World’s best known companies launch new digital media platform to make sustainable living the new normal
“Collectively” is a new global digital platform designed to scale up sustainable innovation and inspire action
A coalition of the world’s biggest companies, media partners and non-profits is today launching a global digital media platform to drive global conversation and action on sustainability.
The new platform, called Collectively, will celebrate and connect the people, places and cutting-edge ideas that are shaping the future. It will focus on giving a global stage to audiences who are already starting to make life choices that strengthen societies, as well as minimising their environmental impact. Their desire for workplaces, brands and organisations that align with those values helped inspire this collaboration. Collectively’s ultimate aim is to try and make this kind of more sustainable living the new normal.
It was sparked by discussions at the World Economic Forum about how to inspire and accelerate more sustainable ways of living. Unilever, BT Group, The Coca-Cola Company, Marks & Spencer and Carlsberg came together to sponsor Collectively in response and have since been joined by over 20 other leading multinational companies including Google, Facebook, Nike, PepsiCo, Nestlé and WPP. The leading sponsor companies want to broaden the coalition to include more NGOs, youth organisations and other brands and are inviting others to join the movement.
Collectively is designed to enable audiences to act more sustainably in whatever way they can – from buying, investing and campaigning to sharing an idea they believe in. It represents a unique new approach to the way businesses engage consumers on sustainability, and Collectively sponsors hope it will grow the marketplace for sustainable products and services.
The platform has been developed alongside VICE Media’s creative services division, VIRTUE, global sustainability non-profit Forum for the Future, and Purpose, leaders in building social movements.
Collectively will be updated daily by an independent editorial team with stories, information and solutions from the worlds of fashion, food, design, architecture, technology and more. The platform’s audience will also be encouraged to submit ideas for the channel around a series of themes that will be regularly refreshed such as future foodies and the smartest city. Only highly engaging stories with the potential to create positive change will be featured.
Will Gardner, CEO, Collectively, said:
“Encouraging people to choose to live, work and play sustainably on a scale that will genuinely make a difference is one of the world’s biggest challenges. We hope to change that through Collectively. It’s a place to share stories, inspire each other and create the change we need to see in the world.
“Collectively brings together some of the world’s biggest companies, non-profits and leading thinkers because we believe that together we can achieve much more, much faster.”
Keith Weed, Chief Marketing and Communication Officer, Unilever, said:
“What makes Collectively unique is the first-of-its-kind coalition that sits behind it. Some of the world’s leading brands and multinational companies – many of who are usually keen competitors – have put aside their differences in recognition of the fact this is an issue that demands collective action.
“This is a new approach to engaging consumers on the topic of sustainability and we want as many other partners, from big brands to social entrepreneurs, to join the conversation.”
Bea Perez, Coca-Cola’s Chief Sustainability Officer, said:
“There’s a powerful and unifying passion building in people to make a difference with their lives. Collectively offers a platform to bring together innovative thinking and best practices from around the world to inspire millennials to channel that passion into action.”
For more information on Collectively visit http://collectively.org/en/.
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Notes to Editors
For more details contact: Golin: Shona Inglis / Melissa Mackreath / Thomas Parker +44 (0) 20 7067 0619 / +44 (0) 20 7067 0876 / +44 (0) 207 067 0288 [email protected]
About Collectively The original idea for Collectively was sparked by discussions at the World Economic Forum about how to inspire and accelerate the shift towards a more sustainable way of life. Collectively’s leading sponsors include Unilever, The Coca-Cola Company, Marks & Spencer, BT Group and Carlsberg. The platform has been developed by VICE Media’s Creative Services arm, in partnership with sustainable innovation experts Forum for the Future, and Purpose, who bring expertise in building social movements.
Follow Collectively: facebook.com/collectively twitter.com/_collectively instagram.com/_collectively youtube.com/collectively collectively.tumblr.com
Collectively Sponsors: Audi; BT Group; C&A Foundation; Carlsberg; Diageo; Facebook; General Mills; Google; Havas; IPG; Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies; Kingfisher; Lenovo; Marks & Spencer; McDonalds; Medialink; Microsoft; Nestlé; Nike; Omnicom; PepsiCo; Philips; SABMiller; Salesforce; The Coca Cola Company; The Dow Chemical Company; Twitter; Unilever; WPP.
With special thanks to: VICE Media’s in-house creative services division, VIRTUE; Forum for the Future; Purpose