DIRECTIONS 2012
SALTERBAXTER
WHAT
DO YOU
STAND FOR?
Purpose is not just the words on
the ‘About Us’ page of a corporate
website. But those words are an
important starting point for
efforts to communicate purpose.
W
e took a look at the purpose
statements of the Top 50 Green
Brands from Interbrand’s 2012
survey, hoping to find some inspiration.
Here are our favourites in no specific order,
and our thoughts on them.
There is no one standard way for
a company to express its purpose. Where
a company has a mission and a vision, we
have tended to use the mission, as this is
more about what the company is actually
doing in the world, rather than what it would
like the world to be like.
Are green companies better at
purpose? We also compared the purpose
statements of the Interbrand Top 50 with
the Top 50 of the Fortune 500 – and in both
lists, half of them had a mention of
sustainability or social purpose. So those
companies that are ‘greenest’ do not make
more of this in their purpose than other
companies.
The key differentiator for all of these
statements is that you can see how they
are translated into the real world – through
products, through advertising, through
actions. Some of them mention the how,
some the what. Interestingly, none of them
incorporate the why.
NINTENDO
This one has shades of Disney about it
(Disney’s is ‘To make people happy’).
It is very human, tangible and simple.
Note that this is Nintendo’s definition
of their social responsibility, rather than
their corporate mission – which is very
corporate. Room for integration.
GE
This is a very action-driven statement. It is
full of verbs. It is specific about the areas
that the company is working in. It leaves you
with the impression that GE is working hard
to fulfil its purpose. That this is a company
that you can trust.
www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/service/
csr_report_12107.html
This is not explicitly labelled as a purpose
– but it is the introduction to the company on
the ‘Company’ page of the website
AVON
COCA-COLA
It’s a mission that fizzes like a freshly
opened bottle of Coke. It goes a little flat
towards the end with the over-used phrase
‘make a difference’. But it is a purpose that
is clearly expressed through the brand.
www.thecoca-colacompany.com/
ourcompany/mission_vision_values.html
It’s a good starting point that Avon stands
for something. Their commitment to women
is evidenced throughout the company’s
history, with a recent example being Avon’s
efforts to bring their representatives in
South Africa out of poverty. This clear,
positive statement stands in contrast to
the official vision of the company, which is
‘to be the company that best understands
and satisfies the product, service and
self-fulfillment needs of women – globally’.
This feels more like another example of
corporate speak.
On the ‘About’ page of www.avoncompany.com
6
STARBUCKS
STARBU
IKEA
IKEA’s simple vision is clearly expressed
through the business – and leaves it room
to expand into new areas such as housing
and hotels, anticipating recent strategy
announcements. The slightly odd phrasing
of ‘the many people’ seems to work, giving
it a distinctive Nordic feel, and emphasising
the affordable nature of its products.
The Sta
Starbucks mission might seem as
cloying as a vanilla latte, but its heart is
nitely in the right place. The focus on
definite
community as well as the individual is
the com
clearly evident in their stores. And talking
about tthe human spirit adds a different
dimension.
dimens
www.starbucks.co.uk/about-us/companyinformation/mission-statement
CATERPILLAR
TERPILLAR
Not the most inspiring language, but
Caterpillar’s purpose links the company
to economic growth, giving the machines
that they make a bigger purpose. And it
clearly makes reference to social and
environmental purpose as well. It’s a
mission that would benefit from being
moved from the sustainability section of
the website to the main ‘Company’ section.
www.ikea.com/ms/en_GB/about_ikea/
our_business_idea/index.html
www.caterpillar.com/sustainability/
vision-mission-strategy
JOHNSON & JOHNSON
This purpose manages to exude warmth
in a small number of words, by combining
addressing the big picture with concern for
the individual.
www.jnj.com/connect/about-jnj
NIKE
Nike’s belief that everyone is an athlete is
inspirational in itself. And their commitment
to innovation is clearly evident throughout
the business, with ideas such as Nike+, and
initiatives such as the Nike GreenXchange.
www.nikeresponsibility.com/report/content/
chapter/business-overview
What are your favourite purpose statements? Which are the ones that
inspire you, that we can all learn from? Which ones make you cringe?
Please share them with us on our purpose website:
salterbaxter.com/purpose
7