2023-07-15 15:00:00
It has been a long time since sustainability has become a corporate topic. Sustainability has now become an important criterion to measure the viability of a company.
At the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in 2023, various efforts were made to make the festival sustainable, and such efforts might be seen throughout the venue.
Solar panels installed at the 2023 Cannes Lions venue, separate collection bin, HOPE HydroStation® installed by Dentsu ) Green Publishing: The Lions Daily News, which is distributed daily, is also made of recycled paper without the use of chemicals and is said to be renewable once more.
And because The Water Melon also entered this category as part of Hana Bank’s Money Dream campaign, I became even more interested in winning the prize in this field.
So when did Cannes Lions embrace sustainability?
Drive Action on Sustainability
The Sustainability of Cannes Lions is said to have started in 2016 when former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited Cannes Lions and asked them to create a campaign with the theme of SDGs. With this opportunity, the Cannes Lions Secretariat said that it created the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Lions category in 2018.
ⓒCannes Lions
Since then, Cannes Lions has been in earnest, recognizing and awarding Lions to creative problem-solving, solutions and other initiatives that have a positive impact on the world.
It all dates back to 2015 to be exact. World leaders gathered at the United Nations in 2015 agreed on the following 17 agendas as the sustainable development goals for mankind to be achieved by 2030.
17 Agenda Agreed as Sustainable Development Goals / Source: UN website
SDGs, more than Environmental Sustainability
As seen in the table above, the SDG agenda goes beyond environmental sustainability.
The SDGs Lions group them once more from the 5P perspective and examine how each entry is contributing to and advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Here, the 5Ps are People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnership. In addition, each is further grouped as follows, and entries corresponding to each section and category are received, judged, and awarded.
In this year’s SDGs category, 691 works were submitted, an increase of regarding 11% compared to the previous year, and the entry fee will be used for SDGs projects under consultation with the UN.
The Lions of SDGs
The Cannes Lions Organizing Committee, in collaboration with Parley for the Oceans, creates the Lions Trophy, which is awarded to award-winning works in the SDGs category. A trophy made from recycled fishing nets and plastic waste. These efforts are to change the world in a better direction with Creativity, and further enhance the value of Lions with more tangible and symbolic actions.
Lions Trophy in Cannes Lions SDGs category reflecting sustainability. ©Cannes Lions
Sustainability at the heart of business strategy
2023 Cannes Lions SDGs Ceremony
Dentsu Global CCO (Chief Culture Officer) Jean Lin, Jury President of this year’s SDGs, said regarding the SDGs:
“There should be a clear foundation of how that connection made the SDGs part of the strategy, not just a CSR campaign randomly linked by the brand. The only way to achieve sustainability is to be part of the economic value chain.”
This was understood to mean paying close attention to how genuinely Sustainability was linked to the cause and operation of the business and whether the connection was GREEN-WASHING or not.
※ For reference, it would be more helpful to listen to ‘How Sustainable Business Practices Drive Growth’ held by Dentsu in Cannes.
In 2023, SDGs Lions received 691 works, and a total of 21 Lions were selected. Among them, there were 1 Grand Prix, 2 Gold Awards, 8 Silver Awards and 10 Bronze Awards.
As mentioned earlier, SDGs go beyond environmental sustainability. However, many categories of SDGs Lions overlap with Lions of other categories (Innovation, Titanium, Glass: The Lion for Change, etc.) (so it often happens that one entry wins in multiple categories) and avoids overlap. To this end, I would like to briefly introduce four meaningful award-winning works focused on the Planet section, or environmental sustainability, in the SDGs section.
#1. The Copenhagen Bench: Planet – Climate Action (Shortlisted)
Click to link to video ⓒCannes Lions
Copenhagen Bench was listed in bronze in one category and shortlist in six categories.
When I saw this campaign in the exhibition hall, I might intuitively understand what message it was trying to convey.
Although climate change is the greatest threat facing humanity, until now we have not been able to feel it directly. That’s why former US President Donald Trump called ‘global warming’ a conspiracy theory and didn’t withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement?
It is true that we are also insensitive to climate change unless it is a real threat to us (for example, wildfires, droughts, extreme rains, etc.).
This campaign utilized the Copenhagen bench, a Danish design icon, to help everyone realize climate change. The bench was raised by 85 cm to match the projections of the United Nations Climate Report that sea levels will rise by 2100. The 15 benches made from upcycled metal and recycled wood immediately caught the attention of Danes.
It succeeded in attracting the attention of people and media by showing the results of sea level rise in a visible way. As a result, 8 out of 10 Danes say they believe we are all responsible for climate change in moving towards a sustainable future.
Simple is the ultimate sophistication.
This idea has succeeded in raising awareness regarding climate change in all of us, transcending borders and languages with self-explanatory simplicity. Wouldn’t it be worthwhile just to alert people through creativity? Of course, it would be better if it leads to action.
Cannes Lions displays winning and shortlisted works during the festival for viewing.
#2. Vehicle of Change: Planet- Climate Action (Bronze)
This is the ‘Cake’ case, an eco-friendly bike recently launched in Korea. Cake is a brand exclusively imported and sold by Kolon Mobility Group, a customer of The Water Melon, so I went to the launching event myself. On the spot, I had the opportunity to meet Cake Global CEO Stefan Ytterborn. So this case was even more welcome.
Cake launching event @Apgujeong Flagship Store 2023.4.6 ⓒThe Water Melon
back to the case
Bakkenfall (Fossil freedom – Waterfall) is Europe’s leading energy company. The company’s mission is to completely phase out fossil fuels. They already provide consumers with fossil-free energy and have Europe’s largest electric vehicle charging network. Collaborating with ‘Cake’ was the answer to the request to inspire the automobile industry to change while showing expertise in decarbonization.
In fact, carbon dioxide is not emitted when using an electric vehicle, but during the manufacturing and assembly process, it is said that a greater amount (70%) of carbon dioxide is emitted than gasoline models. So, through Cake, the automobile manufacturing industry wanted to show the industry that it is possible to produce automobiles without fossil fuels.
To this end, it is said that the entire production journey is disclosed and communicated, and all data of the project is disclosed as an open source.
Decarbonize the entire production-chain
CAKE, the only electric bike made to change the way vehicles are manufactured.
A transparent cube was used to rationally explain and emotionally visualize the fact that no exhaust gas is emitted during this production. It expressed the ambition and reality of zero carbon emissions by showing the emission gas becoming zero inside the cube.
And they achieved that goal.
Inspire beyond Industry border
Annika, Head of Sustainability at Battenfall, said:
“The project is more than just building the first fossil-free bike. this project ‘To inspire others to think beyond industry boundaries’no see. And it is regarding working together to find products and solutions that will enable us all to live without fossil fuels in this generation.”
Through Cake, I came to know more clearly that Cannes Lions’ entries have no limits in form.
Creativity knows no boundary!
I hope that all industries will be inspired by Cake and think regarding products, solutions, and production methods for a sustainable future. And on the weekend, why don’t you visit the Cake Apgujeong flagship store to test-drive Cake and feel the brand value you are pursuing?
Click on CAKE (ridecake.kr) to connect to the homepage
#3. TURNSTILE TURBINES: Planet – Affordable and clean energy (Bronze)
What if a young squirrel turned the kinetic energy in a barrel into electrical energy? I’ve been thinking regarding it. Looking at this idea, I think that the ridiculous imagination of childhood is coming true.
Iberdrola is a Spanish wind energy company. In 2019, it was necessary to build awareness as it entered France. As you know, following the Russo-Ukrainian War, all of Europe struggled with energy. Everyone had to conserve energy, even going so far as to turn off the street lights. In addition, electricity rates continued to rise. Therefore, the alternative energy of wind energy has been created to consider once more.
In response, Iberdrola has built a system that can produce energy by making the subway ticket gate into the world’s first underground wind turbine ticket gate turbine as a way to quickly raise awareness. He converts the actions of people passing through the ticket gate into electrical energy, generating more than 900,000 watts of renewable energy every day.
This campaign has turned subway crowds hated by Parisians into eco-friendly energy that is most needed.
Creativity in Unexpected Places
Turnstyle turbines show that with a little creativity, green energy can be created in unexpected places. And also raise awareness.
ⓒCannes Lions
#4. SOLAR IMPULSE – READY TO VOTE: Planet-Climate Action (Gold)
We know that action is needed for our planet, but we often don’t know how to begin. This campaign is an Action-Oriented Campaign that does not stop at raising awareness regarding the environment but directly induces action.
The campaign slogan is “As the climate changes, so must the laws.” was
Wherever you go, the National Assembly seems to be slow. At least a lot of people feel that way.
Too many bills are proposed and it takes a lot of time to review, review, and vote on the bill, but the climate crisis doesn’t inform that situation.
The campaign produced draft bills and amendments ready to be put to the vote in a book called Ready to Vote, which was made available to the 577 newly elected members of Parliament for debate. It’s almost like putting all the rice in your mouth. In addition, OOH and DOOH were enforced around the National Assembly to pressure lawmakers, and as a result, the three renewable energy bills proposed by PRÊT À VOTER were adopted as they were. In addition, it is said that movements for change are active, such as one proposal being reviewed in Switzerland and an environmental law being submitted to the European Union.
Creativity accelerates the process
This campaign has great significance in that Creativity served as a catalyst for moving the existing traditional parliamentary system more quickly (processing the FAST-TRACK bill).
Real Solutions with Tangible Impacts
What is felt in common in the award-winning works is that this was a campaign to create tangible results to cause actual behavior change and reduce the impact on the earth under the theme of Sustainability.
It is clear that now is an important time for us to truly embrace the value of sustainability in our business strategies and operations for the sake of the environment.
It is a time when advanced creativity is required more than ever.
In the next part, we will take a look at the award-winning works that are meaningful in terms of DE&I.
Song Chang-ryeol Co-CEO of The Water Melon
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