2008-2011: how do sustainability communications in the Netherlands compare?

When I arrived in the country almost 3 years, I was surprised by the lack of sustainability-related messages in media, especially in comparison to my home country of Canada. This phenomenon was so noticeable to a fellow student and myself that we decided to focus our final MBA thesis project on the topic of sustainability marketing in the Netherlands. Both coming from a North American context, from either side of the 49^th parallel, we were used to seeing sustainability topics present in all forms of marketing and communications. Though quantity does not necessary denote quality (the amount of ‘greenwashing’ in the world tells us there is still needed improvements), we were still interested to find our why there was such a dearth of sustainability coverage on this side of the Atlantic.

Though our final thesis project became primarily focused a range of companies in two industries, it became an interesting point of conversation with our Dutch counterparts, even after our thesis was delivered and defended. We heard all sorts of responses from the average Dutch professional, but they generally fell into two general categories: 1| we aren’t doing enough to talk about or 2| we don’t want to boast. That was almost 3 years ago- and huge changes are noticeable in the Netherlands.

Sustainability communications are becoming more common, as companies decide to communicate to the general public about what they have been doing, instead of just filling it quietly away into an annual corporate social responsibility report. What more, the overall quality of the communications, in terms of authenticity and honesty, at least from this North American’s perspective, seemed to have far surpassed those from my home continent. It could be that the very thing that was holding back Dutch professionals regarding marketing their sustainability initiatives is the very thing that brings an air of authenticity to them. 

Dutch companies are also becoming more committed to the sustainability initiatives, even if they are not yet communicating about them. And the rest of the world is noticing: Dutch organizations are introducing more then their fair share of Cradle-to-Cradle certified products, ISO 26000 (the international guidance on social responsibility) is quickly being integrated into Dutch business strategies and Dutch firms has the most top-ranking companies in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.

As time goes on, there will be even more for Dutch professionals and consumers to celebrate: the sustainability movement in the Netherlands shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. For this North American who is working as a consultant on the topic of sustainability marketing and strategy, the Dutch market just keeps getting more interesting.

Keep up the good work, Holland!

Written by: Stefanie Beninger