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<ul><li>After the global pandemic, <keyword id="49089" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sustainability" source="Orion">sustainability</keyword> and health seem to have become important factors for consumers.</li><li>According to Capgemini’s recent report, consumers engage more readily with brands and retailers that they perceive to be sustainable and genuinely committed to green practices.</li><li>The report found that 48% of consumers share an emotional connection with products or organizations that demonstrate eco-friendly qualities.</li><li>As we move forward this year and health concerns and sustainability continue influencing consumer decisions, we speak to brands, research and design agencies about how brands can integrate sustainability into their core values and move beyond mere lip-service.</li></ul>It might be a new year but the world continues to grapple with familiar challenges and threats: we are on the verge of entering the third wave of COVID-19, the country’s capital, New Delhi is currently facing alarmingly high levels of indoor air pollution and Uttarakhand's forest fires emitted nearly 0.2 megatonnes of carbon in the past one month, a record since 2003 (CAMS report). So 2022 will clearly be a busy year for brands as consumers get more serious about climate change and expect brands to increase their focus on living sustainably in harmony with nature. While businesses exist to make money, Manish Chowdhary, Co-CEO, Body Cupid Pvt Limited says that there are two ways to do that. He explained, “One is sustainable, by keeping other living and non-living things in mind. The other one is inspired by greed. So no matter how small a brand’s effort may be, it has to be aligned with sustainability if the brand wants to continue in the long run. Brands exist for consumers and it is important that we listen to what they want.” From driving workforce diversity to taking a stand on climate change, there’s a definite change that has taken place in consumer expectations. In the last few years, sustainability has become one of the biggest decision-making factors for consumers, and more so after the pandemic. They have realised that mother earth has suffered enough. In this digital world, consumers are demanding more transparency and are quick to call out greenwashing. They are expecting to see concrete actions. And as Chowdhary said, it has become imperative for brands to listen to what consumers want because they exist to serve consumers. Today’s consumers are not only pivoting towards more sustainable products but are also willing to pay a premium for them. Gen Z and Millennials lead all other age groups in this respect. When shopping for groceries, 72% of Gen Z and 66% of Millennials say they are willing to pay more for organic foods and in fact, did so the last time they were grocery shopping, compared to 56% of Boomers, found Capgemini. Its recent report said that 80% of consumers want to contribute to the fight to save the planet for future generations. And it is not just a phase. 70% of consumers agreed that post-pandemic, they will be more careful in terms of maintaining and protecting their personal health. Covid has only reminded us that there is a long way to go on sustainability. On how the pandemic has altered consumer behaviour, Lulu Raghavan, Managing Director, Landor and Fitch said, “The pandemic has fundamentally shifted consumer behaviour. An IBM study shows that 93% of consumers have changed their views on sustainability after the pandemic. This is totally understandable. The horrid virus which came out of nowhere has ravaged lives, ruined livelihoods. The only silver lining is that it has woken us up to the paramount importance of our own health and wellbeing and that of our Mother Earth. Sustainability is now a definitive transformative force that will upend existing industries and create new ones. If digital transformation was the buzzword in corporate boardrooms, ECG will take centre stage in the coming decade.” But what exactly is a sustainable brand? Ashwini Deshpande, Co-Founder and Director, Elephant Design defines it as, “A brand that values ethical sourcing and supply chains, is inclusive, and follows environment-friendly processes and materials while staying viable for its stakeholders is qualified to be labelled as a sustainable brand.” Kartik Johari, VP, Marketing &amp; Commerce, Nobel Hygiene believes that in the coming months, people will start to question what is sustainable and what is not along with how we can continue to reduce our carbon footprint across all aspects of our lives. He said, “Consumers at the end of it are people and they expect what is good. The ‘brand promise’ is essential to them. Now, alongside they are also making space for the environment due to excellent work by activists and journalists around the world. You will remember, for example, that riveting photo of a straw stuck in a turtle's nose. How many millions of turtles have we lost to this? Yet it took just that one photo to break through the global psyche. Now straws are the Number One environmental enemy. But this does not mean the onus should be entirely on people to choose better! Companies have to improve their offering. And that is correct for consumers to expect. Moreover, important to note, there are some 50 or 60 companies in the world, which are responsible for majority of emissions. Strong regulations on them can solve what collectively 500 million people may have to do. But who’s going to bell the cat? As Mr Musk rightly has been saying that, give the solar industry the same amount of subsidies, for a year, that you give to oil and gas, and see the amount of transformative change it brings! The onus cannot be on that one little end consumer and their war to save their environment.” During the pandemic, brands like WOW Skin Science, Diageo and Dettol launched eco-friendly packaging to test the waters, indicating that more brands in India have started reevaluating their packaging strategy to put the environment first. Big FMCG companies such as Marico, HUL, Nestle India, Future Consumer, Coca-Cola, Pepsi-co, Parle Agro also announced in 2020 that they will move to 100% recyclable packaging by 2025 helping towards a sustainable future. Joining the bandwagon, the Indian Government has also started its efforts towards reducing our country’s carbon footprint. Currently, India is the world’s third-largest emitter of carbon dioxide, after the US and China. According to an Assocham and PwC report, landfills are brimming with so much urban waste that by 2050, India is reportedly going to need a landfill that's the size of its capital, New Delhi. And consumers aren’t ignoring these horrifying numbers anymore. Elysha Young, Trends Manager, Mintel APAC said, "India’s Prime Minister has pledged it will reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, backed by aggressive 2030 targets. By laying the groundwork in the form of policies, India is signaling that it is open and willing to support innovation around sustainability, and indeed that carbon-emitting industries will no longer be tolerated. This presents an opportunity for global companies looking to tap into India's vast population but also issues a challenge to foreign and domestic companies to ensure they are cutting emissions throughout their value chain. It's in India's self-interest to stem global warming, with the nation of 1.3 billion people being one of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The nature of the short-term targets means that action will need to be taken immediately, which will see a strong focus on renewable energy sources like solar and wind power, as well as the batteries needed to store such energy. Companies would do well to look at the emissions within their own value chains and determine where cuts can be made. Communicating these to consumers will help them to make choices that align with the national strategy; the opportunity exists to ensure consumers feel like they're also doing their bit." In 2022, brands that snooze will definitely lose More and more consumers are becoming aware of their choices and realising that whether it is a worn-out piece of mask they decide to throw or a sanitary napkin or even as simple as a plain t-shirt, never really goes ‘away.’ It all ends up in a landfill. Human activities are clearly harming the global environment and brands have no choice but to migrate to sustainable solutions and work towards building a circular economy. So, in 2022, if brands don’t switch, they lose consumers, investors, and all stakeholders. Chowdhary said, “At the industry level, there is nothing without sustainability. The consumers of today are conscious and aware. They know the choices they are making. So if companies &amp; brands do not opt for sustainable practices, eventually the smart consumers are going to make a switch. We can only expect the awareness to grow and actions to increase, especially with the challenges that our planet is facing today.” Anjali Malthankar, National Strategy Director, Tonic Worldwide sees sustainability as one of the big topics in 2022 – right from fashion, green products, green living to electric vehicles, every category will be touched by sustainability filter. She said, “If the brands have already not made sustainability part of their commitment in any form yet, it’s high time they join the eco-wakening movement. Consumers are already looking for some form of reassurance or the other from brands in terms of conscious behaviour, as consumers are at different stages of adoption – it is a mix of curious, concerned, and advocates. At the very least, they are looking to not feel guilty about consuming the brand. Conscious living, mindful living, Green living, purposeful living are all the buzz words in communications today. For brands it is inevitable to have sustainability as a larger goal.” It is not just the environment and consumers who benefit from eco-friendly practices, businesses with low carbon footprints are more likely to have a better brand image and can easily woo consumers. Deep Bajaj, CEO &amp; Co-Founder, Sirona Hygiene said, “Companies are realizing that being conscious of their environmental impact can benefit them in every manner possible. Consumers desire sustainability owing to the ailing earth. Companies that work to become more environmentally responsible, not only contribute to a better future, but also establish a progressive brand image, happier employees, and a loyal client base. Consumers are real people who are affected by real environmental issues on a daily basis. They are aware that it is no longer limited to textbooks and that industrial activities have a direct impact on their daily lives. As a result, what goes into the making of a product and what goes inside it is extremely important to them. Other than environmental consciousness, they expect transparency from brands.” While brands in India have already started taking baby steps towards converting their business into a sustainable choice for consumers, we will get to witness more demonstrable actions in 2022. And those who fail to prioritise mother earth, will have to face consumers’ wrath. Deshpande said, “The emerging consumer base of millennials &amp; Gen Z is not a forgiving lot when it comes to ethics or ecology being compromised by a brand. But others are not quite as aware and may base their decision only on factors like price or convenience above sustainability. There is no choice. It is a survival mandate for a brand to become sustainable. Otherwise, we will see every resource being depleted in the next few decades.” Kantar BrandZ data shows that brands with weak purpose grow 70% but brands with strong purpose grow 175%. At the same time, India is still a price-sensitive country and consumers stick to the convenience of buying what you are used to. So, on how brands can move beyond mere lip-service and greenwashing this year, Raghvan suggested, “Use innovation to develop products developed against that purpose. Embrace design thinking across the board. Embed a new mindset deeply in the culture and transform from within. Communicate and evangelise with consumers." In 2022, experts are confident that brands will embrace sustainability that will benefit people, planet and profit.

Is 2022 the year when Indian brands will get more serious about sustainability?

The summer in India has been brutal in the past few years. Over a billion people endured long periods of persistent power cuts and heat waves. Such episodes wreak a heavy toll on our well-being and trigger shocks for food and water security. In fact, the last seven years have been amongst the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/environment/news/greenhouse-gas-sea-level-rise-and-ocean-heat-set-new-records-for-climate-change-in-2021/articleshow/91640600.cms">hottest</a> across the globe. <div type="image" title="Last seven years have been amongst the hottest across the globe" msid="91970317" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Last seven years have been amongst the hottest across the globe&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> The long-term trend below shows that the top 700 meters of the oceans have become warmer since 1955. The total amount of heat stored by the oceans is called ocean heat content, which plays an important role in the Earth’s climate system. Particularly, warmer sea surface temperature provides energy for storms and thereby triggers extreme weather events. <div type="image" title="Ocean heat content plays an important role in the Earth’s climate system" msid="91970348" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Ocean heat content plays an important role in the Earth&amp;#8217;s climate system&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Four key climate change indicators Greenhouse gas concentrations, rise in sea levels, ocean heat and ocean acidification — the four key climate change indicators — <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/environment/news/greenhouse-gas-sea-level-rise-and-ocean-heat-set-new-records-for-climate-change-in-2021/articleshow/91640600.cms">set new records</a> in 2021 with extreme weather, according to the UN's World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) State of the Global Climate in 2021 report. It added that climate change is leading to hundreds of billions of dollars in economic losses. Human activities are not only warming the planet but also leading to unprecedented losses in biodiversity. The situation is bound to get worse and the competition for resources such as land, food, and water will fuel socio-economic tensions and increasingly lead to <a href="http://www.internal-displacement.org/publications/disaster-displacement-a-global-review">mass displacement</a>. Rise in sea levels, forest fires, melting of glaciers, extreme weather events, ocean heat and acidification will also continue for years to come and the only way we can minimise the impact is if we start now, before it is too late. With World Environment Day 2022 (June 5) around the corner, we decided to get back to the basics and help you transition to living a sustainable life. You can take these baby steps to live a better, sustainable life. How to reduce your carbon footprint You probably would have heard a lot about carbon footprint. Simply put, it is like leaving your actual, unerasable footprint on earth with every resource that you consume. When you drive your car or eat something that’s grown afar, you emit substantial amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. From buying toothpaste to using your phone, every object reaches your doorstep after a long commute, which contributes to carbon emission. As modern humans, almost every activity of ours contributes to climate change in one way or the other. Being sustainable is all about limiting the resources we use and finding a way to make them last longer by causing minimal damage to the environment. Here are some ways in which you can reduce your carbon footprint: Food While buying veggies or fruits, remember to bring reusable shopping bags and avoid plastic. There’s a simple thumb rule to follow. Buy what you actually need to avoid wastage. Whatever is left over, try to repurpose it into something usable. For example, if you have bread and butter for breakfast and you like to cut the corners of your bread, instead of throwing away those corners, you can turn them into breadcrumbs which can be used in pasta gravy or for feeding birds. Use your creative skills to turn your food waste into reusable ingredients. Final kitchen scraps can be converted into compost for your plants. <div type="image" title="Final kitchen scraps can be converted into compost for your plants" msid="91970387" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Final kitchen scraps can be converted into compost for your plants&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> If you host a party, there’s always leftover food. This surplus can be shared with the underprivileged through <a href="https://www.thebetterindia.com/46855/where-to-donate-excess-food-to-after-party/#:~:text=Feeding%20India%20is%20a%20not,an%20app%20on%20Google%20Playstore.">NGOs</a> such as Feeding India, Robin Hood Army, Roti Bank, Mera Parivar or Shelter Don Bosco, among others. It is also important to buy your food locally. The shorter the supply chain, the easier it is on the environment before the food products finally reach your kitchen. Also, if your food reaches you from faraway places, its nutritional value decreases. Local food spends less time in transit from farm to plate. So, fruits and veggies eaten within a few days of being picked would be full of nutrients than those that are weeks old from traveling thousands of miles and being in storage. Look for loose, fresh fruits and vegetables to minimise packaging. If you are buying packaged food, you can look for products with PET packaging, which is one of the most recyclable plastics. Clothing A worn-out piece of cloth you decide to throw, even as simple as a plain t-shirt, never really goes ‘away.’ – it all ends up in a landfill. According to an <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/india-needs-new-delhi-size-landfills-for-waste-by-2050-report-117062500411_1.html">Assocham and PwC report</a>, landfills are brimming with so much urban waste that by 2050, India is reportedly going to need a landfill that's the size of its capital, New Delhi. Buy responsibly-made clothes which are made from recycled material or with an ‘eco’ label. To support sustainable businesses, you can look for stores which include options like handloom and handcrafted, organic, natural-dyed, recyclable and eco-friendly, vegan, and cruelty-free. It’s not necessary to have all of these options available all the time, but every bit helps. Recycle and reuse your clothes to prolong its life. You can also sell and buy your clothes from thrift stores. Personal care Commonly available sanitary napkins constitute 90% plastic and India generates <a href="https://www.cseindia.org/plastic-waste-is-india-s-and-the-world-s-most-formidable-environmental-challenge-10375">3.3 million tonnes of plastic waste</a> every year, according to a Central Pollution Control Board report. So, for people who menstruate, there is a world of waste-free sanitary protection to explore. You can switch to menstrual cups or invest in a reusable tampon applicator. <div type="image" title="Switch to menstrual cups or invest in a reusable tampon applicator" msid="91970408" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Switch to menstrual cups or invest in a reusable tampon applicator&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> In the bathroom, you can ditch your plastic razor and opt for fully metal alternatives. You can also purchase sustainable toothbrushes made out of neem or bamboo. Today, even toothpaste comes in a jar, or you can switch to toothpaste tubes which are recyclable. Create cleaner air at home You can never have enough plants in your home. Buy plants that give <a href="https://www.floweraura.com/blog/plants-that-give-oxygen-at-night">oxygen at night</a> such as snake plant, Areca palm plant, Aloe Vera plant, Tulsi, Money plant, Gerbera plant, Christmas Cactus, Neem plant, etc. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/29/50-ways-to-green-up-your-life-save-the-planet">Weeping figs</a> are known to be good for living areas because they remove formaldehyde released from carpets and furniture. <div type="image" title="Invest in plants that give oxygen at night" msid="91970439" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Invest in plants that give oxygen at night&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Transport If you cannot use public transport, regular vehicle maintenance of private vehicles is a must since it <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/29/50-ways-to-green-up-your-life-save-the-planet">improves</a> fuel efficiency by as much as 10%. When driving a car, roll your windows down whenever possible because it is more efficient than using an air conditioner. Choose sustainable travel alternatives like electric or hybrid vehicles, avoiding air travel, and opt for vehicle sharing or pooling wherever feasible. Energy and waste Go desi and use a bucket and a mug instead of taking a shower so you can limit the amount of water you use. Don’t store unnecessary data in the cloud, it leaves a <a href="https://www.eib.org/en/stories/digital-footprint">digital</a> footprint. The digital sector is already responsible for <a href="https://www.eib.org/en/stories/digital-footprint">3.3% of global greenhouse gas emissions</a>, more than civil aviation. <a href="https://www.un.org/en/un75/climate-crisis-race-we-can-win">Billions of tons</a> of CO2 is released into the atmosphere every year as a result of coal, oil, and gas production. If we don’t slow global emissions, temperatures could rise to<a href="https://www.un.org/en/un75/climate-crisis-race-we-can-win">above three degrees Celsius by 2100</a>, causing further irreversible damage to our ecosystems. So, to make a difference before it is too late, it is important to take these baby steps towards sustainable living today. Here's a short video <div type="image" title="How to take baby steps towards living a more sustainable life" msid="91970594" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;How to take baby steps towards living a more sustainable life&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Business Insider India is now on Telegram too! Don't forget to subscribe to our channel and get the latest updates. <div type="image" title="Subscribe to BI India&amp;#39;s Telegram channel" msid="91970624" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Subscribe to BI India&amp;#39;s Telegram channel&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>

SIMPLY PUT: Sustainable lifestyle changes are the need of the hour! Here’s how you can take baby steps

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Sustainable investments totalled $35.3 trillion at the start of 2020, according to the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance. </li><li>This equals roughly a third of all global assets under management and reflects a 15% increase from 2018.</li><li>The crackdown on greenwashing slowed down sustainable investment growth in Europe.</li></ul>Sustainable investments totalled $35.3 trillion, which is equivalent to around a third of assets under management in major economies, at the start of 2020, according to a <a href="http://www.gsi-alliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GSIR-2020.pdf">report</a> published by the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance on Monday.This reflects a 15% increase between 2018 and 2020. Sustainable investments were worth around $30.7 trillion in 2018. Overall, 35.9% of assets managed across the United States, Europe, Australasia, Japan and Canada were <keyword id="49089" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Sustainability">sustainability</keyword> driven by early 2020, according to the biennial Global Sustainable Investment Review. This is 2.5% above the level registered in 2018. "The report again demonstrates that sustainable investment is a major force shaping global capital <keyword id="31671" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="markets">markets</keyword>, and, in turn is influencing companies and others seeking to raise capital in those global markets," the report said.Canada saw the biggest absolute regional growth of sustainable investments between 2018 and 2020, with a 48% increase and has become the biggest market for sustainable investments - 62% of assets managed in the country are classified as such. The US noted 42% growth, boosting its sustainable investments to a total of 33% of total assets under management, while Japan saw a 34% increase, while sustainability-linked assets under management in the Australasia region grew by 25%t.In Europe, sustainable investments declined, falling by 13% in this timeframe. 42% of assets managed in the region are classified as sustainable, making it the second-largest region for such investments. The report said the drop was the result of tougher criteria for classifying an asset as sustainable under the European Union's Sustainable Finance Action Plan. Looking at the way in which assets are made more sustainable, the report noted that there had been changes since 2018. In 2020, <keyword id="77363" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="ESG">ESG</keyword> integration was the most popular strategy as it applied to around $25.2 trillion worth of assets, followed by negative, or exclusionary, screening at $15.9 trillion and corporate engagement and shareholder action, which accounted for $10.5 trillion. Screening was the most popular approach in 2018, the report showed. "What is also increasingly evident by reports from across the major regions is that many investment organizations are using a combination of strategies, rather than solely relying on just one." the report added.The Global Sustainable Investment Alliance defines the investment strategies that incorporate elements of ESG integration. These can be corporate engagement and shareholder action, norms-based screening, negative or exclusionary screening, best-in-class or positive screening, a sustainability theme or impact and community investing as sustainable.

Sustainable investments now total $35.3 trillion, roughly a third of all global assets under management, report shows

Increasingly, investing in <keyword id="49089" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Sustainability">sustainability</keyword> isn't just a PR move, but a fundamental and profitable part of businesses. Unilever <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/unilever-recruiting-strategy-2012-10">uses a sustainability message to attract talent</a>, and Novo Nordisk <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/measuring-sustainability-is-essential-2012-12">measures environmental and social impact</a> as closely as profit.
<a href="https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/sustainability_energy_environment_innovation_bottom_line/">A joint survey</a> from the Boston Consulting Group and MIT's Sloan Management review found that 37 percent of businesses are reporting that sustainability measures have added to <keyword id="6409995" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="profits">profits</keyword>, up 23 percent from last year's survey.
Still, that means well over half of businesses aren't seeing a profit, which could be a barrier to real change. There are several things holding businesses back, which are broken down in these charts <a href="https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/sustainability_energy_environment_innovation_bottom_line/">from the report.</a>
First, many businesses haven't really committed. More than two thirds <a href="https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/sustainability_energy_environment_innovation_bottom_line/">don't have KPI's (key performance indicators)</a> related to sustainability, which would be unthinkable for any other business function:
<table class="image-container" width="200"><tr><td><div class="image"></div><a href="https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/sustainability_energy_environment_innovation_bottom_line/">BCG/MIT</a></td></tr></table> 
When it's hard to measure something, it's hard to make a business case for it. And because there aren't performance measures, there's no incentive to succeed or sense of urgency. Companies cited a lack of data and difficulty quantifying the effects of these programs as <a href="https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/sustainability_energy_environment_innovation_bottom_line/">among their biggest obstacles:</a>
<table class="image-container" width="200"><tr><td><div class="image"></div><a href="https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/sustainability_energy_environment_innovation_bottom_line/">BCG/MIT</a></td></tr></table> 
The real issue for businesses is a lack of commitment. Getting real data on sustainability measures takes effort. Companies that only change one part of their business model are significantly less likely to see profit than companies <a href="https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/sustainability_energy_environment_innovation_bottom_line/">that change multiple parts:</a>
<table class="image-container" width="200"><tr><td><div class="image"></div><a href="https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/sustainability_energy_environment_innovation_bottom_line/">BCG/MIT</a></td></tr></table> 
Businesses don't profit when they don't design these measures for profit. They wouldn't think of making other investments without a clear idea of how they were going to measure them. Clearly there's a successful business case to be made for sustainability. Companies succeed when they get the resources to make the case, and act on it. 
Find the full report <a href="https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/sustainability_energy_environment_innovation_bottom_line/">here</a>
NOW READ: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/measuring-sustainability-is-essential-2012-12">Why The World's Most Sustainable Company Publishes CO2 Emissions Next To Its Earnings</a>

Why Companies Fail At Sustainability, In Three Charts

How to take baby steps towards living a more sustainable life

<ul><li>According to the <keyword id="7426326" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kantar-report" source="Orion">Kantar report</keyword>, consumer reactions in the wake of COVID-19 continue to evolve and the Indian market presents several opportunities for the <keyword id="2782833" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="fmcd" source="Orion">FMCD</keyword> brands.</li><li>The report further states that cautious consumption is the norm - Hygiene, Health and Wellness are key consumer concerns.</li></ul>Kantar, the world’s leading data-driven analytics and brand consulting company, unveiled the FMCD Sustainability report, “Walking the Talk on Sustainability with Consumers – a roadmap for India’s FMCD Sector.” The report is a guide for the FMCD marketeers highlighting how the intersection of the FMCD sector and sustainability will further enable growth. It aims to provide key sustainability roadmaps for FMCD brands to help them navigate the ecosystem with sustainable solutions. The India FMCD market is at an interesting juncture today. Emerging from the pandemic, the Indian market presents significant opportunities; starting with consumption patterns that have changed significantly – towards safety, premiumness and technologically advanced products. The Kantar report reveals that the Indian consumers are also becoming more conscious about the impact of human activity on climate change and other environmental factors. In fact, when we look at the Indian consumer’s top concerns within the ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs) framework, issues beyond poverty and hunger emerge. Launched at the recent CII’s FMCD Summit, the Kantar report, provides key recommendations for the FMCD brands, as below - <ol><li>Embed Green Lifecycle across portfolio and processes</li><li>Connect the environment and the everyday</li><li>Address Consumer Knowledge Barriers</li><li>Mainstream PLM Strategies around Repairability, Packaging, Access-based business models, and Return &amp; Recycling</li><li>Meeting accountability expectations</li></ol>With the suggested roadmap, the report also highlights noticeable consumer trends that lead to a collective accountability of both businesses and audiences, seeking the path to a more sustainable world. The India Story: Post-pandemic Consumer Attitudes and Behaviour According to the Kantar report, consumer reactions in the wake of COVID-19 continue to evolve and the Indian market presents several opportunities for the FMCD brands. The report further states that cautious consumption is the norm - Hygiene, Health and Wellness are key consumer concerns, where 91% Indian households are washing hands more often now, 47% Indian households claim increased toilet cleaning, more so in rural (49%) vs urban (43%). While the pandemic caused worry and panic, there was a high demand in the FMCD Health and Wellness space. New-market segments such as Air purifiers, ACs with purification filters, smaller sub-categories such as UVC disinfection categories, UVC Desk lamps, and growth of personal care health tech products such as smartwatches and fitness monitors saw amped-up sales. Data also suggests that consumers are changing education and work codes, with work ecosystems being reshaped by digital transformation. With accelerated digital adoption, there is 125% growth in usages of smart devices among internet users, paving way for the emergence of a smart home. Some of them are – Smart Lights, Smart Speakers, Smart Air Purifiers, Smart Display, Smart Home Entertainment and Smart Cleaning There is also evidence to suggest that ‘value’ is a key factor for consumers since post-pandemic financial concerns have cropped up, where 73% attribute COVID to have impacted household income, while 67% pay greater attention to prices while shopping. This has led to an overall joint accountability of both businesses and consumers towards adopting a stronger sense of collective corporate responsibility. <keyword id="13251832" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="paru-minocha" source="Orion">Paru Minocha</keyword>, Managing Director, Qualitative &amp; Lead- Sustainability Practice, South Asia, Insights Division, Kantar said, “The FMCD sector is witnessing rapid growth even in post pandemic phase while we’ve also seen a great consumer shift towards sustainability and the environment urging brands to rethink their strategies. Consumers have greater expectation from companies than from themselves; this is likely to be amplified in FMCD, where personal behaviors post purchase is led primarily by the policies/features of the product and company they use. With this report, we are putting forward recommendations to brands which help in solving customer tensions with sustainable solutions, addressing barriers such as packaging, service models, repairability, and return and recycling policies. There is opportunity for brands to target active consumers who are engaged to the core issue and instill structured business solutions to help overcome them with time” Commenting on the focus and relevance of FMCD, Sushmita Balasubramaniam, Shopper and CX Domain Lead, Kantar said, “Consumers today are more aware and concerned about sustainability and other issues like pollution, carbon emissions, etc. For example, in the mobile phones category, consumers expect brands to address macro environment issues of carbon emissions and plastic pollution whereas in the computing category – carbon emissions, packaging and tax evasion are palpable concerns. In appliances, concerns exist on pollution (air and plastic) and emissions besides packaging. While we see consumers consciously making smarter choices, the responsibility resides with brands and marketeers to provide sustainable solutions to resonate and build credibility with their audiences moving forward.”

Kantar's guide for FMCD brands to help them navigate the ecosystem with sustainable solutions

The <keyword id="166486" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Millennium-Development-Goals">Millennium Development Goals</keyword> (MDGs), which draw near to completion in 2015, have given way to the new <keyword id="55804" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="sustainable-development">Sustainable Development</keyword> Goals (SDGs) la<keyword id="6355835" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="UN">un</keyword>ched at the UN General Assembly. The event and an array of other events including the SDG Business Forum, the Social Good Summit and the Clinton Global Initiative saw large participation from various stakeholders. 
	
		In understanding and evaluating the presentations at these events, some of the pertinent points that look seemingly obvious are: First, few presentations gave any indication of serious learning from the wins-- and losses--during 20 years of MDG work. A delineation of the models that work (i.e., more sustainable and scalable) is seen as clearly missing. Second, in the absence of learning frameworks, presenters reiterate the same problems, now expanded to 17 goals and 169 targets. The result is a plea for more resources to support the new SDGs without any evidence that those resources will be employed more effectively. Third, the core request at these events was for more than four trillion dollars per year to implement the SDGs over 15 years. 
	 
	
		This logically leads to two important questions i.e., how can you call the goals replacing the MDGs sustainable if they lead with requests for resources that are not? At the beginning of the SDG process, what should the worlds’ governments, corporates and NGO leaders focus on now to make the new global goals actually sustainable?
	 
	
		Answering these questions is at the heart of societal businesses value creation that seeks to find the most innovative and sustainable models for solving intractable challenges. Societal business search firms have advocated tirelessly the need to identify models that 1) can be scaled and 2) are not reliant on non-profit funding (which is donation-dependent and driven by the dictates of donors.) 
	 
	
		The best models that have found have had social entrepreneurs at the helm who see the world differently. They frequently take the “against” position (<a href="http://goo.gl/XHWj6x">http://goo.gl/XHWj6x</a>). For instance, in branding, claiming the against position means using a competitor’s dominant spend and mindshare to carve out an anti-space—the Un-cola for example. Social entrepreneurs are quintessential against positioners. [Microfinance inventor] Mohammed Yunus stated it clearly: “I looked at how traditional banks do business and we did the opposite.” In very practical terms, these stubborn, opinionated entrepreneurs frequently show up after the aid and development models have failed or at least failed to become sustainable. Their arrival on the scene is less a ‘Kumbaya’ moment and more a “disruptive innovation” one.
	 
	
		Social entrepreneurs are relentlessly focused on what they have learned. Their conversations highlight the innovations that are rolled into ingenious, often cross-sector models and as the people who use these models to solve their own and others problems. Their resource requests are framed by why their model should be scaled and how it can replace less effective approaches. The primary goal for these innovative social entrepreneurs is to demonstrate that appropriate capacity building and scale enables their hybrid or for-profit innovation models to solve problems sustainably, thus reducing dependence on fundraising. 
	 
	
		To deliberate on these emerging business models The Shared Value Summit 2015, is being organized by Shared Value India on November 20th, 2015 (<a href="http://sharedvalue.in/svs2015/">http://sharedvalue.in/svs2015/</a>). The summit will see participation from various stakeholders who will deliberate and discuss key opportunities that businesses can and are leveraging to create societal value. 
	 
	
		Already, social entrepreneurs have offered five critical solutions to the problem of making the Sustainable Development Goals truly sustainable: First, recognizing that any commitment to achieving the SDGs must avoid Einstein’s famous definition of insanity: Doing the same thing and expecting different results. Second, authentic commitment to the SDGs requires leaders to recognize one simple reality: It is not possible to have sustainable development goals without sustainable models that leverage under-utilized resources. Third, serious SDG innovators recognize that the current donor, foreign aid and resource investment processes are not sustainable. They call attention to inadequacies and offer new models and leadership to move significant resources from unsustainable models to sustainable models. Fourth, any leader pleading for more funding should be able to explain how his/her organization will deploy that funding to scale solutions that are more sustainable than those that failed to achieve most of the MDGs. Finally, significantly improved sustainability requires the ongoing evaluation of all investments, models and approaches employed. The most sustainable solutions should then be aggressively adopted across sector and country boundaries, no matter their origin or disruption.
	 
	
		Increasingly, leaders are being asked to challenge the status quo. These leaders—often disruptors—no longer target seed stage or individual impact investments. The most impactful leaders know that pilots do not lead to scaling or to sustainability. 
	 
	
		Social entrepreneurs thrive at risk taking and from learning rapidly about what doesn’t work. These are the sustainable, scale-oriented models and management teams that are best equipped to handle significant capital and to shift how these goals are achieved to sustainable development goals.
	 (The article is co-authored with David Wilcox, the founder of ReachScale, an organization that aligns the <keyword id="76104" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="social-responsibility">social responsibility</keyword> goals of corporations with high potential social entrepreneurs working in areas of common interest.) 
image credits: 7continents5oceans

What should the world do to make sustainable development goals truly 'sustainable'?

<ul><li>It is no secret that consumers have started making their purchase decisions based on brands' sustainability practices and it is a topic that just cannot be ignored anymore.</li><li>However, only a handful of brands in India seem to have cracked the code.</li><li>Kantar’s latest report on sustainability revealed that 68% of consumers surveyed worry brands are involved in social issues just for commercial reasons.</li><li>Paru Minocha, Managing Director, South Asia, Insights Division, Kantar tells us how brands convince their consumers about their true purpose and make a real change.</li><li>She further shares what sustainability means to consumers of today and how brands can navigate their journey.</li></ul>Today's consumers expect brands to have a social and environmental purpose. It is, therefore, becoming increasingly imperative for brands to revisit their company’s purpose, hire more resources to focus on sustainability, look for raw material that doesn’t hurt the environment and burn a hole in consumer’s pockets -- all at the same time. <keyword id="11955519" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kantars-Asia-Sustainability-Foundational-Study" source="Orion">Kantar’s Asia Sustainability Foundational Study</keyword> revealed that 68% of consumers surveyed worry that brands are involved in social issues just for commercial reasons, which means they expect brands to walk-the-talk, see concrete results in terms of how much they contribute to earth’s ecological footprint and only then make a purchase decision. 77% of them said that they are willing to invest time and money supporting companies that do good. In fact, 66% of consumers said that they have stopped buying products/services that have a negative impact on the environment and society. At the same time, the report also highlighted that India is still a price-sensitive market and while purchasing a product, 84% of the same set of consumers said that they end up prioritising saving money over saving the planet. With this, arises a stark dichotomy between Indian consumers’ ideal preferences and real money-spending habits, which Kantar refers to as ‘The Value-Action Gap.’ We caught up with Paru Minocha, Managing Director, South Asia, Insights Division, Kantar to understand how can brands and consumers close this gap, make a real difference, stop putting the environment on the back-burner, what are some of the hot areas in sustainability today and much more. Excerpts: Q. How do you think consumer behavior has changed after the pandemic? How important is sustainability for them today? The pandemic has precipitated and accelerated a change that was already coming. The realization that taking care of oneself and the family will not be enough to keep everyone safe is quite stark. This gives a new meaning to community and responsible living. It also gave us the time to pause and reflect and the consciousness of sustainability could be stemming from both of these. Kantar’s Shopper Barometer report also showcases that after the first wave of the pandemic, 72% consumers were on the look-out for natural / healthier alternatives of their regular use products. Q. What are some of the areas within sustainability that brands should consider? The first thing that brands need to consider is that consumer expectations and concerns around sustainability are discrete and differ by categories. Therefore, brands need to recognize where to play- which plank or concern to own and drive. Secondly, brands need to be careful and understand that some are hygiene factors and they may not win big if they offer them, but might lose if they don’t. In Kantar’s Sustainability framework, we call these factors- Shields. The other are concerns that are important to consumers and associated with the category, but not yet championed. These are referred to as Swords- which can be used as differentiating planks by the brands. Q. Have brands put sustainability on the back burner due to the pandemic? Considering that consumers are asking for no-touch delivery and minimum contact, which can only be possible with one-time-use packaging. During the pandemic priority for brands was to be available, be safe and keep safe. A lot of good has come out of this churn and sustainability indeed came to the fore-front. A lot of introspection is also happening, both by consumers and brands. While some brands may have paused, many others have activated sustainable behaviors during this time. An example from the food and beverage industry comes to mind- since a consumer could not enjoy coffee at a café and takeaways were essential, some brands like KC Roasters gave 10% off if consumers carried their own mug. Q. It is no secret that consumers have started making their purchase decisions basis a brand's sustainability practices and it cannot be ignored anymore. However, only a handful of brands in India seem to have cracked it. It is now evident in the report considering that 68% worry brands are involved in social issues just for commercial reasons. So, how can brands convince their consumers about their true purpose and make a real change? Brands now have to put sustainability at the heart of their business. This is a non-negotiable. When it is authentic and when it becomes a purpose, consumers will trust you and connect with you better. This gives a brand the power in the consumer relationship. Any halfhearted measures will be seen through and those brands will risk rejection by consumers. Q. Can you share a few examples of Indian brands where they have addressed sustainability successfully? It’s a journey that is just starting across many organizations. It’s not limited to niche brands, but is a movement that will go mass soon. A global example is MAC, that pushes the consumers to adopt recycling by giving a free lipstick on return of 6 empties. In India, Dabur is piloting selling toothpaste without the carton pack to save paper and Colgate has launched a first of its kind recyclable toothpaste tube. Another example is Hindustan Unilever (HUL) piloting an in-store vending model ‘Smart Fill’ at Mumbai’s Reliance Smart Acme Mall. Users are offered INR 30 off on the MRP if they use their own bottle and INR 15 off to those who purchase the Smart Fill bottle. Organic clothing, increasing popularity of electric or hybrid cars all show we are making steps in the right direction. Q. What are some of the things that brands should keep in mind while working on their <keyword id="11955518" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sustainability-roadmap" source="Orion">sustainability roadmap</keyword> to attract more consumers? How can brands close the Value-action gap? Brands need to give consumers a compelling reason to buy. Fundamental marketing principles continue to apply and sustainability in isolation will unlock consumer behaviour change. Brands need to handhold and nudge the consumers along this behavior change. It is important for them to solve for the 3C’s going forward: <ul><li>Cost: and creating desire</li><li>Comfort: and give a clear advantage over current brand</li><li>Convenience: by being present in the moment of truth and making the switch easy</li></ul>

Making sustainable choices that don’t burn a hole in your pocket: Here’s how brands can help close The Value-Action Gap

<a href="http://www.responsibility.ups.com/Sustainability" target="_blank"></a>This post is sponsored by <a href="http://www.responsibility.ups.com/Sustainability" target="_blank">UPS</a>.
It can be daunting for small business owners even to consider <keyword id="49089" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Sustainability">sustainability</keyword> when they have other things to think about - like day-to-day operations and the company's bottom line. But that doesn't mean companies with limited resources should stay away from investing in a sustainability program.
Willis Wood, founder of <a href="http://tradeshowemporium.com/" target="_blank">Trade Show Emporium</a>, says it's "a common myth" that achieving sustainability costs a lot of money. "I faced the challenge of wanting to provide environmentally friendly trade show exhibits," he says, "but at first, they were more expensive than a traditional exhibit. After working with manufacturers to get the price point down, we made it possible to get a green exhibit to be the same price of a traditional exhibit."
Business owners contemplating how they can afford a sustainability strategy - and what the return on investment will be - need to take a long-term approach. That includes identifying business priorities, looking at the big picture, and being flexible.
<h2>Start With A Solid Framework</h2>
Sustainability should be treated like any business priority, with actual, realistic metrics that can be measured and considered in terms of a company's overall <keyword id="301587" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="ROI">ROI</keyword>.
It's important to have a relentless focus, <a href="http://www.pwc.com/us/sustainability" target="_blank">recommends Kathy Nieland</a>, U.S. Sustainable Business Solutions Leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers. "Sustainability is a wide field, and it is easy to get distracted," she explains. "It can be hard to cut through the noise."
Think about larger-scale initiatives, she recommends, adding that the field is moving from simple activities such as using double-sided printing in offices to transforming factories, supply-chains, and product design.
<h2>Make Integration A Priority</h2>
To be effective, sustainability needs to be worked into a business' core strategy. This means starting with executive discussions at the top and ensuring that priorities trickle down to the everyday.
Wood of Trade Show Emporium explains that it's important to start with a vision. "After being in the industry for a few years, I noticed the huge impact the trade show industry had on the environment," he says.
Wood remained dedicated to his original goal, transitioning his business to recyclable and sustainable materials. "My company is now one of the top vendors for displays produced from environmentally friendly, renewable materials," he says.
And it's not enough just to think about what's happening right in front of you. There are wider implications to sustainability changes as well, and it pays to look at the social, economic, and environmental impact of those changes. Wood's company, for example, takes its program a step further by helping vendors recycle their old trade show exhibits, preventing them from ending up in landfills.
<h2>The Three Ways to Become Profitable</h2>
A <a href="http://hbr.org/2013/03/making-sustainability-profitable/ar/1" target="_blank">recent Harvard Business Review article</a> points out that companies will typically take three approaches to making sustainability profitable.
<ol>
<li>Start with a more expensive investment to generate lower long-term yield.</li>
<li>Bootstrap sustainability through small changes that save a lot of money, which can then fund bigger initiatives.</li>
<li>Share sustainability efforts with customers and suppliers to create new and unique business models.</li>
</ol>
"Have a company meeting and brainstorm how to incorporate sustainability into your organization," explains Wood of Trade Show Emporium. "Vote on the top 5 most important sustainability objectives. Then set a date as a goal for each of these objectives so that they can be met."
<h2>Get Creative</h2>
Sustainability is far from a black-and-white field. There's no one right way to implement any strategy, and performance metrics aren't always fixed. 
"Sustainability success measurements vary with each company's priorities," emphasizes Paula McEvoy, co-director of the Sustainable Design Initiative at <a href="http://www.perkinswill.com/" target="_blank">Perkins+Will</a>. "Savings in water and energy costs are easy to identify and for some companies, that's the primary goal. The more interesting measurements come when companies tie their sustainability plans to their corporate mission."
Business owners should be prepared to experiment, though, since everyone has an opinion. "Whether you're trying to optimize office temperatures or finding an Eco-friendly soap," McEvoy says, "people will want to weigh in. You won't get it right the first time, but as long as you're working towards a clear goal, that's okay."
At the end of the day, it's a learning process for everyone, particularly when changes to equipment and operations are involved. And business owners shouldn't be afraid to ask for help. "Don't overlook the educational components that will be required to make your plan succeed," says McEvoy. "This can be as simple as posters and emails but may also require outside expertise for in-depth training."
- Written by Ritika Puri
<div style="padding: 15px; border: 1px solid #999999; margin-bottom: 10px; font-size: 15px!important; line-height: 25px; overflow: auto; vertical-align: middle;">For more about logistics and sustainability, <a href="http://www.responsibility.ups.com/Sustainability" target="_blank">visit UPS.com/sustainability</a>. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/destination-sustainable"> Read more posts in the Destination Sustainable series »</a></div>
Find out <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sponsor-posts">more about Sponsor Posts.</a>

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