By Marian Ventura, sustainability specialist, founder of done! creative agency certified as a B Company and co-founder of ati, the first union of triple impact agencies in Latin America.
Seconds of fame from advertising in the Super Bowl generate millions of dollars in returns for the world’s most popular brands. But what cost do they have for humanity? There is an answer: it is estimated that they are equivalent to the Greenhouse Gas emissions generated by more than 100,000 Americans in one year. These figures occur in the same scenario in which science prescribed that – to stay within the 1.5 degree warming limit, which would allow us to enjoy a habitable environment – the world must cut its greenhouse gas emissions. halve by 2030 and bring them to net zero by 2050.
The good news is that, according to the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN group of experts on the subject, simply by making changes in the ways and lifestyle of all people – in especially in the richest and most polluting countries – we could “rapidly” reduce the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions by 5%. Everything adds up and anything goes in this emergency. And who with greater influence and means to promote changes in consumer habits and lifestyle than popular brands?
What can brands do to help decarbonize the economy?
There are three big fundamental movements that brands can and should activate to take action for the climate:
1. Measure, manage and report
The first step to decarbonize our brand’s products and services is to know their impact on the environment and where it is produced. To measure the carbon footprint, the three scopes must be considered: the organization’s direct emissions, electricity consumption and what happens in the value chain. In this exercise, reduction opportunities must be identified and mitigation or compensation strategies established to achieve a net zero result.
What is not measured cannot be managed and even less so if the information is not shared. Therefore, the practice of reporting impacts transparently, following comparable standards such as the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) or impact reports with Standards such as GRI, not only help investors and consumers make informed decisions, but also socialize the challenge and raise standards in the value chain and the market.
2. Help make conscious decisions
Generation Z has a high level of awareness about the effects of climate change and recognizes the importance of taking action. However, he does not trust what brands say regarding their impacts on the environment: according to a study by GFK Global Strategic Insights in 2020, only 25% of people trust the messages. To achieve this, the first thing brands must do is regain the trust of consumers, through honest, accurate and verifiable messages, without falling into greenwashing.
Greenwashing has become a major obstacle to climate action. It happens every time brands exaggerate their environmental credentials, hiding or confusing, discouraging people from making informed decisions. And even worse, they discourage brands that want to do things right. Because if all brands are “green”, how can we choose responsibly?
In the European Union, for example, the Green Claims Directive established a set of rules that for the first time in history seeks to penalize greenwashing, forcing companies to justify and verify their environmental claims. It will apply to all statements and labels displayed on products, services or companies at points of sale, both physical and digital, in the European market. For brands, agencies and advertisers alike: greenwashing is bad business. Because it destroys the most valuable asset that we seek to build: the trust of the consumer, which will allow us to promote the necessary change.
3. Influence a responsible lifestyle
For decades, brands spun the stories that set our homes, filled our cupboards, shaped our bodies, and nourished our desires. And this capacity for influence is what they today have the responsibility and opportunity to use to promote more positive consumer decisions and “sell” a lifestyle in accordance with the limits of the planet.
The most relevant changes to achieve a responsible lifestyle are related to mobility: reducing air travel and the use of private cars, since the burning of fossil fuels is one of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions; and promote shared forms of mobility, such as public transport or non-polluting ones such as cycling. Also, in spreading a low-meat diet, since it is estimated that a vegan diet has 30% CO2 emissions compared to a high-meat diet.
Lastly and related to this, it is about promoting more responsible consumption, changing the concept of consuming-using-discarding indiscriminately, to reduce the use of resources and the generation of waste that end up contaminating biodiversity, soils and oceans. It is about reassessing the materials; to buy less and better; to prioritize durable and reusable products and incorporate a more circular mentality, like that of nature.
In short, brands have the opportunity to help “sell” the transition to a way of life on a fairer, healthier and more livable planet.
Marian Ventura
