Brand Trust & Communications
Keeping brand trust high and staying in control of communications
Brand perception is indirectly exposed to climate and nature risks through increasing visibility of environmental impacts and their social consequences. In most markets, climate-related events (e.g., flooding, heatwaves, and resource shortages) can heighten public awareness of sustainability issues, retailers’ and businesses’ responsibilities, shaping expectations of companies, retail brands, and their role in society. Stakeholder sensitivity to brand credibility is increasing across all markets, but manifests differently.
In some markets, consumers, investors, and regulators are highly responsive to environmental performance, transparency, and perceived “greenwashing” due to greater access to information and formal accountability mechanisms. In other markets, trust is closely linked to product affordability, reliability, and social impact (e.g., support for farmer income, community resilience), with growing but uneven awareness of environmental claims. In both contexts, inconsistencies between stated commitments and actual practices can quickly erode trust.
Vulnerabilities
What could affect brand trust & communications?
The climate and nature pressures on brand trust & communications.
Climate and nature-related hazards such as extreme weather events, resource stress, and environmental degradation increase the visibility and salience of sustainability issues across the markets. These hazards often heighten public scrutiny of business environmental performance and accelerate expectations for transparency and accountability.
Where communities may experience more direct impacts on livelihoods and living conditions, these hazards can shape perceptions of whether businesses are contributing positively to local resilience or exacerbating environmental pressures. Increasing exposure to climate impacts strengthens the link between environmental performance and brand perception.
Where do brand trust risks lie?
How exposed brand trust & communications are to climate and nature risks.
Exposure to brand trust and communications risk is shaped by the visibility and traceability of a retailer’s operations, supply chains, and public commitments. Exposure is often driven by formal disclosure requirements, active media landscapes and stakeholder scrutiny of sustainability claims.
Exposure may intensify through community-level interactions, supply chain impacts and growing digital connectivity that increases transparency. Reliance on complex, global supply chains and prominent sustainability messaging can increase exposure, particularly where operations extend into regions with higher environmental or social risks.
How dependent are businesses on brand trust & communications?
Why does inconsistent messaging and limited transparency quickly erode brand trust.
Consumers, investors, and regulators are highly sensitive to issues such as greenwashing, ethical sourcing, and environmental integrity, with rapid responses enabled by access to information and advocacy networks.
While awareness of environmental claims is growing, sensitivity is often more closely linked to trust in product quality, affordability, and tangible social impact, such as employment and community outcomes. Inconsistent messaging, limited transparency, and weak governance structures increase the risk that trust is quickly eroded.
How could disruption spread through brand trust?
What are the wider business impacts of losing brand trust.
Erosion of brand trust can have significant and wide-ranging impacts across markets. Impacts often include loss of brand equity, reduced customer loyalty, heightened regulatory scrutiny and potential investor concern. Loss of trust can more directly affect purchasing decisions, particularly where brands are closely associated with access to essential goods or local livelihoods.
Reputational damage can reduce market share, constrain growth opportunities and increase the cost and complexity of communications, requiring greater investment in transparency, assurance and stakeholder engagement to rebuild credibility.
Solutions
How can businesses keep brand trust high and stay in control of communications?
Examples of business adaptations and responses
Decathlon
Zalando
Replacing broad sustainability labels with specific product information
