Purpose washing vs purposeful marketing

Hi friends,

April is Earth Month 🌏

It's supposed to be a time to raise environmental awareness and consciousness. A time when leaders and activists work together on climate solutions and make bolder commitments to reducing carbon.

But my suspicion is that, instead of solid pledges to do better, we're going to hear a lot more empty promises. Some brands will use Earth Month as an excuse to "PR their purpose", talk about the wonderful things they do for the planet and people, and slip back into bad habits in May.

These opportunistic and inauthentic attempts to appear responsible are known as purpose washing, and they’re usually at odds with what the company does.

What is purpose washing?

Purpose washing, much like greenwashing, intends to deceive.

Brands know that consumers want to buy from responsible companies with values that align with their own.

So, to appeal to the socially and environmentally conscious, some brands will "commit" to a cause even if they don't support it, or worse, act against it.

Like Shell planting trees to "offset" emissions while expanding its oil and gas business 🤦🏻‍♀️

No amount of tree planting can fix fuck-ups like this, which is where oil companies should really be focusing their sustainability efforts 👇

Everyone wants businesses to make a promise to the Earth: to stop trashing it, take better care of it, and restore sensitive ecosystems. We want transparency and we want to stop being lied to.

What's your brand promise?

Purpose washing happens when companies lack a meaningful brand promise and jump on the purpose bandwagon without first clarifying why they exist, how they add value, or the positive impact they want to make on the world.

Your brand promise ties you to your purpose and your vision for a healthier, happier Earth.

The Content Marketing Institute (CMI) says your purpose should be integral and logical to your brand and connect you with a shared human interest. It has little (if anything) to do with profit because it goes beyond selling products and services. (Although it often results in higher sales and profit.)

In the purpose economy, it should be hard to imagine a brand thriving without purpose.

Take a stand and show up appropriately

Before you commit to a cause, think about this from professional troublemaker and content marketer, Luvvie Ajayi Jones:

• Curb the impulsive outbursts. Never enter a conversation as a brand without thinking it through. You don't have to acknowledge every issue.

• Your 2c is not always worth much. Don't chime in or disrupt a conversation just to be part of it. Have something meaningful to add.

• Say what you mean and believe in what you say. How you communicate a message affects how it lands. If you can't say it thoughtfully or with love, don't say it.

• Be prepared to defend your stance. If you can't back up your position when someone challenges it, don't air it.

• Be a truth-teller. Challenge things that aren't okay – you have a responsibility to speak out because staying silent says something, and saying nothing costs something. If you contribute to the problem, be honest about what you're doing to change.

Other advice plucked from the internet:

• Live your truth. People are already attributing values to your brand, so be upfront about them and live up to the commitments and statements you make.

• Learning through listening is powerful. Find people and organisations that share your values and support your cause. What do they care about? What's going on in their social conversations? What do they expect you to take a stand on? The key is to create two-way dialogue where you listen more and talk less.

• Don't shy away from the controversial stuff. Look for a niche instead of focusing on a hot topic. Adopting a unique or sensitive mission can differentiate you in a crowded market.

• Adopt a purpose-driven content marketing strategy. Create content that partner organisations can cite when making their case for the cause. Use your content to spark and build valuable and important conversations around your cause.

And remember: a promise is a promise.

— Tarryn ✌️

P.S. Did someone forward this to you? You can subscribe here, if you want.

P.P.S. Want to work with me? I help businesses to define their purpose, craft their content strategies, and tell the sustainability stories that make an impact and inspire change. Pop me a mail if that’s something you need help with.

This week's climate and sustainability news worth noting

🐆 Six months after cheetahs were reintroduced in India, one momma cheetah has given birth to four cubs, and a second cheetah will deliver her babies soon. Cheetahs were declared extinct in India in 1952 due to habitat loss and hunting. Scientists have found that restoring wildlife populations can slow down climate change by boosting natural carbon capture and storage. Although cheetahs weren't mentioned in the study (although it did mention pumas), one scientist said that wildlife species, throughout their interaction with the environment, are the missing link between biodiversity and climate, and that rewilding is among the best nature-based climate solutions available.

😷 Atmospheric concentrations of five ozone-depleting chemicals – known as chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs – have reached record highs, despite a global ban that was put in place in 2010. Nobody knows where the man-made gases are coming from because they're used in a variety of applications, including refrigeration, air conditioning or as chemical solvents.

💸 Boston University research has found that debt worth $520 billion needs to be written off to help developing nations regain financial stability and meet climate and development goals. Without ambitious debt relief, it warns that many of the poorest countries don't have a chance.

⚡️ In its Master Plan Part 3, Tesla says converting the world to entirely green energy will require US$10 trillion in investment over the next 20 years. The cost of the alternative - continuing to produce oil, coal, and natural gas- is higher, Tesla argues, and at 2022 rates would total about $14 trillion over the next two decades. 🚗 European Union countries have approved a landmark law to end sales of new CO2-emitting cars in 2035.

And in business news

👎 Big UK banks, including HSBC, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Standard Chartered, reported a widening in the gap between what they paid women and men in 2022. At the banks that detailed pay gaps by ethnicity, the gap was widest between Black and white staff.

👏 If a preliminary deal is reached later this month by European Union lawmakers, financial services companies will be required to take action if their clients fail to protect human rights and the environment.

🛢️ Just a few months after news broke that oil and gas company Exxon Mobil knew of the dangers of global heating from at least the 1970s (and lied about it to protect its core business), it has now been revealed that Shell has also known of the dangers for decades – and has also covered it up. Documents show that Shell's scientists warned about the impact of its products in the 1980s and that it began collecting knowledge about climate change way back in the 1960s. And yet, it carried on regardless, pushing to create more fossil fuel demand despite knowing that it would "induce major climatic changes" and create an "unprecedented refugee problem". The latest findings could bolster legal efforts to hold big oil companies accountable for the global climate emergency. Shell, of course, denies everything.

🛑 Insurance companies are exiting the Net Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) for fear of breaching antitrust laws. There is limited guidance from governments and regulators on how far industry groups can collaborate to reduce carbon emissions to net zero without overstepping antitrust boundaries. Munich Re and Zurich Insurance Group – which cofounded the NZIA – were the latest insurers to leave the alliance at a time when antitrust concerns are driving a sustainability backlash in the US and Europe.

0️⃣ Race to Zero has released its Data Explorer tool that showcases climate data from the largest 500 companies in the campaign. The tool tracks the progress of companies in meeting the Race to Zero Criteria and is designed to enhance transparency of net zero commitments.

One small thing you can do

Because lots of little actions combined can add up to something remarkable.

Reach out and touch nature.

New research that examines the results from 832 independent studies has concluded that psychological and physical connections with nature improve both human wellbeing and nature conservation.

It's well-known that getting some fresh air, feeling the sun on our skin, or swimming in the ocean can improve mental health, lower stress, and boost our moods. But this latest research has found that physically experiencing nature also strengthens our psychological link to the environment, which leads to pro-conservation beliefs and pro-environmental behaviour, like volunteering in clean-up initiatives or planting trees.

Bottom line: The more time you spend in nature, the more likely you are to protect and preserve it. And the world needs more people who give a shit.

I'll leave you on this happy note...

A cockatoo that thinks it’s a dog.

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