Interest in Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) set by the Untied Nations is growing stronger in Japan. We see this trend manifesting in the number of Japanese organizations taking an interest making their business sustainable. It is no longer just a fancy term, but marks the change in consumption patterns of consumers.
Sustainable Brands 2019 Tokyo was held on March 6 and 7 2019 at the Hilton Tokyo Odaiba. The event was organised to create awareness and educate businesses on the importance of creating a sustainable business, and help them build a brand that will appeal to their sustainability-conscious customers. The event also saw numerous panelists sharing their experience and success with sustainability.
The Zenbird team had the fortunate opportunity to cover Sustainable Brands Tokyo 2019. We have handpicked some of the best sessions from the event and outlined them for you.
4 lessons from Sustainable Brands 2019
- You, the leader who will shape the future of sustainable shopping
- How the sharing economy can support sustainable businesses
- Redefining local values through Sustainable Development Goals
- Uncovering Japan-only solutions to sustainable consumption
You, the leader who will shape the future of sustainable shopping
Even though businesses are making the effort to be sustainable, we mustn’t forget the other player in this – customers. For sustainable shopping to be part of everyone’s lives, we need a mindset change.
For that to happen, our speakers shared three important aspects. Firstly, an awareness that we need to be aware of sustainability. Next, we need to find areas to adopt better buying habits. Finally, businesses need to make consuming sustainable products and services convenient and attractive.
Read more about sustainable shopping here
How the sharing economy can support sustainable businesses
A sustainable business needs to be profitable. Yes, the business is doing something good for the society or country, but it doesn’t mean it needs to operate like an non-profit organisation.
In this session, our speakers shared why we should think about this from a different angle. Instead of thinking about how to make a profit, they shared how focusing on building a community is effective in creating social impact. Find out how communities and sharing economies have helped sustainable businesses grow.
Find out more about sharing economies and sustainability here
Redefining local values through Sustainable Development Goals
One of the obstacles that local regions in Japan face is finding an attractive point to bring in people against depopulation. Another would to be to revive the local economy.
But now we may have a solution. Since the SDGs are gaining more traction and attention, then it is an opportunity that we can tap on. Learn from this session’s speakers as they share how they have adopted goal 11 of the SDGs to discover new value and build strong communities and relationships.
Discover new appeals using SDGs here
Uncovering Japan-only solutions to sustainable consumption
We need to realize that the path to sustainable consumption already exist in Japan. So there is no need to look to other countries to mimic their solutions.
One important aspect is the culturally embedded feeling of “mottainai” in Japanese society. It is a feeling of “dislike of waste”, but it can also be “to seek value”. It is also not found in other societies, thus making it a uniquely Japanese aspect. These are the solutions Japan can tap on.