Topics discussed: How loyalty programmes can help companies achieve their sustainability goals. - Sustainability: Consumer demand or company-led initiative? - Regional differences in sustainability approach - About Conscious Choices - Which industries are leading sustainability efforts? - Advice for loyalty programmes looking to start their sustainability journey - About GLO Sustainability Vertical
GLO
00:00 – Introduction
01:43 – How loyalty programmes can help companies achieve their sustainability goals.
05:16 – Sustainability: Consumer demand or company-led initiative?
07:08 – Regional differences in sustainability approach
10:04 – About Conscious Choices 12:46 – Which industries are leading sustainability efforts?
14:30 – Advice for loyalty programmes looking to start their sustainability journey
17:38 – About GLO Sustainability Vertical
Transcript
00:00
Dilek Glenister, Co-Founder, GLO: Kim, absolute pleasure to meet you here at ATM in Dubai. And very pleased that you will be joining us as head of the sustainability vertical at GLO You’re a person who doesn’t need any introduction here in Dubai, you’ve been in loyalty for over 10 years and worked with large loyalty programmes but for the benefit of our members, could you please introduce yourself?
Kim Hardaker, Head of Loyalty & Sustainability Vertical, GLO: Sure. Thank you, and thank you for having me. It’s great to be here. It’s incredible to see the scale of ATM this year. And kudos to you for an excellent panel earlier today. So I think, yeah, as you say, 10 plus years, pure loyalty but a career that’s built on creating engagement with consumers in our members and consumers from brand marketing through the digital experiences and then probably a natural progression into loyalty programmes, which is wonderful. And I think having led the loyalty programme, Etihad guest, the precompiled, Chrome with Etihad for the last couple of years. Also just expanding into that sustainability space. Which is one of the key changes in the industry. So yeah, I’m absolutely thrilled to be part of such a great organisation of jello and to be able to contribute and, and really focus on how collectively as an industry within our different verticals that we can focus on empowering, sharing content about sustainability, which can help see further initiatives come to life and how collectively in the community we can also support one another to do better things and do more good.
01:43
Dilek Glenister, Co-Founder, GLO: Last year sustainability and loyalty was the our panel topic here at ATM. Our loyalty panel discussed the sustainability efforts of hospitality providers. What role do you think sustainability can play in loyalty programmes?
Kim Hardaker, Head of Loyalty & Sustainability Vertical, GLO: It’s a great question. And I think even if we look at a bigger perspective of where we see the evolution of the market, it is really how businesses are taking it now, not so much as a challenge or an initiative but really a mandatory as a part of their overall strategy. And I would say of the various different initiatives that have been in the market most recently, we could see SAS with the conscious traveller, as you say, quite a lot of hotels from GHA with the Green Collection, even through to some financial services. So recently, First Abu Dhabi Bank took home the International Loyalty Award for Green Initiatives. I think where you see the most success is where the businesses are really aligning their overarching strategy into sustainability and really focusing on where they have the most strength. So, organically, those loyalty programmes can then be an amplification of the organisation’s overarching objectives. So I think there’s a broad spectrum of sustainability within loyalty programmes, where you see that there’s a consistency and a real focus on using the channel or their platform to spread that message. So, I think a core component of a CSR strategy is how you use your assets to do good and do better. So that’s a core aspect of using, accessing members, 1000s, millions, whatever it might be for different organisations, and how also education can play a key role.
I think that’s something I am looking forward to. Tapping into different industries and seeing how sharing different initiatives and sharing knowledge can contribute to success. And that’s not just from a business-to-business perspective but a business-to-consumer perspective. So how everyone can participate in a journey as opposed to it being one-directional. And then subsequently, how the sustainability strategies within loyalty programmes can help to evolve and bring together new features and new benefits. You see big trends in donations. So, currency utility can be donated or shared to add greater value and different sets of products and services. Conscious Collections I think some have called it. So, you see a couple of different aspects, but core to that is the authenticity of the organisation and being able to project that in their loyalty programme and engage either their existing customers or attract a new set of customers. At the core, the changes are no longer optional, right? The future is that it’s mandatory. We know we have to do it. The loyalty programme has an incredible opportunity to create new conversations and help progress that story for the business and in consumers’ lives or members’ lives.
05:16
Dilek Glenister, Co-Founder, GLO: Loyalty programmes and companies, especially in the UAE, put a lot of effort and emphasis on sustainability. Would you say that this is also demanded from the member and consumer side, or is it more from the companies’ side that they are coming up with the initiatives and educating members? You mentioned the need for education earlier.
Kim Hardaker, Head of Loyalty & Sustainability Vertical, GLO: I think it’s that’s evolving. I think a lot of the focus has been on the corporates bringing these initiatives because a lot of the industry conversation is that’s where the biggest difference can be made and potentially the fastest because you’ve got the power, the scale, and the momentum of an organisation as opposed to a singular or a group of members looking for the same. I think it’s quite clear reading any press or any news right now about what’s happening. More consumers are demanding and want to see that traceability in clothing, for example. You see some great work from a company like H&M that shows the full traceability matrix. Even in the US, you’re seeing that sustainability needs to be part of how businesses are done. So, I think you see those different pressures. Outside of corporates, even policies and governments now, are coming together. Everybody plays their role, and the members have that voice, and that’s growing in demand as you see more consumers having a bit of a better awareness and, therefore, knowing how to ask and what to ask for and how companies respond to that. To summarise, demand is coming from all aspects and growing.
07:08
Dilek Glenister, Co-Founder, GLO: When we (at GLO) look back at how heads of loyalty have described their sustainability approach in past interviews, we see that there are many regional differences in their approach to sustainability. Would you say that UAE is one of the leading areas or regions in sustainability, and how would you say that the rest of the world is evolving?
Kim Hardaker, Head of Loyalty & Sustainability Vertical, GLO: I believe the UAE has played a key role most recently, and obviously, with Cop 28 being held here last year in Dubai. It also helped amplify that message and brought the country more focus. However, while the UAE has been playing that leading role, there is great inspiration coming from other markets that have a more collective maturity about sustainability potentially. I mentioned SAS before. From an airline perspective, they’ve been very focused on sustainability and doing some great initiatives. I think there’s lots of learnings coming from different parts of the globe based on the specific sustainability needs of those regions. I think that is definitely a core insight. Even working as part of the team developing the Conscious Choices for Etihad Guest Program, we saw how important the localisation of some of the sustainability initiatives or even the donation partners was that consumers felt more connected or more motivated to contribute when it was in that local market. I’m excited to be the sustainability lead within GLO and to bring together those different ideas and those different initiatives, regardless of whether they’re driven by policy, or they’re driven by consumer demand or just a great idea for how to progress certain parts of the ESG conversation. We will inevitably find that in different industries, even in different categories or verticals, there is a shared focus on achieving certain goals. We may be able to share those learnings across geographies as well because I think, having had many conversations already with various people in sustainability roles, it’s not a space where we see sharing these ideas as competition. In fact, the collaborative mindset and sharing ideas and how they can be amplified, brought to market, or problems being solved is seen as a real contribution to the greater good. I think that’s such a nice change from where we’re all very much protecting our IP and our ideas. Whereas this is such a different approach, it is community-minded, collaborative, and works toward a shared goal.
10:04
Dilek Glenister, Co-Founder, GLO: You already mentioned SAS and Conscious Choices by Etihad, where you were one of the brains behind that idea. Can you tell us more about your work on the Conscious Choices project?
Kim Hardaker, Head of Loyalty & Sustainability Vertical, GLO: It is very publicly known that Etihad Airways had a strategic focus on making travel more sustainable and, over time, launched different initiatives. We were also presented with the opportunity and the challenge to say how we could take that into our loyalty programme to be able to basically create something from a blank canvas because it wasn’t in the market at all. There were various initiatives, but not necessarily what we call a chapter of a loyalty program, where we could look strategically at the insights in our key markets. We just talked about sustainability and the demands of different market maturities. So, how could we be more personal with the work we were doing? How could we really tap into the core aspects of the sustainability strategy working closely with the sustainability team to say, where can we help or where do you think we can engage the 8 million members at a time to contribute or draw awareness to and also how do we make this engaging, how do we use the core aspects of loyalty, of member engagement? So, building in an aspect of that was different from some of the other components we had within the loyalty programme. I think that in itself bringing those things together was enjoyable. No new design aspect or innovation in that space. As it was released to the public, I was able to share that data in some of the conferences. The uptake and engagement were impressive, and many members even donated their miles to a sustainable cause. It really showed that we think our research did what it was supposed to do and that we could be meaningful and purposeful, and the members wanted to participate. The true success is that people saw a reason to be involved, were able to engage with the content, and we were able to reward them accordingly. So, we contributed not just to creating a platform. We also recognized our members for making more conscious choices, whether on the ground or in the air. And in itself, I think, was really important. It was more of a team sport, so to speak.
12:46
Dilek Glenister, Co-Founder, GLO: We talked a lot about airlines’ sustainability efforts. You mentioned GHA Green Collection earlier as well. So, are airlines the leaders in sustainability and loyalty? What about other sectors?
Kim Hardaker, Head of Loyalty & Sustainability Vertical, GLO: I think airlines have been doing a great job in really focusing on how to make travel more sustainable. However, as I mentioned before, the most successful sustainability strategies and initiatives are where the core organisation has its strength. So, I think you will see some great initiatives from the fuel sector. So even here, for example, ADNOC, and you’ve got PETRONAS in Malaysia who are nominated for the International Loyalty Awards. In financial services, and I mentioned FAB, quite a lot of the banking sector in different markets has been doing some really great things as well. As GLO is focusing efforts on expanding into retail and other sectors, I think it’d be really interesting to see where those sectors are also finding their most strength, see the biggest opportunity, and be more focused on sustainability. I’m looking forward to being able to speak with those leads to understand what learnings we can take in and what’s been successful for them.
14:30
Dilek Glenister, Co-Founder, GLO: You’ve worked in loyalty and sustainability for a long time, and as we mentioned, you were one of the major driving forces behind Conscious Choices. So, what would your advice be to a company with a loyalty programme that has not implemented any sustainability efforts yet? What would you advise them to start the journey with?
Kim Hardaker, Head of Loyalty & Sustainability Vertical, GLO: My recommendation would first be to look at what’s happening in the marketplace. Look at what’s going on in your industry and potentially other businesses in your local area to understand where there is an opportunity and potential focus areas. If possible, speak to friends or colleagues or consult trusted sources like GLO to read what’s happening in the marketplace. I think that is a good start. Because, naturally, it’s a complicated space. And I think there are some examples where companies have been criticised for their sustainability efforts, some rightly so, some that actually had pure intentions but potentially not executed as well as could be. So, I think there’s potentially some hesitancy or nervousness from certain people that could prevent those initiatives from being started. I think you should look at what’s happening in that marketplace, build your knowledge, and tap into other resources where possible. If we were to approach the question at the end of what happens when you have sustainability initiatives, how do you get support? And I think that’s one of the key aspects that the market and corporates are being challenged with: What is the business case for sustainability? It’s something we were able to do in Etihad, as well as prove the efficacy of the initiatives and look at different ways that you would measure success. And I think having recently just finished some studies with Cambridge University and their Sustainability Institute, that in itself is where the markets are evolving and you see a lot of support from big industries and industry bodies to say, the way you measure success now from a sustainability initiative may not be the same as you would measure a traditional, no revenue based initiative. And that’s fine. It’s the evolving landscape, as we potentially see a shortage of certain assets or materials. That is a consideration of how you would measure success. So I think there is some definite evolution in that space of how people are sharing what success looks like. And how you can go about presenting that to your executive committee or your boards to seek that approval is saying how is this going to drive value to our organisation, industry, and local community? And I suppose having that confidence or building that confidence that there truly is a positive business case for sustainability.
17:26
Dilek Glenister, Co-Founder, GLO: We are delighted to have you on board and have you lead the Sustainability Vertical at GLO. What can our members expect to see from you in the near future?
Kim Hardaker, Head of Loyalty & Sustainability Vertical, GLO: Firstly, I think it’s such an exciting initiative and kudos to GLO for bringing that together. I am proud to be a part of it. I think what I would like to do in partnership with GLO is create this platform for us to be able to empower and share content. As we just discussed, allowing those on their sustainability journey to learn more about what’s happening in the marketplace. Being able to create a community where conversations can happen and questions can be asked and also being able to bring the latest and the greatest of what’s happening in that space and speaking with experts and professionals around the globe for different industries and different categories to say, what’s working well where do they see the future and collectively, how can we come together to be able to add more value and drive positive change?
18:41
Dilek Glenister, Co-Founder, GLO: It was an absolute pleasure talking to you, Kim. We’re delighted to welcome you on board and look forward to working with you.
Kim Hardaker, Head of Loyalty & Sustainability Vertical, GLO: Thank you so much, Dilek. I’m incredibly excited to be a part of the GLO story and to lead sustainability, something that’s so close to my heart and that I’m super passionate about.
