: Social Throwback 2021: Running a sustainable brand – 3 marketing lessons from a CEO #IndiaNEWS ##SocialThrowback When it comes to sustainability, not everyone is on the same stage, let alone the

Social Throwback 2021: Running a sustainable brand – 3 marketing lessons from a CEO #IndiaNEWS ##SocialThrowback
When it comes to sustainability, not everyone is on the same stage, let alone the same page. As the sustainable products market and marketing reaches a turning point, Shankar Prasad, Founder & CEO, Plum shares 3 takeaways from his experience.

Sustainability is a much-abused word today, and especially in the consumer goods space. As an extreme example, on more than one occasion, my initial nods of agreement when some overly financial types talk about sustainability have turned into looks of amazement when I realize that sustainability to them means being profitable/cash flow positive!

Add a lot of half-baked science, expedient news reporting, and millions of dollars of PR and marketing monies (including from brands like us) and you have more fuzz than facts when it comes to sustainability.

But the good news is, people are sitting up, thinking, and are collectively making millions of small choices every day in the right direction, which will (hopefully) eventually ameliorate the damage that consumerism has wreaked on our environment. At Plum, while sustainability has been part of our Four Core values from the beginning, we have a very long way to go before we can call ourselves truly sustainable.

Here are 3 things weve learned when it comes to marketing and communication surrounding sustainability.

1. Sustainability Is A Journey, Not A Destination

What is true sustainability? Think of a well or your bank account. Unless somethings replenished, its not going to be sustainable. When all we do is consume, consume and consume, how do we replenish as much, if not more, than we consume? While in resources like water its possible to do so, in some others like petroleum (where plastics are made from), its not that easy to reuse or recycle everything to create a circular system. So, its important, to be honest with consumers and tell them that we are on this journey together, and telling them that every small step counts, as opposed to creating a breasting the tape, the game is won imagery every time we do something on the sustainability front.

2. Not Everyone Is On The Same Page, Or Stage

As mentioned before, sustainability is poorly understood. And theres a lot of noise around being eco-friendly. Therefore, not everyones on the same page here. India is still in its early years of consumerism and to think of India as a homogenous market is the biggest mistake marketers can make. In certain segments, there is a question mark on the why of sustainability, in addition to the what of it leave alone the how. Even the ones who understand the why differ when it comes to how far they are willing to go in making sustainable choices.