Selling Sustainability at Reset Connect 

We are at a pivotal point in human society, to address our impact on the planet and take radical action to ensure a healthy future for all living creatures. 

At Reset Connect we want to talk about how storytelling is an essential component to build gusto with consumers, bringing them along your sustainability journey as a brand. The language and ideas around sustainability in most industries is complex and often not presented in a way that is digestible, for those outside of the sustainability echo chamber.  

Building your story

Firstly, we need to say there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to communicating sustainability and promoting the positive actions your brand is taking. There is, however, a world of existing strategies, quick wins and successful approaches that brands can learn from and take into consideration.  

Some of these strategies and stories we will be sharing with our audience on the Food Systems Hub stage at Reset Connect next month. Building in insights from discussions like why sustainability isn’t selling and how brands need to acknowledge there is a ‘say-do’ gap in altruistic beliefs having a real impact on decision making.  

Plus, why we say it’s not always about what your sustainability story is, but how you talk about it. As people working within the sustainability sector, we need to step outside it to gain perspective on audience tensions and motivators. To understand the cultural context they exist in and identify factors that would have the greatest influence their behaviour. The reality is sustainability falls lower on the pecking order of motivators when it comes to point of purchase versus intent. Convincing someone to put their money where their mouth is, is much easier when you can clearly show the benefit sustainability has for them personally.  

Because knowing things like why people eat what they eat, is crucial to communicating your sustainability strategy in the food industry. Food is nourishment, culture, community and much more. Brands that can find where their positioning intersects with audience needs will really make strides towards a society where sustainability is mainstream. We won’t get anywhere by isolating sustainability from the greater positioning and communication of brands.  

Selling Sustainability – Expert storyteller, Dorothy Shaver

When it comes to sustainability in the food sector, Dorothy Shaver is well-seasoned in its challenges but also how to successfully communicate climate positive strategies internally and externally.  

As Global Food Sustainability Director, Dorothy works with household names from Knorr to Hellmann’s developing ways the food industry can compel consumers to make more sustainable choices through projects like Future 50 Foods. Layering advice from experts in epidemiology with her background in nutrition, you can see how it becomes much more than a recipe book. It’s a way to educate consumers with a comms vessel that is familiar and fit for purpose.  

As a founding member of Food for Climate League, Dorothy is an expert on effective communication tactics and engagement strategies to catalyse climate-friendly eating. Founded in behavioural science, it’s an organisation that aims to shift eating habits by connecting the dots between sustainable food culture and people’s unique needs and values.  

Together with our Senior Strategist Bella Ali-Khan, they will share insights for how brands in the food sector and beyond can create a sustainability story that creates value and momentum for your business.  

What to join us at Reset Connect?

Find out more about Reset Connect, London Climate Action week and how to get involved by visiting: https://www.catchafireagency.com/reset-connect-london/