Tim Stübane Horizont

The election campaign for the upcoming federal election on Sunday was not really green. Yet there are no more essential issues for our future than climate protection and sustainability. Tim Stübane, creative director of the agency The Goodwins, which specializes in sustainable brand communication, is convinced of this. In his Talking Head column, he explains why it’s more important than ever to promote sustainable consumption and usher in a new age of advertising, especially as the fateful election and global climate targets approach.

The federal election is coming, just a few days away. We all seem to be looking forward to it more than in previous years. The election of fate. The election that will decide how we and our children and grandchildren will live in the future. But no matter how the election turns out, it is already lost. Even if the Greens become the strongest force, it will be difficult to get us on the 1.5-degree path. Even the Greens’ election program is still too lax to bring about the necessary change quickly enough. After all, we are increasingly data-driven in our industry and make decisions based on numbers. If we now also follow science in its climate forecasts and causalities, what would be a consequential behavior? A somewhat snotty suggestion: Just do it yourself, and it will be fine! And in our industry, we have an incredibly powerful lever in our hands: communication, through which we can influence consumption decisions.

“With our consumption, we make our crosses with companies that make an effort to be sustainable - or with companies that are on a business-as-usual trip.”

Consumption is one of our great cultural techniques and it's not going away anytime soon, don't worry. Not even through bans. But we will have to consume in a much different way than before. And we will have to use communication to convince other people to join in. It must be clear to all of us that we already vote dozens of times every day. By clicking on the “buy now” button and reaching for the shelf. That, too, is democracy! With our consumption, we place our crosses with companies that strive for sustainability - or with companies that are on a business-as-usual trip. With our choice, we not only control the economy in Germany, but also the entire world due to interlinked supply chains.

For 65 percent of people, environmental and climate protection remains a top priority despite Corona (source: German Federal Environment Agency). However, we still behave too inconsistently far too often. If we were to act in the interests of our planet and thus our own future, there should be mainly sustainable products around us. Obviously, we are not yet that far.

Well, it is also complex and confusing what is happening right now. Climate change, transport change, energy change, agricultural change, food change ... The world is changing and brands are changing with it.

For the media industry, it’s driving innovation: we’re starting to see brands act both ecologically and socially, we’re developing the first climate-neutral campaigns, new media products like the Green GRP are emerging, and communication geared to sustainability arguments is becoming increasingly important.

This is because people are increasingly looking for guidance: 69.8 percent of people consider organic or Fairtrade labels important. In the case of clothing, 57.8 percent pay attention to corresponding indications, and in the case of furniture, 55.3 percent (source: IUBH). The problem is that there are over 200 of them in Europe alone (source: EU). They all have different high standards, but in part they mean nothing more than greenwashing. And there will be more labels. Oatly, Frosta, Mymuesli and Nestlé now come with a climate label that shows how much CO2 and other greenhouse gases are produced in the manufacturing process. Veganz has gone even further with its Eaternity label, which shows a product’s entire eco-balance.

“We have the power to decide the success and failure of products - let’s use it! Let's make sustainable products sexy, let’s make them pop culture.”

To provide optimal guidance and build trust, uniformity, independence and a high standard of certification must be ensured. This is where the EU wants to step in and create facts. That’s good, as long as it doesn’t lead to an explosion of bureaucracy and costs for the innovative companies, some of which are quite small.

However, we should not regard the job as done. On the contrary, our communicative task must be to bring people along with us in the global process of change. We must use communication to inspire and convince them to consume sustainable products. We have the power to decide on the success or failure of products - let’s use it! Let’s make sustainable products sexy, let’s make them pop culture. We have to take responsibility for the content we develop and transport in terms of the direction we use it to influence consumption.

Is this the advertising turnaround? I would like it to be.