{"id":32028,"date":"2025-02-20T09:06:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-20T09:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/?p=32028"},"modified":"2025-04-17T14:47:32","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T13:47:32","slug":"sustainabilitys-contribution-to-soft-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/insights\/sustainabilitys-contribution-to-soft-power","title":{"rendered":"Sustainability's contribution to Soft Power"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article was originally published in the Brand Finance Global Soft Power Index 2025<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

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Robert Haigh<\/strong>
Strategy & Sustainability Director,
Brand Finance<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
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Sofia Liszka<\/strong>
Senior Strategy & Sustainability Consultant,
Brand Finance<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The actions a nation chooses to take (or doesn\u2019t) on topics like climate change, social inequality, and overseeing digital transformation are a key part of what shapes its Soft Power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brand Finance\u2019s Global Soft Power Index captures this link with the Sustainable Future pillar, which evaluates nation brands on four key aspects of environmental sustainability: cities and transport, support for global action on climate change, green energy and technologies, and environmental protection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once again, we observe a strong correlation between a nation\u2019s performance in the Sustainable Future pillar and its Reputation score, at r=0.90. We also find a correlation of r=0.97 between a nation\u2019s Sustainable Future pillar score and influence in Business and Trade, and a correlation of r=0.92 with strength in International Relations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sustainability goes beyond environmental concerns to encompass social and governance factors, too. In total, 12 attributes which contribute to sustainability (Table 1), are responsible for driving 37% of a nation\u2019s Reputation in the 2025 Index according to regression analysis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sustainability perceptions leaders <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nordic nations and Western Europe feature heavily in the rankings on sustainability attributes, along with Japan, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom (Table 2).<\/p>\n\n\n

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Mapping perceptions against sustainability performance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A strong reputation for sustainability is not always matched by real action. For example, the nations listed above that have the strongest sustainability perceptions have disproportionately high carbon emissions relative to many less economically developed nations. This disparity can create a reputational risk. Conversely, national actions to address sustainability do not always translate into improved perception, which is a missed opportunity to generate Soft Power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To illustrate this, we have conducted additional analysis using the UN Sustainable Development Goals Index to quantify the divergence between sustainability perceptions and performance. The analysis highlights that many nations are not currently receiving the recognition and Soft Power benefits that they deserve based on their progress against the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Central and Eastern Europe as well as the Caribbean countries outperform public perception in sustainability performance. Among the top 10 are Finland, Cuba, Ukraine, Croatia, Latvia, Slovenia, and Jamaica. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These nations collectively are making strides towards the ideals of the UN SDGs, particularly in social equality, educational attainment, environmental protection, and economic growth, relative to their levels of consumption. Effectively communicating a strong sustainability position presents a significant opportunity to enhance and leverage Soft Power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where sustainability performance lags perception, a reputational risk exists. This mismatch is common in the many of the most economically developed nations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are among the nations taking the most extensive, formal steps to address sustainability. They actively communicate these efforts and have big platforms to do so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, they tend to have larger budgets to communicate the natural beauty of their landscapes to promote tourism. This creates very strong sustainability perceptions, yet their high levels of consumption and only limited real progress on environmental SDGs means that perceptions outrun progress, leading to a reputational risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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