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This week is the 45th anniversary of Earth Day, and its celebration is accompanied by the hopes of tens of millions of people that this is the moment when sustainability and economic growth find a real balance. According to the experts, to be successful, everyone – including brands – must commit to a low carbon future.
For brands, simply playing in the environmental awareness arena as part of a CSR public relations campaign isn’t really an option anymore. Brands must do it in ways that meaningfully support a sustainable future palpable to the consumer.
And as the number of companies trying to co-opt the environmental movement for their brands have grown, so too have the number of skeptical consumers. Most consumers have heard such promises before and – in the face of increased expectations – have begun to demand authenticity. They understand that the technology exists, and more and more consumers feel that all brands need is the will to make it so.
To borrow a phrase from the Wizard of Oz, consumers want brands to be "morally, ethically, spiritually, physically, positively, absolutely, undeniably and reliably" green. And of the 550 brands included in the Brand Keys 2015 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index® (CLEI) , here are the top 50 brands deemed authentically "green" by their customers. They are presented alphabetically since environmental demands and consumer expectations are category specific.
1. Acer
2. Adidas
3. Air Canada
4. Amazon.com
5. Apple
6. AT&T
7. Aveda
8. Avis
9. Brother
10. Budget
11. Burt’s Bees
12. Canon
13. Chic-fil-A
14. Chipotle
15. Coke
16. Dell
17. Discover Card
18. Dunkin’
19. Epson
20. Ford
21. Hilton Hotels
22. Home Depot
23. Honda
24. HP
25. Hyundai
26. IBM
27. InterContinental Hotels
28. JetBlue
29. Kohl’s
30. Konica-Minolta
31. Le Pain Quotidian
32. Macy’s
33. McDonald’s
34. New Balance
35. Nike
36. Panera
37. Peet’s
38. Pepsi
39. REI
40. Samsung
41. Starbucks
42. Subway
43. Tom’s of Maine
44. Toyota
45. Under Armour
46. United
47. Walmart
48. Whole Foods
49. Wyndham Hotels
50. Zappos
2015 could be the year in which world leaders finally pass a binding climate change treaty and citizens and corporations divest from fossil fuels and put their sustainability and renewable energy solutions where their wallets are. It turns out that consumers are fiercely loyal to brands that do that.
If you want to put your own ethical and environmental standards to the test, Earth Day Network has a Personal Footprint Calculator, so you can see the impact you’re having on our planet. Click here and take the test: http://www.earthday.org/footprint-calculator
When it comes down to the bottom bottom-line, unlike brand loyalty, it’s just like what environmentalist Wendell Berry said, “The earth is what we all have in common.” Robert Passikoff
President
Brand Keys, Inc.
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