Growth doesn’t have to cost the earth

Australians want companies to reduce their environmental impact, but where are all the brands consistently and authentically communicating this?

Consumers want brands to do more. Leo Burnett worked with Diageo to launch a new drink, Reeftip, that gives 10 per cent of profits to the regeneration of coral.

There is a rapidly growing recognition in the business community, particularly among new entrants, that building companies which respect the environment and social aspects around the company can be hugely profitable.

Indeed, economic modelling by Deloitte Access Economics for the Business Council of Australia shows that if every sector played a role in reaching net zero by 2070, the Australian economy could grow by $890 billion.

At the same time, people are looking for ways they can individually reduce their environmental impact, with a CommBank study recently finding that 70 per cent of Aussies want to lead an environmentally friendly life.

James Walker-Smith

However, if you watch free-to-air TV, scroll through Instagram or deep dive into TikTok, there are few brands that are consistently and authentically communicating a more sustainable product, service or lifestyle.

Why is this?

With the science won and the tragic proof of the climate emergency all too real these past few weeks, any company not reviewing the way their products or services are made and experienced is likely to be already feeling pressure from shareholders and their customers.

There is plenty of good intent and wise words spoken, but there is a yawning gap between this intent and actual, concrete action in the real world. Put simply, there is a lack of commitment and, by implication, perceived value to prioritise and grapple with the significant change required to shift to more sustainable practices.

Too often this good intent becomes an initiative sponsored by the executive, but relegated to the background in corporate communications and deemed adjacent to the service of the real purpose of business – rapid growth. At worst it ends up as “greenwashing”, which customers see through. A major shift is required to close down this intention (or value) action gap.

Make no mistake, much of this is outside of our lane as counsel to our clients. However, we can be confident and committed to the influence we can have as advocates for the positive benefits of change on long-term business performance and the ability to help brands navigate complexity and bring clarity to what people care about.

We have the know-how and capabilities to help bring more sustainable business practices and the communication of these practices into the foreground – to be at the heart of business and marketing, not the sidelines.

It starts with a more precise definition of “why” to help convince leadership that now is the time to act. The truth is, people are already making a shift and expecting more from brands.

As Andrew Charlton co-director of the e61 Institute for economic research states: “While our votes will matter in the next election, we don’t have to wait for politicians to act. We have the power every day to vote climate with our wallets.”

At the heart of this is addressing an unmet need; which is so often the starting point of much of our advertising and marketing industry’s most celebrated and effective work.

The work we’ve recently developed with beverage giant Diageo is a great example of that.

With the growing expectation among younger consumers that their values are reflected in the brands and products they consume, we worked with Diageo to launch a new Australian spiced rum brand called Reeftip in September last year.

Leo Burnett worked with Diageo to launch a new Australian spiced rum brand called Reeftip.

With 10 per cent of Reeftip's profits going to the Coral Nurture Program (a team committed to restoring the health of the Great Barrier Reef), this helps to address an unmet need with a product that gives back to the Great Barrier Reef with every purchase.

True value lies at this intersection of a company’s mission and the unmet needs of the people that they serve. Businesses must deeply understand these people and how they can viably and credibly do good by them – and then take swift action.

As our founder Leo Burnett himself said: “What helps people, helps business.”

We need to help organisations gain the confidence to close down the value action gap by better understanding what people want, and specifically what their target consumers want. Lastly, but perhaps most critically of all, we must lead the “how”.

We need to bring to bear the full potency of creativity to this issue. That means big and wonderful, complexity-reducing, stop-you-in-your-tracks, wish-you-made-them ideas that will make more sustainable brands, products and lifestyles sought after.

Reeftip’s website is filled with feel good reminders

It’s complex, challenging and important work. It requires businesses and brands to make significant and difficult moves. It requires us as partners to cut through the noise and uncertainty with first-class creativity. It’s exactly the kind of work we signed up for when we joined the industry.

Growth doesn’t have to cost the earth, but it can mean some earth-shaking changes for companies. The signals for this much-needed movement are there, the stats are irrefutable and consumers are looking to brands now more than ever to not just up their game, but to lead in this area and clearly demonstrate what they are doing.

So what are we waiting for?

James Walker-Smith is general manager of Leo Burnett Sydney