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8Let Me Tell You a Story: The Responsible Marketing of Responsible Sourcing

“The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, values, and agenda of an entire generation that is to come.”

– Steve Jobs

With consumer support at stake and brands fighting each other tooth and nail for a space in the market, corporations are leveraging their sustainability practices, including responsible sourcing, to change the way they present themselves to their audience. James Walker, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Baltimore office of global public relations agency Weber Shandwick, confirms:

The communications industry has noted the rise of the ethical consumer for quite some time, and this shift in consumer expectations has been a net positive because it has provided senior communications leaders a seat at the decision‐making table. In recent years, strategic communications leaders have been able to demonstrate the value of thoughtful brand‐level communications, married with strong responses to ongoing social issues and reputation management. Good public relations practitioners have saved brands and businesses at large, and giving communications teams more authority in the creation of authentic messaging around impact has prevented several organizations from being in the hot seat to begin with.

In other words, just as we saw with Polman's strategy at Unilever, communications play a critical role in determining the success of ...