Power up brand strategies through sustainability and nature-led decisions.
My vast knowledge and expertise within sustainability, come from 20+ years of working with progressive brands and sustainability communication as Brand Strategist, Business Advisor, Creative Director, Head of Sustainability, and Global-PR for sustainability affairs.
Fredrik Ekström
Insights & strategy Above The Clouds
"If you want to get noticed for your green initiatives, then it's crucial to create stories that resonate authentically with consumers that thrive outside the confines of traditional sustainability communication."
Sustainability, built into the brand
I’ve spent more than 20 years working with sustainability as part of brand development and communication. Not as a separate discipline, but as a way to create brand value when it’s fully integrated into a brand’s DNA.
I’ve tracked the NXT Sustainable Consumer for over five years through my own research, giving me a deep understanding of how expectations, anxieties, and aspirations around sustainability, consumption, and communication actually evolve.
However, I don’t position myself as a “sustainability expert.” Because I don't believe the future of sustainability is in silos. I’m a brand strategist who knows how to build relevant, credible brands where sustainability is embedded in behavior, decisions, and storytelling campaigns, not treated as an add-on.
"An important challenge for anyone who wants to drive consumption in a more sustainable direction is how to spread their ideas and initiatives while still being relevant and attractive to the consumer."
I believe a successful sustainability transformation comes from being truly consumer-centric. My work turns green insights into direction and direction into action through four connected steps:
Consumer-Centric Roadmap
I believe a successful sustainability transformation comes from being truly consumer-centric. My work turns green insights into direction and direction into action through four connected steps:
Mapping → Know your consumer
Consumer Mapping –
Know your audience: who they are, what drives them, and how they can participate in shaping, building, or carrying your brand.
Alignment → Connect your brand
Consumer/Brand Alignment –
Defining who we are in the eyes of the consumer. Connect your brand and how you act to expectations, values, and behaviours.
Planning → Long lead concepts
Consumer-Led Planning –
Create diamond strategies and concepts with creative height, depth, reach, and relevance to grow brand and business.
Activation → Playbooks for precision
Consumer Activation Playbooks –
Translating strategies into frameworks and formats, that bring your brand to life across campaigns, channels, and commerce.
The Sustainability
Winning Game Strategy
The complete strategic sustainability brand playbook. A powerful consumer-centric strategy designed for sustainability brand positioning and communications. The winning game strategy helps teams move from planning to sustainability performance with clarity and confidence.
Built around all four steps of the roadmap:
Mapping: Know your consumer.
Alignment: Connect your brand DNA.
Planning: Long Lead Concepts
Activation: Playbooks for precision.
TRETORN: Eco-Essentials Initiative
Based on insights, I created the brand concept Eco-Essentials. It included the full transformation of product, marketing, and sales team perspective on sustainable innovation and operation.
HOUDINI: Winning Game Strategy
Based on the Winning Game approach, I created a full strategy deck with who we are, how we act, consumer archetypes and activation building blocks and a new brand playbook.
The
Ghost Net
Project
I created the concept and led the development of the project, from concept to consumer. The idea was to show sustainability commitments through real product development.
We launched the project through PR, collaborations, and integrated marketing. My role was creating the concept, acting as strategic and creative lead, developing the go-to-market strategy, and managing activations.
My insights are real and
made to be put in action
I specialize in culture, consumer movements, and the NXT generation of behaviors shaping markets. I continuously track how values evolve and identify the opportunities that matter. My work turns complex behavior patterns into clear insights, frameworks, and strategies your teams can instantly use to grow brand and business.
My services include:
• Defining Customer Key Needs
• In-depth consumer research
• Identifying consumer archetypes
• Driving force index for archetypes
• Brand strength tracking & analysis
• Consumer experience matrix development
The NXT
Outdoor Report
Germany
The NXT Outdoor Consumer Report Germany is a consumer research and trend report. It is part of the Above The Clouds Future Series, a yearly conducted quantitative and qualitative research study focusing on outdoor lifestyle preferences, activities and experiences, urban outdoor and the creative collectives, nature and sustainability, nature and health, and three important outdoor consumer archetypes.
The NXT Consumer Germany
The NXT Consumer Report is a consumer research and trend report based on 1300 respondents in Germany. It is a collaboration with studio MM04 and part of the Future Series, a yearly study on preferences, aspirations, status, and anxieties related to sustainability, communication, and consumption.
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The NXT Outdoor, Nordics
The NXT Nordic Outdoor Consumer 2025 is a consumer research and trend report based on quantitative data from a national representative base of 2500 respondents in Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark and interviews of 27 brand representatives from Nordic outdoor brands.
Fast-track insights and
strategies with sprints.
When you need clarity fast, a go-to-market plan, a seasonal campaign, or a refreshed direction, the sprint format accelerates decision-making.
In a 3–4 week sprint, I bring teams together, dive into insights, sharpen direction, and translate insights into action. Each sprint is tailored to your brand’s challenge, resulting in clear priorities, creative energy, and a roadmap ready to execute.
Let's Connect & Collaborate
I offer a freelance consultant service where you as client get the benefits of in-depth expertise across a number of specialty areas, without having to increase your permanent staff or contract a full size agency.