Today, increasing numbers of businesses claim to be ‘sustainable’, to produce ‘eco-friendly products’ or simply to be ‘green’. Equally, many business customers and individual consumers express a desire to buy sustainably-sourced or ethically-produced goods and are willing to pay a higher price for them.
So is there a business benefit to sustainability? What are the advantages of improving your brand reputation?
Why Is Brand Reputation Important for Business?
Customers buy brands they like, trust and respect; those whose values match their own.
Every interaction between a customer and your business – with your employees, in your stores, on your website or with your products – contributes towards the way they feel about you and your brand.
In the modern, interconnected world, those interactions also extend to customer reviews, feedback and media stories from around the globe, so everything you do – or fail to do – that is reported or recorded can affect your brand reputation and, by extension, the success of your business.
Given the ever-increasing range of products competing for customers’ attention, and reduced margins on many goods and services, brand reputation is an important point of differentiation.
Embedding sustainable business practices throughout the organization can help you promote positive news stories to your customers, employees and investors. A company that is focused on sustainability can minimize the risk of negative social, environmental or economic impacts that might otherwise have serious repercussions for its brand image.
How Does Becoming Environmentally Sustainable Improve Your Business Brand Reputation?
Research has shown that more than half of US consumers take a company’s environmental impact into consideration and are more likely to buy goods and services from those that integrate sustainability into their business practices.
Reports have also revealed that customers prefer companies that actively support their local community, leading to businesses doing better when they are seen to be ‘doing good’.
Businesses that have a carbon reduction strategy in place, and regularly report their progress towards carbon reduction goals, can clearly demonstrate their contribution towards minimizing the risk of dangerous climate change. It also shows that they take their global environmental responsibilities seriously and positions them as a sustainable brand.
Conversely, businesses that are responsible for, or implicated in, environmental damage such as oil spills, chemical leaks, pollution or habitat destruction can find themselves subject to boycotts and public demonstrations. Negative media coverage can impact severely on brand perception, sales figures and profitability for many years.
The path towards building a sustainable brand is different for every business, depending on the industry sectors, locations and value chains involved. Whatever your business, cutting carbon emissions can form an important part of any corporate sustainability strategy and is a great way to demonstrate your commitment to environmental sustainability.
How Can Progressive Carbon Offsetting Improve Brand Image?
Alongside cutting corporate greenhouse gas emissions, investing in progressive carbon offsets can enhance a brand’s reputation for social, economic and environmental sustainability.
NativeEnergy’s Help BuildTM offset projects deliver a wide range of benefits that support local communities as well as reducing carbon emissions. Whether it’s improving health or access to education in developing economies, or preserving wildlife habitat and rural livelihoods in the USA, choosing the right offset project can boost your brand image and your business profitability.
To find out more about building your brand reputation with progressive carbon offsets, contact us by phone at 800-924-6826, by email at [email protected].