Sustainability on the side: is the era of green comms over?

Our most recent webinar opened our ears and eyes to Green Hushing (missed that one? Catch up here), with an excellent discussion from two industry leaders in sustainable comms. Well, the good news is we’re back with a new webinar, Why sustainability isn’t selling: Don’t lead with green. This time, we’re diving in and examining why sustainability doesn’t always sell. And, deep breath, whether brands should be leading with green credentials at all. 

Stay with us here. Sustainability messaging is everywhere now, and we mean everywhere. But, despite the rise in conscious consumerism, there remains an undeniable gap between intent and action. This all boils down to why it’s imperative to understand your customers’ buying motivators, especially for purpose-led brands. Over our next few webinars, we will be exploring how responding to drivers of choice can help you sell – starting with sustainability. 

This is a complex and ever-changing topic, so we’re super excited to invite you to join us for the webinar on 2nd October. This month’s speakers will be announced shortly, so watch this space. 

Without further ado, let’s lay the foundations of our topic for the webinar, and highlight some of the key points we’re hoping to discuss.

Mainstream Green

For brands leading with their sustainable benefits, there can be a sense of disappointment with the resulting sales figures. It’s tempting to think that simply by selling sustainable options, customers should be buying them. However, as The Forge argues, that’s not a core reason why people buy. Instead, people buy for reasons of WIIFM (what’s in it for me?), whether that’s price, flavour, quality, accessibility or something else. But rarely is it sustainability alone. (1)

BCG launched an action plan focused on taking green beyond the niche, beyond obvious, beyond luxury, and beyond a statement. (2) The aim? To make sustainability mainstream. It’s well worth giving half an hour to read it in full, but fundamentally, it’s about putting the customer first. By doing this, brands can truly understand customers’ motivators of choice that lead to purchase. 

The plan is linked to consumer psychology, highlighting why we need to understand what truly motivates or triggers people in relation to purchasing. Core barriers to purchase need to be addressed first and foremost. We’re talking about things like price, utility, and convenience. If these core needs aren’t met, then for many, the barriers will be simply too high, irregardless of the green creds. 

Linking sustainability to these broader needs can lead to sales where sustainability is related, but isn’t a primary driver of choice. In fact, making sustainability a “bonus benefit” significantly expands the sustainable customer base to those for whom sustainability is not a driver of choice at all (3). 

Sustainability on the side

Perhaps the term ‘sustainability marketing’ is no longer practical. As The Forge explains, ‘digital marketing’ no longer makes sense because all marketing is conducted in a digital world. With the same logic, all marketing now takes place in a sustainability world (4). 

So, rather than hang their hat on green credentials and expect people to buy solely for that reason, brands need to make a link between the sustainable elements of the product and the benefits that people do care about. Such as: 

• Price: For many people, being able to align your wallet with your value set is a point of privilege, which clashes with those core drivers of choice: price, convenience and accessibility. At the end of the day, a bank balance is far more concrete than a lofty intent. 
• Accessibility: Sustainable messaging can often take longer to digest, adding another layer of research needed when choosing a product. Plus, people’s sustainability education is extremely varied, as is the appetite for learning about it. 
• Trust: Years of greenwashing has fundamentally eroded consumer trust in green advertising. Consumers today are sceptical and fatigued by the bombardment of brands telling them what they should or shouldn’t care about. 

This is having a very real impact. In 2023, 23% fewer consumers agreed that “knowing a product is eco-friendly drives me to buy online” than in 2020. Plus, agreement with the phrase “I’m interested in environmental issues” dropped 17%, despite climate change becoming more serious over the years (5).

Gen Z and the “Say-Do” gap

Gen Z is a generation that cares about sustainability, fostering a spirit of activism. However, according to the 2024 NIQ report, Spend Z: Gen Z Changes Everything, this dedication to value-led causes doesn’t always translate into spending. 

For instance, Gen Z reports being concerned about the climate and environmental justice (with 77% saying they won’t buy from countries with poor environmental standards (7)), but that’s in direct opposition to this generation’s love and consumption of fast fashion and tech gadgets. 

This highlights a clear “Say-Do” gap between consumer intent and action. This is apparent across all generations, but it seems particularly high with Gen Z. Coupled with the knowledge that Gen Z ‘will be the largest – and wealthiest – generation in history,’ there’s no denying that understanding how to communicate with Gen Z and Gen Alpha is key.

Nobody puts Sustainability in the corner

Now, we’re not arguing that sustainability and ethical products take a backseat; far from it. So, it is important to question whether this shift in communicating green credentials could damage our wider journey to a more sustainable future. 

Campaign recently announced that sustainability messaging in advertisements fell 47% in 2023 (8). We spoke about this in our previous article on Green Hushing. In it, we discussed whether brand silence on green credentials would result in the green agenda falling from front of mind. There are some industries that do require education and real change from consumers, such as farming, where there is a very real need for consumers to understand that 30p bags of carrots just aren’t sustainable (9). Ultimately, this could paint sustainability as less pressing, just when it’s in fact most urgent. 

So, the key here is to find balance. How can we, as marketers, communicate the urgency of climate change and sustainability with integrity, while also driving sales and business growth? The ultimate question, perhaps, and one we hope you’ll join us on 2nd October to discuss. We’ll be joined by an expert panel, ready to unpick all the questions above, and more.

Register here for free. 

If you’d like support communicating your green credentials or are looking for support on your sustainability journey, get in touch.

We’d love to help out. toby@catchafireagency.com | +44 (0) 7880 696 385