A Nepali skincare firm changed the packaging of its soaps to biodegradable paper composed of elephant dung. While the green pledge was admirable, the packaging budget, however, increased. This tension remains, as values and viability alongside purpose and price lie at the core of sustainable marketing. With changing consumer demands both locally and globally and climate commitments to be met, businesses are facing tough times.

Sustainable marketing is not simply about launching a new logo, nor a brochure on recycled paper, or a mountain landscape social media campaign. Sustainability is not a coating on top of the business model, but rather intricately woven into its very fabric by integrating the environmental and social responsibility dimensions. Both marketers and consumers must be aware of this distinction, because both sides exhibit the tendency to be sustainable but fail, as there is a huge gap between intention and action.

From utility to stewardship

Several studies suggest that in South Asia, younger consumers, representing Gen Z, especially the urban youth, are increasingly basing their purchasing decisions on responsible, sustainable, ethical consumption and zero-waste buying behaviour. Studies indicate that the urban Nepali segment, including Millennials, are positive towards brands that exhibit sustainability practices. India provides telling precedents. The largest food cooperative in India, Amul, created an intrinsically sustainable model by removing intermediaries and ensuring fair prices to millions of smallholder dairy farmers and rural livelihoods on a larger scale. It is not their marketing gimmick but their business model. Likewise, the influx of organic food companies in India, such as Organic India and 24 Mantra Organic Farm Shop, is not just due to environmental messaging, but rather the interplay between health-conscious consumers, consumer trust and supply chain transparency. These brands have succeeded since they narrated true-to-life stories concerning how the products were cultivated, by whom, and why.

Nepal’s sustainable story

For instance, Organic World and Fair Future offer a range of organic products across agricultural value chains connecting smallholder farmers directly to domestic and international markets. They are not exclusive examples and should not remain isolated. They represent a vision of what sustainable marketing can resemble once it is based on real supply chains, real relationships with the community and products with a credible story. Thus, Nepal does not lack inspiring stories, but conditions that shape the system to sustain marketing as a sustainable business practice, instead of confining it to a few businesses that initiated it.

However, for sustainability marketing to be commonplace, there are a few notable gaps. First, there is the credibility of consumers. The intention-action gap states the divergence between the environmental values of consumers and their purchasing behaviour. Price sensitivity is a fact, and the premium charged on sustainable products is so high that it becomes unaffordable to the masses. However, the credibility gap is damaging. In cases where businesses make claims of sustainability which cannot be verified, i.e., when the package is marked as eco-friendly but the supply chain does not support it, consumers become sceptical of the whole category.

Second, sustainable marketing in Nepal is too often conceptualised as a communication problem as opposed to a value chain problem. One can have a product that is grown naturally but packaged in an unsustainable way, fairly traded, and very expensive to distribute. Sustainable marketing involves ensuring that all the connections in the chain are addressed, i.e., from the sourcing and production of products to packaging, distribution, retail and disposal. Dabur, India, as a heritage brand, has somehow managed to be culturally relevant and, at the same time, gradually implemented the concept of sustainability into its product lines and supply chains without losing the affordability and accessibility that characterise its market niche. Consumer goods companies in Nepal may adopt a similar integrated approach. Digital tools can be employed to facilitate this integration, especially in smaller businesses. Through social media, a sustainable brand in Nepal can tap into globally aware consumers.

The third issue is the structural challenge requiring a policy response. Nepal has undertaken measures for climate change issues and financing. However, the institutional environment for sustainably marketing products is still immature; the certification systems, eco-labelling standards, consumer protection systems and green procurement policies are far from developed. Sustainable claims cannot be verified without any credible certification. In the absence of consumer literacy programmes, the price premium charged on sustainable goods will remain a hindrance rather than an indicator of quality.

Way forward

Nepal has a unique place to emerge as a sustainability crusader. The mountains, biodiversity, cultural heritage and history of community-based conservation are simply not there to lure tourists but act as raw material for a sustainable brand narrative on a national scale. Moving ahead, the most sustainable brands would be those whose consumers cannot separate purpose and commercial logic for sale. Whether Nepali businesses can sell that story with the same authenticity and discipline that the best sustainable brands anywhere in the world have applied to theirs is the real question. These companies that will shape the economic future of Nepal are not the ones that see sustainability as an imposition or a PR campaign. They are the ones who know that purpose and profit are not mutually exclusive words. It is about how Nepal develops a competitive advantage due to the values ingrained in our culture and social life.

Business in Nepal, its policymakers and educators now must all make the strategic choice to integrate sustainability into their core business model. In addition, sustainability should be embedded in a part of the business, but should run across the entire value chain. Universities and business schools can play their part. Sustainable marketing cannot be discussed within one elective module. It must be integrated throughout marketing and management curriculum, in consumer behaviour, brand management, supply chain and strategic management, so that the next generation of Nepali marketers enter the business world understanding that sustainability is not simply claims of commercial ambition but the ultimate manifestation of it.