Agencies should help set the region's fledgling sustainability agenda

After all, the 'greenwashing' accusation is often only a blog post away.

Even so, sustainability is coming more and more to the fore in the region. It is not just about consumers paying a green premium for certain 'ethical' products; it is just as much about companies showing stakeholders that they are operating a sustainable business. A number of global brands are showing by example, bringing sustainability into the very DNA of what they stand for. Wal-Mart's sustainability index is an industry leader, measuring sustainability from deep in the supply chain to point of sale,ensuring best practice from suppliers and other partners and allowing consumers to make the most informed choices. Closer to home, Proctor & Gamble, another global leader in sustainable practices, is bringing its efforts to Asia through a combination of products, operations and CSR programmes.

Agencies also have an important role to play and some have already taken the first steps. Havas Media, for example, has for the last four years been running its global Sustainable Futures report to analyse, track and compare the effect of sustainability programmes on brand equity for a number of leading brands. Elsewhere, Aegis Media has shown a strong commitment to environmental issues, acquiring the sustainability agency Clownfish in 2008 and opening a China
office shortly after.

But despite these efforts, there is nobody from the agency side that can lay claim to setting the sustainability agenda in the region. Ogilvy Earth is an example of a cross-network initiative that could become the agency model. However, this operation is still very quiet in Asia, although it should be noted that it only launched last year.

The argument that marketers need to concentrate more on what the industry essentially exists for - selling - may have been valid in last year's recessionary economy, but this is now starting to sound hollow. As outlined above, some of the largest brands and retailers are increasingly demanding change. Likewise, agencies are already entering pitches where clients are asking for their sustainability credentials. The time is right for agencies and clients to show the courage needed and become the pace setters in what could eventually be a lucrative source of good will - not to mention revenue.

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This article was originally published in the 3 June 2010 issue of Media.