Sustainable Marketing In India: How Well Do Brands Listen To Consumers?

Suniet Bezbaroowa Mar 02, 2023

Sustainable, green or social marketing is increasingly being bandied around today as a topic of discussion at corporate boardrooms and investor coffee table conversations, to a large extent a result of a heightened sense of urgency about preserving the environment amid the global fight against climate change and global warming.

But it would be too narrow a scope to limit sustainable marketing to just the fight against climate change. Indeed, while the impact of sustainability and social-conscious business practices on future generations and especially on the most vulnerable and underserved communities cannot be underscored enough, there is ample empirical evidence today to suggest that an approach to marketing with sustainability at its heart can have a significant impact on brand equity and consumer behavior.

Any broad assessment of the theories of sustainability reveals the close correlation between sustainable marketing (green marketing, social marketing, and CSR), brand equity and consumer behaviour.

Several studies also indicate that sustainable marketing has a positive effect on branding because it enhances a brand’s equity. A brand’s enhanced equity comprises a good brand image and awareness, which affects consumer behavior to some degree.

With that broad context in place, let’s look at how this window of opportunity has been surely but steadily opening up. Consider this. London-based data analytics and brand consulting company Kantar meanwhile stated in a 2021 study that: “77 per cent of Indian consumers are willing to invest time and money supporting companies that do good, while 66 per cent have stopped buying products and services that have a negative impact on the environment and society,” adding that “in fact 74 per cent are already factoring in sustainability concerns, at least once in a while, when making purchase decisions”.

Indeed, consumers are increasingly the key here as they become more and more aware of the role that businesses and governments must play, holding them accountable for affirmative action.

This is in many ways what consumers want from their preferred brands, calling out the need to play more meaningful roles and shape a narrative that is more central to the way we work, play and live in the aftermath of probably the biggest humanitarian crises to hurt humanity in the last century, amid the always-on acceleration of climate change events around the world.

My own experiences as a brand marketing and communications professional in the consulting industry for close to two decades have allowed be several instances to witness a steadily growing recognition of the need for a socially-conscious sustainable marketing strategy among both marquee global brands as well as their consumers/customers.

We’ve seen how Amazon, for instance, speaks about green sourcing which is what it calls giving customers products that are more sustainable, complete with sustainability certifications through its climate pledge-friendly program.

The Tata Consumer Products’s (TCPL) “Flavours of Sustainability 2019-20” report states how group brand Tata Tea’s campaign has a deep focus on creating climate-resilient supply chains.

Tata Tea is a fine example of a large Indian conglomerate taking the lead while taking a longer-term view of how to invest and market sustainability. The company has formed a collaboration with partners such as Ethical Tea Partnership, Tata Trusts and Tea Research Association with the goal to help tea farmers and producers increase their resilience to this impact. Farmers are trained on a range of sustainable agricultural practices that would bear fruit in the short, medium and long term.

Yet, despite some great sustainable marketing and brand campaigns last year, such campaigns have been few and far. Consumers on the other hand—armed with greater access to knowledge and skills delivered by rapid digitisation—are relentless in demanding more transparency and are quick to call out greenwashing.

In a survey report published in April 2022, the Boston Consulting Group found that there has been a broad recognition among companies about climate risks and the need to set sustainability goals.

The report, “Readiness of Indian Industries towards Climate Change Guidelines of COP26” found that there is a wide variance among companies when it comes to their climate ambitions although more and more organisations are moving to comply with regulations and have plans to mirror India’s climate commitments at COP26. “Companies also know only too well”, as the survey report states, “that embracing sustainability helps attract investments, create new investment opportunities, attract better talent and reduce regulatory interventions. They are also increasingly driven by consumer demand for more sustainable products. As consumer awareness increases about climate change, they’re more likely to demand and be willing to pay a premium for sustainable alternatives.”

For Indian marketing and brand storytelling leaders, there is but one truth that has stood the test of time: brands must listen to their consumers and what they want. The truth today is that consumers do not just want sustainable products, but are also willing to spend the time to decide or to pay a premium for them.