Recently the New York Times wrote about the continual trend of corporate businesses choosing to be ethically sustainable in third world countries they operate in despite the low regulations that they could technically adhere by.

A large number of ethical organisations have flourished in the last decade, bucking the trend of Wall Street’s “greed is good” philosophy. Going green can now lead to profitability rather than draining resources.

Corporate giant Intel have realised being environmentally sustainable is leading to profitability and their consumers have supported these changes shown by their rise in company profitability in the last year. Given Intel are operating in Vietnam where multibillion foreign businesses have very laxed laws applied to their operations, Intel’s actions are leading their industry by example.

Likewise, fashion brands are flourishing off their green brand identity which focuses on fair-trade and ethical construction. Sustainable and ethical accessories design brand Lola Ray’s business was founded on a philosophy of fair trade and high quality products. Their green is good ethos and being aware of how the product you purchase is created has helped this business gain fans among their fashion and ethics conscious consumers who feel good knowing their purchase makes a difference. Lola Rays marketing manager quoted, “Consumers are voting with their purchases to support ethical business practices which is important in stamping out the old ninety’s and noughty’s “out to make a buck” business model…”.

One problem that large companies usually face is that they are often seen as the capitalist equivalent of a ‘kleptocracy’  viewed in the same light as the Conquistadors or European settlers of Meso-America, who had a infamously detrimental effect on native hunter gatherers and primitive sedentary societies.

This image was reinforced by the press coverage of multinational corporations in the 80s and 90s, who were seen to have taken advantage of local ecosystems and labour markets.

Increased consumer awareness of multinational’s environmental footprints means they must now try a whole lot harder and focus on offsetting the detrimental effects of their activity, empowering local communities and the deceleration of environmental deterioration.

In the property sector, consumer desire for sustainability has lead to an opportunity to increase profits, as many residents now demand cleaner living and are willing to pay a premium. In this respect, they must convince potential customers that their product is the greenest, most energy efficient option on the market.

The need to create bespoke brand communications that reflect their new social responsibility identity is greater than ever before and underscore are seeing an increase in demand for digital marketing design and communication solutions that support our clients’ ethical credentials.

Ultimately for brands and their customers this is an issue is of reality matching perceptions, and so a great opportunity now exists for companies to revisit the sustainable credentials of their brand and communication guidelines.

The upsides are many in that the scarce resources of our planet are better protected, and of course consumer confidence and trust will undoubtedly improve if the actions and intentions of a brand are communicated on the right levels.

For more information on how to do this why not contact underscore?

Today is a great day for new business
Today is a great day for new business