How to identify the link between sustainable brands and consumer value

There is a way for consumer good companies to see the link between sustainable brands and consumer value, according to a new study from Bain and Company.

Sustainability is now a crucial element to every company as consumers are demanding that every organisation has clear and attainable ESG goals.

The insights from Bain and Company, identify the 30 fundamental elements of value to help organisations understand what underpins a consumers’ perception of value.

According to Bain and Co, these fundamental elements fall into four categories: functional, emotional, life-changing, and global impact. In the global impact category, the organisation recently added three sustainability-related elements of value: cares for the earth, ethical, and invests in well-being.

The Bain and Co survey of more than 8,000 European consumers and over 60 brands across eight consumer goods categories found that brands that scored highest on sustainability elements of value generated five times the revenue growth of companies scoring lowest. Among incumbent brands only, those that embedded sustainability had twice the growth.

The authors of the report Jenny Davis-Peccoud, partner at Bain and Co and Magali Deryckere, associate partner at Bain and Co said, “Sustainability can help fortify existing elements of value for a brand. More natural ingredients can reinforce the element of quality, for example.

“The most successful brands go a step further by using sustainability to add higher-level elements such as providing hope around particular challenges or fostering well-being.”

Brian Murphy, digital practice leader for sustainability and responsibility at Bain and Co told Digital Nation that sustainability can be used for a wide variety of strategies and value creation.

He said, “Digital plays a role in both defensive or risk-oriented opportunities, as much as it does the value creation opportunities, if not more.

“The foolproof winning strategy, if you're a digital sustainability provider is to be directly enabling the real sustainability swords of your client, as well as the shield. That's where the real leverage for digital is in their sustainability agenda."