SUSTAINABILITY SPECIAL

Sustainability as a necessary choice to meet the increasingly sophisticated needs of consumers and more stringent regulations

Federico Rossi – business consultant, founding member of Sintesi Comunicazione, a consulting company operating in the field of marketing and communication – and Maria Grazia Persico – communications advisor and owner of MGP&Partners since 2002, as well as publisher and editor of the web magazine nonsoloambiente.it since 2013, talk about sustainability in the book “Comunicare la Sostenibilità ” (Communicating Sustainability) published by Franco Angeli. The authors examine every aspect in a very practical and concrete manner, thanks to an in-depth analysis of numerous case histories that encompass a wide variety of best practices for companies and their product sector. Federico Rossi elaborates on the issues:

«Too many companies still believe that to be sustainable all they have to do is meet part of their energy requirements by installing photovoltaic panels on the roof of buildings, by reducing paper waste or turning off lights when they don’t need them. Being sustainable is not a declaration of intent to be inserted into a company profile, but a corporate philosophy that cuts deep into the entire structure and that, in the case of environmental sustainability, starts from an “eco-friendly” revision (energy and water consumption, emissions, waste, use of resources, etc.) of processes and products. A revision with a strong scientific basis that must be measured, validated and communicated»

How important is sustainability to the consumer?

«The awareness of people and, consequently, their purchasing decisions are also starting to focus on the behaviour of a brand and in this respect the approach to environmental and social sustainability, and more specifically, the ethical approach, begin to take on more importance. Consumers basically no longer look for iconic brands, but brands that align with their values. The meeting between supply and demand will continue to focus more and more on the consistency of the value system»

What are the key points to be classified as a company attentive to sustainability?

«From the company’s side, a real approach to sustainability should not be seen as a tactical response to a fashion phenomenon, but requires a strategic vision that can also lead to a substantial review of the products, processes, or even the business model. Sustainability must therefore become a fundamental value of the company; it must become an integral part of its DNA, and must be supported by a large long-term project. One of the reference frameworks in this technical activity is defined by the standard ISO14040 – Life Cycle Assessment. The assessment of impacts must not only be made within the production cycle but must be extended to the entire lifecycle of the product: from its birth to its grave. It is an important approach that focuses on the analysis of the supply chain and that can push the company to review its supply chain, or even to redefine the value chain»

What are the main principles to be communicated?

«Communication comes after the sustainability approach has been truly implemented within a company and not only has an impact on marginal aspects, but also on core areas. In this way, you avoid the risk of greenwashing, i.e. those behaviours that present an obvious discrepancy between a real situation and communication. To this end, the communication of sustainability must be authentic, based on real and transparent information, ongoing, balanced, authoritative and consistent. The communication of sustainability must act as a “translator.” If the company’s approach to sustainability is real, the starting point must be of a technical-scientific nature and the information generated by this stage will be essentially incomprehensible to almost all of the public. The role of communication is to make these elements comprehensible and accessible to a diverse audience, which can then be used to build a new competitive advantage and to strengthen a company’s reputation»

What is the best message to convey?

«The communication of sustainability does not aim at selling (only) and does not use the paradigms of persuasion, but aims at informing and at reinforcing the standing and reputation of a company and at promoting a new cultural standard. In the same way, the communication of sustainability is not directed only to customers, but also to multi-stakeholders (customers, suppliers, public administrations, credit systems, local communities, pressure groups) and it also has a strong impact on internal communication. It must be able to balance creativity and rationality, emotion and technicality, formality and informality»

How do you assess the state-of-art of the fashion world with regards to sustainability?

«The fashion industry has a certain “effervescence” towards sustainability. The success stories (rightly highlighted also by the media) are increasing, just think of the great results achieved by Brunello Cucinelli (sustainability in all its forms has become a fundamental part of a business model) or the growing activity of a giant such as Kering (which implemented a major overhaul of the processes and products with sustainability in mind). The message is important. If an “ephemeral” sector such as fashion is moving decisively towards sustainability, then this means that we are really facing an irreversible paradigm shift»