Secret Insight Series: The Sustainability VIP
Have you ever wondered how some companies seem to advance more quickly, land more contracts, gain customers and market share, all with a really great sustainability angle to match?
Frustrating isn’t it. Well I can assure you it’s not down to luck, who you know, or even great PR. Anyone can do this and I’ll walk you through the first steps needed to make this happen and avoid ‘magnolia sustainability’.
Be authentic and open
The words of the day are ‘authenticity’ and ‘open’, because a business needs to be both.
It’s important because consumers increasingly want to buy products and services from companies that address environmental and social matters responsibly.
In Kantar’s 2025 consumer survey, 74% of consumers believe that companies have a responsibility to address social issues, and 64% also believe that should include climate and environmental issues.
Similarly in the latest 2025 UK IPSOS consumer survey, while price remains a strong deciding factor in the current trading environment, it is clear that amongst the 16-34 years age group, 56% state that environmental impacts are an important consideration in their buying choices (up from the previous year).
This is particularly dominant when buying groceries, household consumer goods and beauty products.
Today’s consumer base is wiser and more clued up on sustainability and ready to shift their brand allegiance at a moment’s notice.
This market segment is sceptical of corporate communications and can spot greenwash and generic claims like ‘eco-friendly’ and ‘green’ a mile off. And if you’re still using these terms, here’s a useful steer on what to avoid: The CEO’s Guide to Avoid Greenwash
Consumers are seeking the proof, the evidence and provenance behind what it is you promote, say and believe in. Transparency and authenticity need to be your new best friends.
Yet so few companies are delivering fully on what consumers want. There’s clearly a disconnect between consumer wants and commercial reality.
Naturally, a company can improve its position by providing the necessary proof and that can come in a variety of forms.
For example, companies can use blockchain technology to verify supplier sources and supply chain routes; Artificial Intelligence (AI) can optimise resource use; and the Internet of Things (IoT) can measure and track metrics.
This all with the aim of demonstrating that you’re delivering on what you say you do, which in turn builds consumer trust.
So is that it? Will technology save the day? Not quite yet, and I’ll give my reasons why.
Magnolia sustainability
The thing is, while technology can be a game changer, how many of us are fully ready for it, you, your systems, suppliers, competitors and customers?
Chances are we’re all some way off, but let’s explore the future alternative.
Let’s time travel a few years forward, where the tech if fully integrated, everyone is on-board, your sustainability metrics are optimised and we’re all comfortable with providing environmental and social data and reports.
Yet, while on paper it sounds great, I’m certain it’ll be a sadly lacking position to be in.
The thing is, with the glut of carbon foot-printing and ESG software platforms that have emerged over recent years, everyone is on the same path, using the same approaches, the same templates, working on the same sustainability concerns.
“With a push of a button, every company is churning out the same outputs as you.”
What’s changed is there’s no longer a point of difference. You’ve reached a kind of ‘magnolia sustainability’ position – it does the job, but wow isn’t it unremarkable.
Dare to be different
So how do successful firms stand out and be creatively different, in an effective way?
It comes down to the one thing technology can’t (yet) help you with; human-led creative innovation.
We as humans create, we think, we design. We sometimes even dare to be different.
New strategic thinking helps set the vision, the point of difference, and casts aside the sea of AI-slop and cookie cutter outcomes generated by sustainability data reporting platforms.
Being bold and different is all about challenging the norms and taking a stance, looking at the ‘what if’ moments, exploring how the odd-ball ideas could work and road-testing the ideas that really scare the heck out of management.
Fortune favours the bold.
The strategic Sustainability VIP
Whether your company has been around for decades, long before sustainability was so front and centre, or whether it’s new, I’ll always ask the question – what makes your company the way it is?
Why was it created in the first place, what value does it bring, and what real-world problems and needs does it address or solve?
These three areas are fundamental to understanding your true sustainability direction and future strategy.
They speak of a company’s Value, Impact and Purpose (VIP).
Blending in today’s sustainability needs leads to what I call the ‘Sustainability VIP’. It’s the root of an authentic sustainability strategy for your business.
Building better sustainability strategies starts with using the Sustainability VIP process.
Ask yourself these three questions:
- Where is the Value generated, not just financially, but also socially and environmentally?
- Where is the Impact and what / who is affected? Is this positive or negative?
- What is the company’s Purpose? Is it still what it was, or does it need to change?
Be bold, be curious, challenge current thinking and expectations of what the company does and how it should operate.
Then ask yourself how these three areas might change over the short, medium and long-term as consumer preferences, global conditions and the environment changes.
Seek internal and external viewpoints, beyond your immediate teams. All options should be on the table.
Make the connections
Once a business understands how sustainability connects with Value creation, Impact and Purpose, it is on its first step to developing an effective sustainability strategy.
So what might that look like if we take a fictitious example?
Imagine a skincare or beauty brand developing a product made up of a range of ingredients sourced from all over the world. The product is manufactured and then packaged (sometimes excessively) and shipped globally to a consumer base that uses the product, and the packaging is thrown away over a relatively short period of time.
Certainly, there could be a possible story here with supporting local community agriculture and with recyclable packaging, but there are also wider impacts.
Sustainability-minded consumers will naturally question the impact of emissions in the transportation of the ingredients and the product itself; the extraction of local water by agricultural products which is embodied in the raw materials that are then exported; plus the risk of pollution, pesticide use and local community health impacts from large-scale monoculture in countries where legislative controls may be weaker or less well enforced.
To navigate this carefully, the company would need to consider (a) whether the product even adds something of value in an existing market already swamped with similar offerings (e.g. is it needed at all?) and (b) is there a better, more responsible way of doing things and what might this look like.
The company might then wish to examine options for ingredient substitution; bringing supply chains closer to home (less GHG emissions); reducing its product water content; working with its suppliers on sustainable agriculture; or community enhancement projects.
These discussions challenge organisations to think differently, to look at innovative approaches to product development, and how to create and deliver value with impact.
Innovative design
Using the same example above, the skincare / beauty brand may have decided that their 16-34 year old target market is focused on products that are both low carbon and waterless.
In an ideal world, what if existing products could be reformulated to comprise a powder mix that is then rehydrated by the consumer by adding tap water at home. Yes, it’s a reformulation, it could involve operational and supply chain disruption, require safety testing and a fresh round of marketing.
Yet, as it stands this would ultimately avoid shipping water out of a country that may have pre-existing water scarcity concerns, while also reducing the weight of shipping and their associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Innovation can be a force for good.
Scale for impact
Taking this further, now imagine what could be gained if the company had redesigned the product to not only tackle water scarcity and GHG emissions, but also to address other impacts identified during the Sustainability VIP process?
The value creation by this stage is significant; the consumer base loves the approach, the financial supply chain savings are there, they’re delivering impact where it’s really needed and they’re on the way to becoming a sustainability-led challenger brand.
Later on the company leverages the sustainability outcomes further by scaling up across other product lines, using the knowledge learned, reinforcing the value being generated several-fold.
The overall outcome, however, is a business that now has sustainability integrated at the heart of the company’s purpose. It’s delivering added value, driving impactful outcomes, enabling future resilience, securing new markets and reducing risk and cost.
Delivering on what counts
In finishing, the last question I have for you is what will you take home from this insight?
When it comes time to say what your company has achieved and what it does – which version do you prefer – the same standard outputs as everyone else – the magnolia sustainability, or a purpose-driven company with a great sustainability backstory and value proposition to tell?