Op-ed by Victoria Roberts.
With increasing climate risks and diminishing resources, our world is changing, and businesses need to keep up.
Purpose-led brands are at the forefront of this pivot, leading the way towards a more sustainable, agile future, in which profits aren’t the be-all and end-all of a successful business.
Driven by a desire to inspire widespread and lasting environmental change, could entrepreneurs with a moral mission meet the challenges of a world at its tipping point? To learn more, we’ve taken an in-depth look at five ways they’re already outperforming traditional businesses.
1. Meeting consumer demands
64% of consumers are (rightly) worried about our environment. Extreme weather is making headlines, and it’s hard to ignore scientists’ warnings of rising temperatures and microplastics. The positive spin, though, is that consumers are shifting their shopping priorities in response.
The market is gearing up for more eco-friendly solutions, with consumers willing to spend almost 10% more on sustainable goods. This tells us that sustainable shopping is no longer simply a preference but is actually becoming a priority.
Purpose-led businesses with sustainability at their core are stepping up to meet gaps in the market and fulfil the demands of this expanding demographic. Brands like Fussy, OceanSaver, and Vinted have completely transformed their respective industries, disrupting markets and experiencing great success in doing so.
Their ethos goes beyond surface-level sustainability practices and greenwashing, with a mission to catalyse real change through sustainable products, services, and wider work.
2. Predicting consumer demands
Brands that are driven by a clear, sustainable ethos are rarely focused only on the here and now. Their purpose means they’re constantly looking towards future impacts of their business (and their industry at large), as well as how they can improve their products or services to meet a shifting world.
For business performance, this is crucial. It’s no secret that Gen Z is stepping into the shoes of millennials to become the most sustainable generation, and Gen Alpha will likely do the same. In other words, the pool of sustainably-conscious consumers is growing.
These generations are likely to demand an increasing range of eco-friendly products and services. We’re also expecting more ESG regulations around businesses’ environmental impact, aligning with future consumer demands.
This is where a sustainable business strategy can give purpose-led brands the upper hand.
Meeting future demands doesn’t have to be complex (we’re not thinking flying EVs just yet). A simple service provided by a purpose-led brand can meet the needs of today’s consumers while preparing for tomorrow’s.
The IT Asset Management offered by Priority WEEE fits the bill here. As technology cycles become shorter and digital demands accelerate, consumers are likely to become increasingly aware of the environmental cost of constant upgrades. By offering truly sustainable recycling and management of tech, they’re staying ahead of this shift.
3. Gaining audience trust
Gaining the trust of your audience shouldn’t be underestimated. 87% of consumers will pay more for products from brands they trust, citing product quality and reputation as key factors. But how do sustainable business practices come into this?
An authentic, purpose-led brand builds trust by backing up its values with visible, consistent action. They prove that they care about more than just profits, but the entire lifecycle of business operations and ethics. This high-level of transparency is automatically going to build and reinforce trust.
With a positive reputation comes better visibility and more word-of-mouth referrals. When brands consistently show that they act on their claims and meet user expectations, they’re creating powerful trust signals to drive long-term loyalty.
It’s important to talk about greenwashing here. A lot of brands can make sustainable claims, or even carry out eco-friendly practices, but consumers know the difference between a one-off and a purpose-led brand.
As sustainability is an increasing consumer concern, it’s the businesses that consistently enforce eco-conscious practices across the board that’ll win their audience over.
4. Future-proof business strategies
Future-proofing a business centres on implementing strategies that can adapt to:
- Shifting consumer demands
- Regulatory changes
- Long-term environmental pressures and concerns
Sustainability plays a key role in future-proofing a business model, and we can already see that purpose-led brands are outstripping competition here.
Traceability, for instance, is becoming an increasing consumer concern, with almost 60% wanting to know where their products are manufactured. This hasn’t been a priority for many traditional businesses. Purpose-led brands, however, often care about traceability just as much as the consumer, and will make it a focus of their business model.
These brands are designed to be agile, too. Sustainability forces them to think ahead rather than react, and it’s not uncommon for purpose-led teams to switch a practice based on an evaluation of its environmental impact.
This means that, when changes come (be it new regulations or pressure on natural resources), they’re ready to move and won’t be scrambling to catch up.
At its core, purpose-led brands embrace experimentation and innovation. Businesses that invest in alternative materials, circular models, and more efficient processes are already preparing for the future and evolving with the market.
5. Complying with government regulations
Global regulations are already seeing vast overhauls in order to boost national sustainability. In 2021, for instance, the EU banned a wide range of single-use plastic items, including plates, straws, and balloon sticks, with many non-EU countries following suit.
For businesses still using these items, that meant an overhaul of suppliers and processes – a costly, time-consuming process.
Purpose-led, sustainable businesses, however, were already on board. Truly eco-friendly brands would have either phased out these products long before the ban or never used them at all, in line with their ethos.
In response to the ban, sustainable suppliers of alternatives (like paper straws) would have seen a huge increase in sales.
In terms of ESG, we don’t expect these sustainable overhauls and bans to be the last (just look at the increasing demand for clean fuels, for instance). With future changes on the horizon and an increasing urgency for businesses to keep up, it’s purpose-led brands who’ll lead the way.
Final thoughts
From healthcare to waste management, and every industry in between, the time has arrived for purpose-led brands. By following truly sustainable practices and backing up your work with data-rich evidence, you’re not just aligning with current demand, but setting your brand up for future expectations and ESG compliance.
