Visualizing green: Showing sustainability in the climate-conscious age

In today’s climate-conscious world, sustainability is no longer considered a niche interest or passing phase. According to iStock’s VisualGPS research, 90% of people worldwide are practicing sustainability on a consistent basis.

As consumers become more environmentally aware, their everyday behaviors around sustainability are shifting — as are their expectations for brands. In order to best meet audiences’ evolving sentiments and lifestyle choices, brands must update their marketing toolkit to better reflect the consumers’ modern eco-conscious ideals.

While campaigns could once rely on pictures of polar bears and shrinking ice caps, those broad, cliché images no longer resonate with consumers. Instead, visual storytelling must take a more granular approach, utilizing visual content that demonstrates sustainable practices in ways that are easy, convenient — and can fit into consumers’ daily lives.

Below are four best practices for brands looking to enhance sustainable-driven visual content, homing in on specific preferences and behaviors of climate-minded consumers: