ESG Era Influencer Marketing: Navigating Sustainability Trends

With the rise of environmental awareness, many brands have begun to introduce green products in an effort to mitigate the harmful effects of environmental changes such as carbon emissions and resource wastage. To balance brand management with environmental sustainability, companies have started adhering to ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) indicators to achieve sustainable development goals. This trend has led to many brands leveraging the influence of influencers via influencer marketing, aiming to create greater business opportunities.

What is ESG?

In 2004, the concept of ESG was first mentioned in the “Who Cares Wins” report published by the United Nations. ESG serves as a crucial framework for evaluating corporate development, where ESG investment assesses a company’s effectiveness in sustainable development across three dimensions: environmental protection, social responsibility, and corporate governance.

E (Environmental): Encompasses aspects such as climate change, carbon emissions, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste pollution management.

S (Social): Includes considerations related to supply chain management, working environments, and product safety.

G (Governance): Involves aspects of internal corporate management, corporate ethics, and financial security.

What are the benefits of brands investing in ESG?

1. ESG enhances brand image

When it comes to product marketing, establishing a positive brand image is key to convincing consumers. Investing in ESG can significantly enhance a brand’s image and deepen consumers’ affinity towards it.

2. Facilitates expansion into international markets

Given the varying legal frameworks across countries, brands investing in ESG indicators can compel themselves to uphold sustainability practices both internally and externally. This encourages companies to adopt more rigorous internal regulations, making it easier for them to comply with environmental regulations in different countries.

3. Attracts consumers and investors

According to PwC’s “2023 Global Consumer Insights Pulse Survey,” consumers are willing to spend an additional 5% on sustainable products, indicating a growing environmental consciousness among consumers and their willingness to support brands with higher prices. Moreover, companies with sustainability initiatives typically have long-term goals. They not only enhance corporate governance but also emphasize business ethics and social benefits, thereby attracting investors to inject funds into their company.

Successful Case Studies of Sustainable Brand Management

Example one

The sustainable fashion brand FYNE in Taiwan utilizes 100% recyclable PET material, which can be recycled from buttons to fabrics. FYNE launched the “Foolproof Plan” in collaboration with FamilyMart convenience stores, inviting the public to send unwanted clothes to FamilyMart for recycling and receive bonus rewards. This initiative not only establishes a clothing recycling system but also enhances brand reputation through increased public participation. Through the successful implementation of this program, FYNE achieved effective brand marketing.

Example two

The Taiwan-based eco-friendly beauty brand, Greenvines, has been awarded the “Best for the World” award for five consecutive years. They have set a goal to achieve “Credible Net Zero” by 2025 and are striving towards a “Zero Waste” objective.

Recently, Greenvines collaborated with the women-focused media platform, “Womanist,” to produce and broadcast a podcast. They invited influencer 莫羊子, known for advocating “minimalist living,” to share lifestyle insights through the podcast as part of their influencer marketing strategy to promote their products.

The “Counter-Influence” Wave Driven by Esg Sustainability Practices

The social issues brought up by the counter-influence movement

The rise of counter-influence trends can be attributed in part to changes in the broader environment. With the onset of the Russo-Ukrainian War, two major countries that are key suppliers of raw materials and food faced shortages in resources and supplies. Additionally, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had a widespread impact on the global economy, leading to inflation and rising global prices. In recent years, there has been increased emphasis on environmental sustainability, prompting the proliferation of counter-influence trends on platforms like TikTok. Many influencers advocate for reducing waste, leading to a growing consciousness among the public for moderate consumption.

With the prevalence of environmental awareness and the intensifying pressure of inflation, the public has become more resource-conscious. Many influencers have also created content related to sustainability in response to this trend. In this climate, brands collaborating with these influencers for their influencer marketing campaign can undoubtedly increase brand visibility and increase green business opportunities.

Sustainable influencers driving brand ESG value opportunities

Many influencers in Taiwan focus on environmental sustainability, advocating for the importance of environmental conservation. “台客劇場” is a prime example of this green initiative. They have organized numerous beach cleaning events. They have led by example to promote environmental sustainability.

The renowned automotive brand TOYOTA implemented the “One Car, One Tree” initiative, which recognized the environmentally friendly image of “台客劇場” as early as 2020. They collaborated to shoot promotional videos along the coastline of Taoyuan, Taiwan. As of August 13, 2023, the video has garnered over 1 million views on Facebook, accompanied by numerous positive comments mentioning 台客劇場. This demonstrates that 台客劇場’s involvement in TOYOTA’s environmental activities has generated significant exposure and positive value.

3 Steps to Find Sustainable Influencers Using AI

Step one

Using the search engine of KOL Radar, we can conduct a preliminary screening of influencers related to environmental sustainability using keywords such as “environmental protection” and “sustainability.”

Step two

After clicking the search button, KOL Radar automatically categorizes posts using AI based on the entered keywords. Brands can easily observe how many posts from influencers match the keywords. This aids in further refining the selection of influencer candidates.

Step three

From the content creation section, brands can review the effectiveness of influencers’ commercial posts and further observe the collaboration patterns of influencers. This helps brands in selecting influencers whose tone aligns with the brands’ values for potential collaboration.

Conclusion

Sustainable practices have become the benchmark for brands to increase corporate value and profitability. Collaborating with environmental influencers for influencer marketing not only increases green business opportunities but also enhances brand value, thereby improving the brand image among the public. Through the KOL Radar platform, brands can easily find suitable influencer candidates and utilize the “Insights Report” feature to evaluate the effectiveness of influencer marketing campaigns by examining post-performance and subsequent activities.

If you would like to know more about influencer marketing, feel free to consult KOL Radar for free at https://www.kolradar.com/en/solution.

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