“Marketing communications, which have improved people’s access to goods, services, healthcare and comfortable lifestyles in the past century, can be the driving force for sustainable transformation in this century. Our industry possesses unmatched potential to steer minds and behaviors towards a more sustainable direction, but this can only be achieved if we act together.”
Chair, Global Sustainability Council
Our industry is more than capable of moving minds and changing behaviors to help the planet survive and humanity thrive. Yet we will only succeed if we put our egos aside and take action together.
From how we use and produce media to how we shape our advertising to how we ultimately engage individuals, companies, organizations, communities and countries. When it comes to fighting the climate emergency, social inequalities and economic disparity, every message and every action matters. And when we act together, anything is possible.
As the Global Compass of the marketing communications industry, IAA is uniquely positioned to collaborate with people from all over the marketing and marketing communications industry (Brands, Agencies, Media, Tech) which daily reaches and influences the global population.
Established in 2021 and launched at Cannes Lions in 2022, the Global Sustainability Council is a community of marketing and marketing communications professionals united by the belief that what’s good, is good for business.
Committed to IAA’s mission, we serve the collective interests of the entire marketing communications profession – connecting marketers, advertising agencies, media, PR firms, tech-companies and educators envisioning how brands and business can be a force for good and actively shape a sustainable future…. For everyone.
The Global Sustainability Council’s role is to drive global change through collaboration and to identify innovative programs, exchange experiences, best practices and creative advocacy that can strengthen all parties in success.
We deliver this through a global platform for progress, facilitating leaders across the industry to come together on tangible change programs, research, education, advocacy, best practice, impact measurement, ultimately facilitating better collaboration and growing impact.
During our first year, we launched the Global Sustainability Perceptions Value Index in partnership with Brand Finance. Based on consumer perceptions of environmental and social responsibility the index ties financial value to a brand’s reputation for acting sustainably – emphasizing how doing good is now a requirement success.
Join an influential global community of peers in marketing and marketing communications framing the future for sustainability across the industry and reap the benefits of Membership.
Help set the agenda for and governance of the Global Sustainability Council as we enter our second year.
Launched in Davos in January 2023, the International Advertising Association proudly presents: The Brand Sustainability Perception Index - 2023!
In association with the IAA, Brand Finance reveals a first of its kind, global study covering 36 countries and 4,000 brands that places a financial value on a brand's reputation for sustainability.
As consumers become more aware of environmental and social issues, they are increasingly taking into account a company's sustainability practices when making purchasing decisions. If a company is perceived as not being environmentally or socially responsible, it may lead to negative perceptions of the brand and ultimately result in a decrease in sales and customer loyalty. CMOs should therefore consider incorporating sustainability, in an authentic way, into their marketing strategies to appeal to conscious consumers and mitigate brand value erosion.
Brand Finance Strategy and Sustainability Director Robert Haigh commented, “For the first time, companies can now see the financial value that is tied to a reputation for acting sustainably. Whether they are seen as sustainability champions or not, the world’s biggest brands have hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of value contingent on how sustainable they are perceived to be”
Report reveals consumers are fairly trusting of brand's sustainability related communication, with 62% believing claims about sustainability made by brands.
However, 79% of consumers also said that they had reduced their use of a brand having discovered it was acting in an unsustainable way, reinforcing the imperative for brands to communicate clearly, authentically and accurately. So #greenwashing is a risky business.
Commenting on the report, Sasan Saeidi, the IAA's World President & Chairman said: "We're extremely proud to be associated with Brand Finance on the release of its first Sustainability Perception Index in Davos. We want to ensure sustainability becomes an even bigger focal point for us at IAA in 2023".
Sasan added: "Measuring the sustainability perception of some of the world's biggest brands is quite unique as it opens up areas of self-reflection as a means to assess progress or the dialing up of efforts. We need more brands to commit authentically to the sustainability cause and this report from Brand Finance really helps us put the topic of sustainability into perspective".
Dagmara Szulce, Managing Director, IAA Global commented, “We see this as an incredibly potent tool to incentivize action against the UN SDGs and wider aims of the UNGC. By highlighting the financial value that is contingent on sustainability perceptions, we hope to harness businesses’ profit motive, moving them past the point where they see sustainability as a ‘hygiene factor’, to a point of rapid, concerted action.”
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