While certifications is one way for brands to communicate to consumers what they stand-for, partnerships with certain organizations also help communicate sustainability by association. The ideal is to create win-win situations where the organizations mutually benefit each other. An arguably successful example comes to mind- Coca Cola and WWF. While the partnership generates positive PR for Coca Cola, WWF also becomes more powerful as together they are able to influence local policy makers. More recently WWF has partnered with Bosch, a German multinational that produces automotive parts as well as different types of household appliances. I found this partnership very strange. I can see how Coca Cola’s water resource consumption makes sense to partner with WWF. But the partnership between Bosch and WWF is one that makes me scratch my head.
The two have created a #KnowYourSeafood campaign in hopes to promoting more sustainable consumption of seafood in Singapore, one of the biggest consumers of seafood in the world. The campaign includes a series of cooking videos featuring Bosch chef ambassadors to prepare popular dishes with sustainable seafood varieties. Within these videos, the chefs also share tips to help consumers make more responsible choices when cooking seafood dishes. I know that currently MSC, Marine Stewardship Council is the by far the more prominent label and partnership when it comes to sustainable seafood. I question whether MSC would’ve been a better choice of partnership. With Bosch’s extensive product offerings in machinery, they have already turned to remanufacturing as a means to close the loop. While partnerships with WWF sparks an important conversation in the seafood industry, I think as a brand sustainability marketing strategy, partnerships with an organization like Cradle to Cradle would make more sense.
What are you thoughts? Have you come across any interesting partnership choices?