Elisa Niemtzow leads BSR’s global consumer sectors practice, working with companies in the retail, beauty, fashion, luxury, hospitality, and food industries to integrate sustainability into core business strategy, products, and operations. She helps companies use business assets to solve global challenges, evolve brand strategy to integrate changing consumer expectations, and partner with stakeholders to create more resilient and inclusive business practices. Niemtzow also leads BSR’s Sustainable Lifestyles Frontier Group and Responsible Luxury Initiative and sits on the Multistakeholder Advisory Committee of the UN’s 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production. Prior to joining BSR, she was Principal at Sequoia Lab, where she advised leaders of corporations, startups, and NGOs on sustainability strategy and communications.
Traditionally, brands have appealed to consumers based on factors such as functional, price, or social benefits. Today, savvy marketers get that connecting with consumers’ core values creates long-term loyalty and gives brands the opportunity to engage citizens in positive change. Brands focused on sustainability have an opportunity to reach consumers based on values like self-esteem, equality, diversity, social progress, and environmental stewardship. Leading brands have been able to translate those connections into real action: inspiring consumers to embrace more responsible or sustainable practices. Join us to explore the interaction between purpose and sustainability, the business case for more purpose-driven strategies, and leading practices around integrating purpose into brand strategy and marketing.
Up to 80 percent of a product’s sustainability impacts are determined at the design stage—which makes design a crucial initial step in achieving sustainability goals. How can companies reinvent their product development and innovation processes to incorporate sustainability and circular economy principles? How can companies create ownership for sustainability and circularity among their design teams? We’ll explore challenges and share leading practices to help more companies integrate sustainable design into new products.
