So COP15 is nearly over. And business - and its brands - finds itself in between a rock and a hard place - which looks likely to be a hot place too.
With no clear architecture emerging, business is now stuck with no clear route to establish new technologies and business models based on solid frameworks and policy commitments. And on the other side, has a sea of frustrated consumers, looking for guidance and options through which to demonstrate their increasing desires for more sustainable choices. Add to this the pressure so many brands are now under to justify their worth in a transparent, fragmented and splinteringly fast world, and it all looks very difficult.
Only two Fortune 500 company CEOs made it to COP15, I read. One of those was Coca Cola. Their ambition seems pretty obvious:
“It is absolutely imperative that our commitment to a low-carbon future be fully understood. We’re here to lend a Coca-Cola voice to the public and political debate on getting to a fair framework, an inclusive framework, an effective framework so that we can achieve climate protection”
That was Muhtar Kent, speaking to Marc Gunther at GreenBiz.com. The need for a solid, dependable, long term framework is clear. But it’s not there.
How corporates and their brands deal with this, is a challenge. Respecting duties to shareholders in terms of compliance, risk and core business excellence on the one hand, and yet guiding consumers towards the clearly-wanted sustainable choices on the other, is a juggling act that will define which brands succeed and which fail.
The role of the strong, consistent, and authentic corporate brand offers a glimmer of hope. Not because it will provide all of the answers, but because it will allow companies and their brands to legitimately and confidently say they do not have all the answers - but are going to look very hard for them, from today. A strong corporate brand can define a character of substance - and that is exactly the type of character consumers want near them, as we all make this journey.
This starts to move again towards the notion of less transparency, and more faith. But not blind faith, rather 20:20 faith. Again, it will be those companies that engender this 20:20 faith with strong corporate brands, that will emerge the leaders from this challenging chapter.
To quote Kent again:
“Consumers - they increasingly vote for products based on a company’s character.”
Guy
