They Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth

By Deborah Fleischer - Matter Network

Sustainable Brands 2009 got off and running Sunday evening with an opening night packed full of speakers and networking. The conference is focused on giving attendees "a new perspective on the many factors driving opportunity for those building more sustainable brands," according to KoAnn Vikoren Skryniarz, Founder/President of Sustainable Life Media, the producer of the event.

During the opening session, some of the key messages included:

1. Do or die: Companies who stick their heads in the sand and ignore sustainability will not survive. If you are following, rather than being a market leader, your brand value is at risk. Jez Frampton of Interbrand stressed that if you are not leading your industry, you will get left behind.

2. Doing good: Owen Rogers of IDEO presented some key principles that make a brand sing, including passion, creating a point of view and expressing it honestly, integrating many voices and continuing to evolve. He proposed the idea that what sells and gets people's attention is the idea that if you buy a product, you are doing good and helping to make the world a better place.

3. Authenticity: A common thread was the reminder to walk the talk. If you are going to use sustainability as a product differentiator, be sure you have done all you can to be authentically green. This does not mean you have to be perfect. Consumers want honesty and transparency, not perfection. But with today's social media tools, it only takes a moment on Twitter for someone to accuse you of greenwashing.

4. Innovation: Sustainable brands are about evolution, innovation, movement and possibilities. The final speaker, Lauralee Alben of Alben Design, pushed the mainly corporate audience out of their comfort zone as she spoke about sea change moments-moments that have a deep, profound and lasting transformational impact on your brand. Perhaps it was the reception downstairs calling to folks, or her delivery and language (do they really use the word "sacred" now in the corporate world?), but the audience started to slowly dwindle during her presentation.

Sustainable brands influence behavior and choices, generate demand and increase brand value by integrating sustainability. They are about bringing people together, encouraging conversations and looking at issues in the broadest context possible. Speakers used a variety of companies to illustrate their points, ranging from Starbucks, IBM, Nokia, Patagonia and New Leaf Paper.