Guiding principles for your card program’s sustainability story.

By Karen Brooker, ACE-M, ICMA Vice President, Board of Directors

As we wade into this topic, let’s begin by reflecting on what the concept of sustainability means to us personally. No, really. Step out of your card industry role for a moment and think about your personal lifestyle and economic choices. In what ways do you think sustainability influences the decisions you make on a day to day basis? How much do you trust the information you see and read about environmental issues? How much time and effort are you willing to spend on a routine basis verifying environmental information and researching product alternatives? In the end, what environmental brand stories or product attributes have the power to tip the scale with you—motivating you to make a personal choice other than the one you would have otherwise made?

Sustainability as a North Star

As you and I reflect on these questions, the answers that come to mind are helpful in clarifying our own personal “sustainability values.” And when we begin to discuss these questions with each other, we find (not surprisingly) that we don’t all share the same values and philosophies. Our concepts of sustainability are influenced by our personal philosophies, the values and geopolitical challenges we share with others in our regions and neighborhoods, our lived experiences and our knowledge of the world around us. Finally, our sustainability values take into account the options available in the marketplace and the reality of our economic circumstances.

Sustainability as a Moving Target

As business owners, managers and brand ambassadors, we have a fiduciary duty to work in support of the business goals of our companies. At the same time, we seek to “do good”—to make business decisions that are beneficial to our communities and to the wider world around us. Imagine for a moment that we’ve found what I’ll call the environmental unicorn, the most sustainable product imaginable, which checks all of the environmental boxes. This imaginary product is carbon neutral. It’s made from renewable resources. It’s non-toxic during manufacturing, use and disposal. It’s sourced, produced and transported using ethical practices, with little to no negative impact on people and the environment. And so on. The truth is that our perfect product is no good to anyone if the sustainability story we tell is not compelling enough to motivate our target audience to choose our environmental unicorn over its competing alternative, which might be less “perfect” but tell a more relatable environmental story. It also may be more affordable, more available, easier to use, more physically attractive and so on.

Recognizing that sustainability (as an over-arching concept) sits at some level in each person’s hierarchy of values, and understanding further that each person’s sustainability values may be influenced by different factors, how do we as card industry professionals approach sustainability from a business perspective? And how do we communicate a sustainability story for our brand and our products that resonates with our broader audience and influences their buying decisions?

‘SMART’ Guiding Principles for Your Program’s Sustainability Story

Breaking it down, your brand or product sustainability story needs to be S-M-A-R-T: Sustainable, Meaningful to your customers, Authentic to your brand, Regionally appropriate and Truthful and credible.

• Sustainable
  Your environmental story must be both scientifically and commercially sustainable. What this means is that from a scientific perspective, your story relies on scientific theory that isn’t likely to be suddenly rejected or disproven. Additionally, your story cannot rely on a shaky supply chain or fleeting regulatory landscape.
• Meaningful
  I’ve seen sustainable alternatives that come and go—failing in large part because their environmental attributes were just too complicated to explain, or they weren’t in synch with the target audience’s biggest concerns. Your story must connect with your customers’ values.
• Authentic
  Consumers are unlikely to trust your environmental messaging and your product labels if they seem inconsistent with your brand image. Environmental messaging that seems inauthentic will be ineffective at best and at worst can backfire spectacularly.
• Regionally appropriate
  Be mindful of the environmental priorities, regulatory landscape, cultural norms and technology options in your target region.
• Truthful and credible
  The final test is whether your story will stand up to scrutiny. How well have you examined the data behind your claims? Are other brands using similar messaging facing any backlash?

So, is sustainability a “North Star” or a “moving target?” I would argue that it’s both. Businesses that successfully craft environmental stories that meet the five S-M-A-R-T criteria can be confident that their stories will connect with their audience, setting them up for wider conversations about price, quality, service level and delivery.