ABSTRACT
As social media usage grew, so did people’s awareness of, identification with, and vocal advocating of a range of social issues such as diversity in the workplace, health and well-being, and self-esteem or lack thereof – in particular with young women. Many companies had struggled with the best way to talk about sustainability in the past: climate change was a tough topic to show leadership on while recycling and reducing waste were not exactly the sexy topics that excited the marketing and consumer public relations departments. Diversity, health and self-esteem were issues all consumers could relate to, however, and offered companies a way of connecting and demonstrating their authenticity through proven actions and programmes. This chapter explores the ways companies embraced social sustainability – particularly addressing the crisis in young female self-esteem and the dearth of females in technology. In doing so it highlights the work of brands like Dove and Always as well as Microsoft, Verizon and LEGO.
