New Guide by CMO Sustainability Accelerator and BCG Highlights Ways to Link Sustainability to Broader Related Needs and Remove Barriers to Growth for Customers for Whom Sustainability is a Concern, but Not a Primary Driver
96% of US consumers say they at least sometimes try to behave in ways that protect the planet, its people, and its resources. Reaching collective climate ambitions requires massive consumer change, and chief marketing officers (CMOs) are well-positioned to drive this growth by “bringing green to the mainstream,” according to an action plan for growth released today by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the CMO Sustainability Accelerator, a coalition composed of the Association of National Advertisers, Sustainable Brands, and Adweek.
The report, titled The Future is Mainstream Green: Introducing a New Growth Strategy, outlines a roadmap for how to achieve Mainstream Green — defined as driving sustainable choices by all consumers, not just those who are moved by sustainable claims. Reaching Mainstream Green is a key opportunity for marketers to help close the intent-to-action gap by motivating customers to move beyond expressing concern for sustainability to adopting sustainable behaviors and purchasing sustainable goods/services.
“Organizations cannot achieve the environmental sustainability goals that they’ve pledged without inspiring consumers across the board to change their habits,” said Lauren Taylor, a BCG managing director and partner and global leader of the firm’s customer-centric sustainability topic, who coauthored the report. “However, we need to make sustainable options meet consumers’ core needs, rather than expecting the majority to make tradeoffs when they choose a sustainable option. Making green truly mainstream will require activating large-scale collective action by companies, with CMOs playing a key role.”
“As vital members of the C-suite core to business growth, CMOs and marketing leaders around the world are seeking new and actionable ways to drive sustainable practices—table stakes for thriving businesses in a new era,” said Jenny Rooney, Chief Experience Officer at Adweek. “Adweek, ANA, SB, and BCG have come together to create a roadmap that provides direction to help marketing chiefs champion and implement sustainable business practices throughout their organizations. Adweek will continue the sustainability conversation and learnings through upcoming content and gatherings, including an event where our community can explore these guidelines and the C-level collaboration necessary for success.”
“We know sustainability can play a key role in driving growth, which is the centerpiece of the ANA’s Growth Agenda,” said ANA CEO Bob Liodice. “The ANA is proud to produce this new report in collaboration with BCG and our partners in the CMO Sustainability Accelerator initiative. These guidelines and recommendations will help CMOs drive behavioral change in consumers and marketers who appreciate the benefits of being green but need guidance on how to fulfill the promise of true sustainability while growing their business.”
“Most brands are somewhere on the journey to becoming a sustainably regenerative brand of the future, and we are delighted to provide this practical and applicable resource for CMOs to engage with their cross-functional stakeholders and help them collaboratively tackle the challenges toward good growth with their C-suite partners,” said KoAnn Vikoren Skrzyniarz, founder and Chief Executive of Sustainable Brands.
The CMO is Key to Unlocking ‘Mainstream Green’
Just 20% of consumers think they can personally have an impact on climate and sustainability issues and more significantly, approximately 70% of consumers are disillusioned – wary of corporate claims about progress toward sustainability. But they are critical stakeholders, without whom companies can only achieve a portion of their environmental sustainability goals. It is up to marketers to link corporate climate and sustainability commitments to palatable growth drivers and show their customers that they are not merely performative. In addition to representing the voice and perspective of the customer, CMOs ensure cohesion across functions to realize business value from sustainability. As experts on customer needs and barriers, they can make complex topics digestible, and unfamiliar products desirable to ultimately activate significant consumer change.
Three Steps to Making Sustainability a Driver for Growth
Marketers can achieve Mainstream Green by putting customers at the center of a three-step strategy to make sustainability a driver for growth:
- Understand drivers of choice. Customer-centric sustainability starts with understanding customers’ drivers of choice and how they relate to environmental sustainability. Linking sustainability to broader related needs (such as health) can unlock two to four times the number of customers for whom sustainability is a concern but not a primary driver of choice. In addition, making sustainability a “bonus benefit” significantly expands the sustainable customer base to those for whom sustainability is not a driver of choice at all.
- Create a sustainable offering. To drive business and sustainability impact, the real barriers to Mainstream Green (such as value, efficacy, or taste) must be addressed. Innovation is a win-win-win solution that makes sustainability an “and,” not an “or.” Taking a customer-centric view also elevates sustainability out of a singular functional silo, ensuring cohesion, facilitating collaboration, and producing better outcomes.
- Promote sustainable choices. Leverage the full customer engagement toolkit to overcome perceived barriers and drive demand for sustainable choices. For early sustainability adopters, techniques focus on removing friction to purchase, strengthening customer connections, and amplifying advocates authentically. For sustainability laggards, techniques focus on building awareness and understanding, disrupting existing habits, and inspiring and empowering customers to choose greener options.
Download the guide for customer-centric sustainable growth here.
