Sustainability
Cohn & Wolfe Global Sustainability
All things being equal, consumers will choose a product or service that supports a popular cause, which makes being Green a competitive advantage. To respond to this new sensitivity to Green marketing, Cohn & Wolfe has launched a global Sustainability Practice that helps effectively communicate a company’s environmental commitment to the public for three key groups:
-
Major corporations that cannot afford to risk their reputations by being careless on environment, and who need a strong “Sustainable Business” story
-
Brands that aim to connect with consumers with Green products
-
Energy companies that are being asked to find lower carbon power and fuels
Cohn & Wolfe has brought together a team of consultants who have established expertise in Green communications strategies for major corporations. This team offers Cohn & Wolfe clients the ability to maximize opportunity and minimize risk on environmental issues on a global basis.
Our knowledge is fueled by regular consumer surveys conducted in partnership with Penn, Schoen, Berland, a NY-based research firm, and Landor Associates. In the most recent survey, conducted in September 2007, Cohn & Wolfe revealed that consumers expect to double their spending on green products and services in the next year, totaling an estimated $500 billion annually or $43 billion per month.
The research also indicated that despite bipartisan sentiments on politics and religion, 90% of Americans agree that there are important green issues and problems, and 82% believe it is important for companies to implement environmentally-friendly practices.
Consumer perceptions of green continue to change according to various collective definitions and contribute directly to buying decisions. We have segmented the green population into five unique categories, ranging from Bright Green to Dull Green, which allows us to tailor each client’s Sustainability strategy specifically for the audience that most fits their customer.
The core services offered through Cohn & Wolfe’s Sustainability practice include:
Green Communications Audit
All major organizations should undertake a Green Communications Audit as part of a responsible corporate risk evaluation. Business managers may not believe that they are at any risk of being criticized publicly for environmental practices. However, the evidence suggests this is when companies are at their most vulnerable, and can be attacked by pressure groups without warning.
Cohn & Wolfe’s consultants will examine every aspect of your business to identify risks to your reputation from environmental issues. Looking at your CO2 footprint in the context of peer groups is an important starting point of the process. Your use of scarce resources such as water, recycling policies, and manufacturing processes, are all areas where you may find your organization held accountable.
Developing the Green Message
Getting the message right is one of the most difficult aspects of developing a Green strategy. Consider the following question: “When launching new ‘greener’ consumer products, will the environmental message be enough to boost sales?”
Developing powerful messages and disseminating them strategically is not easy. We have created a team of experts who have rare and valuable experience in this field.
Green Communications Training
Strong messages can be heavily devalued by poor communicators. It is a vital to have your key staff skilled in communicating effectively on your environmental issues. They need to be able to get the message across to customers, shareholders, the media, government and all of your stakeholders – down to the guy at the local bar!
Cohn & Wolfe’s message training expertise is used to maximize the effectiveness of the best ambassadors you have – your staff – as well as all the critical stakeholders.
Blogs, Social Media
We live in an era where online communities increasingly dominate brands. With the advent of blogs and other social media, organizations find it increasingly hard to control reputations, since vast networks of connected individuals decide for themselves what they believe.
Nowhere is this truer than when you’re talking about the environment. The number of bloggers on environmental issues listed on Google runs into the tens of thousands. If your organization is exposed on environmental issues, there is an increasing chance the news would have originated from comment on a blog.
With the support of our integrated Social Media team and its Active Listening program, Cohn & Wolfe offers clients the ability to track sentiment on environmental issues across huge numbers of blogs. We will be able to spot problems as they arise, and suggest strategies for dealing with them. Our consultants also advise on how to engage with influential bloggers directly.