Originally published in CSRwire
In today’s radically transparent social business marketplace, the reputation of a company extends way beyond its marketing to include its supply chain, manufacturing processes, employee treatment and customer engagement.
Likewise, full circle sustainability requires that companies overhaul how they source their ingredients, manufacture and distribute their products, and manage the waste they generate. Both of these realities place higher demands on time-poor executives and entrepreneurs, yet too many fail to recoup the costs of such efforts because they don’t share their sustainability story effectively.
In fact, almost all companies are guilty of three key mistakes that mean these investments of time, money and energy never build their brand or bottom line.
1. Define a Unique Sustainability Point of View
Ever since social media has empowered consumers to engage with brands, more and more companies have responded to demands for greater social responsibility. As a result, consumers are bombarded with claims centered on sustainability, “green” and purposeful initiatives by brands. With sustainability rapidly becoming table stakes, however, too many brands are mistaking sustainability itself as their brand purpose.