Sustainability is like love

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On a recent tour of prospective colleges with my daughter I was taken aback by her sudden declaration, “Dad, this is it!” Since she had yet to see the campus, I asked, “Honey, how do you know?” She replied, “Dad, it’s like love, sometimes you just can’t explain it.”

If I put aside the shock of this moment, I have to give my daughter credit for maturity beyond her 17 years. When it comes to love, sometimes you just can’t explain it because love is better demonstrated than articulated. I would assert that the same goes for sustainability. When it comes to explaining your sustainable business practices, actions speak louder than words. And yet there are times when we must attempt to express, through words, our sustainable nature. I would advise that those words are chosen carefully.

Too often we encounter companies that use the word “sustainable” as a marketing term and not as a true expression of their company DNA. If you look deeper you’ll discover that the words they use to describe their brand attributes and to differentiate their product or service are just marketing speak or what some refer to as “green washing.”

A few years ago I planned to meet with a prospective client at a natural and organic products trade show. We’d had a couple of preliminary phone conversations and this was the first opportunity for us to meet face-to-face. He began describing the unique nature of his product line, which he attributed to the fact that he sourced his key ingredients directly from small, fair-trade certified sustainable farming operations in Brazil’s rainforest. He explained that the key ingredients found there were far more potent, and therefore more effective, than those found elsewhere. Then he said something that literally dumbfounded me. “With my business growing like it is, I’ve had to find other sources outside Brazil’s rainforest for my key ingredients.” Here comes the real shocker, “ . . . but it really doesn’t matter because all of my competitors are lying about where they source their ingredients just to create a good PR story. That’s what I need — a good PR story. Can you help me create one?” Our answer was “No.”

This is an example where actions truly spoke louder than words. The action was to mislead the public intentionally with false product claims. This he justified because he believed all his competitors were doing it and he was entitled to do the same.

If for no other reason — and there better be a lot of other reasons — what you say must match what you do because the true nature of your sustainability claims will be revealed. Whether it’s discovered by a competitor, the media or by a consumer using the power of the Internet, it will be known. If you don’t believe me, ask Toyota, ask Tiger Woods. Ask them how easy it is to believe that you are getting away with it and it really doesn’t matter, only to have the deception exposed and to learn that it really matters very much.

With your words aligned with your actions, make sure the words you choose to use to explain your sustainable practices are easy to understand — no industry jargon or slang and absolutely no hyperbole. Don’t attempt to win the Pulitzer Prize with dazzling prose. Tell a story — a short, relevant, truthful, easy to read and easier to understand story. After all, what makes more sense to you, “I love you” or this dazzling prose from William Shakespeare, “One half of me is yours, the other half yours-Mine own, I would say; but if mine, then yours, and so all yours.” Shakespeare’s language is eloquent, but it can be a bit daunting or confusing as can your industry jargon or slang.

When it comes to sustainability, like love, what you say must be relevant and it must be backed up unconditionally by your actions. However, first love, unlike true sustainability, can be fleeting. My daughter now is leaning toward attending a rival college.

Craig Ostbo is a Principal and Senior Brand and Marketing Strategist at Koopman Ostbo Marketing Communications (on Twitter @KoopmanOstbo) in Portland. He can be reached at: 503-223-2168 or craig@koopmanostbo.com.