The specialist studios tackling sustainable goals
We talk to two dedicated studios directly addressing sustainability about why they were set up and whether competitiveness is counterintuitive in this space
“There’s less than 700 working days before scientists say carbon emissions need to start going down fast to avoid the worst,” says Karen Land Short, formerly ECD at Droga5 New York and now the first global ECD of Accenture Song’s Sustainability Studio – a global taskforce pursuing sustainable goals across Accenture Song (recently rebranded from Accenture Interactive) and its clients.
Land Short moved over to Accenture Song, which acquired Droga5 in 2019, earlier this year. It was a position that “was impossible not to accept”, she says. “With climate change, it’s like you see it and then can’t unsee it. There wasn’t a way to go back to ad life per usual.” The fact she had her first child around the same time only deepened her attachment to the work.
The team comprises designers, strategists, creatives, innovators, marketers, specialists, and researchers, whose areas of expertise include circular design, regenerative growth, sustainable brand positioning and storytelling, and products and experiences that are sustainable by design. The coming together of sustainability experts and creative leaders is, she says, “exactly what I believe sustainability needs right now. Solving climate change starts and ends with behaviour change.” The taskforce’s aim is to “boost business value without harming the planet, grow brands with sustainability and relevance arm in arm, and mobilise on people’s growing demand for transparency”.