Bookended by Massive Environmental Disasters, Millennials Want Proof of Sustainability

Consumers, and Millennials specifically, have clearly set a precedent: they want sustainability to be top-of-mind for brands when it comes to achieving their business goals, according to social media software provider Digimind Inc. They’re willing to pay more for sustainable products, but first, they expect to see proof of a sustainability mindset, Digimind CEO Mohammed El Haddar told Environmental Leader.

A “great example” of a company driving business results with their sustainability efforts is when Gap announced the company’s plans to cut water use by 10 billion liters by 2020, says El Haddar. “When Digimind measured the share of voice of US retailers by ‘mentions’ in relation to sustainability efforts, Gap dominated the US market with a 78% share of voice in Digimind’s upcoming Women’s Fashion Industry Report,” he says. With consumers making it clear that they want the brands they engage with to keep sustainability top-of-mind, and with their obvious preference for communicating via social media, “brands would be wise to vocalize their efforts on these platforms, too,” El Haddar told us. “The brands that promote sustainability efforts on social can see actual business results.”

Why Pinpoint Millennials, Exactly?

According to Digimind, 73% of Millennials are willing to pay more for sustainable products, but only if they’re convinced that the products are truly sustainable – and that the companies behind them behave in a sustainable manner, as well.

“Created in the timespan roughly bookended by the Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon environmental disasters, Millennials are naturally skeptical of companies large and small regarding their claims,” says El Haddar. Eighty-one percent of Millennials say they expect companies to publicly declare their social responsibility, and furthermore, they want proof of follow-through on those sustainability claims. “Those proof points are most easily provided on social,” El Haddar says.