Raphael Bemporad’s Sustainability Checklist
During his talk at SB ’15 San Diego, BBMG’s Raphael Bemporad made a startling comment: “For awhile, we’ve been missing a truly aspirational generation.” As he elaborated on what it would take for us to again reach for the proverbial stars, like the Baby Boomers actually did in the 1960s, he hit upon a four-point checklist for achieving aspiration within sustainability practices:
- Abundance Without Waste: Create more experiences/products with fewer resources, replacing the feeling of “we don’t have enough” scarcity.
- Be Truly As You Are: Welcoming imperfection as a beautiful, honest state. “It takes us from controlling conversations to listening to the other party and working on more collaborative solutions,” Bemporad said, citing Everlane’s radical transparency program as an example.
- Get Closer: Connect with people behind a brand’s promises, looking at the customer value of a transaction rather than making the sale. PayPal was cited as a chief practitioner.
- Do It All: Move from a fixed position or way of doing business to a fluid, engaging way in which all can share success “based on our happiness and life choices,” Bemporad said, citing Urban Outfitters as a perfect example.
