakes for all companies to have a commitment for sustainability, perhaps it means that peer pressuring made products better.
Don't be fooled by it. Greenwashing is omnipresent and giving a bad reputation / aura to brands actually trying to do good. In fact, it's easy to tackle greenwashing. There are advertising laws for that (here). The best way to prevent accusations of misleading your consumers is to have a clear, accurate and unambiguous claim to sustainability. And if it's a goal, to have a measurable, feasible, available plan, to achieve it. Remember, the burden of proof lies with the advertiser.
All of this probably sounds like a chorus you've already heard many times but maybe it's because it rings true that it's always on your billboard. Let's chant these goals for the whole industry to hear.
Laura Tran is Craft Partner for Sustainability and Investor at The Craftory, the progressive investment fund on a $550M mission to back the world's boldest consumer brands.
