Sustainable Marketing and the 4 ‘E’s

IanCW — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 08:28:34 +0000

There is a lot of buzz around sustainable marketing, and rightly so. It’s important at not just the procducts and services that businesses deliver are sustainable, but also the marketing processes involved in their marketng and communications.

I first became sensitised to the implications of the concept many years ago, when preparing a proposal for an event whose topic was sustainable communities. One of the stipulations of brief was that the event itself was to be sustainable – including its marketing.

At the time, it was quite a challenge to find information and guidance – but once I began to understand the principles, I was able to incoprorate them into our day-to-day practice.

Today, it should be an essential condition of every project or campaign brief – and part of the review and evaluation process.

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What happened to sustainable marketing?

IanCW — Thu, 26 Jul 2018 14:18:26 +0000

Why is sustainability back on the marketing agenda?

It seems like just a few years ago, sustainable marketing was a hot topic. Then things went very quiet for a while. I found this curious, as sustainability was increasingly being considered as a pillar of corporate social responsibility.

It appeared that while the boardroom was making progress, marketing had stalled somewhat and had other priorities. One CMO suggested to me that the problem might lie with the consumer. That there was not enough customer benefit in sustainability, when economic pressures were growing

So, have things changed? Well, many commentators believe so.

Ethics, sustainability, trust and transparency have been flagged up by Mintel as key themes set to impact consumer trends in 2018.

Plastic pollution seem to have attracted public attention in contrast to the, ‘What’s in it for me?’ principle.

Consumers are putting their money where their mouths are – literally.

Ethical food and drink enjoyed a 9.7% growth last year while conventional foods struggled. According to Ethical Consumer’s Markets Report 2017.

Vegitarianism and veganism are on the rise for ethical regions, according to a YouGov survey.

Unilever – making it work

Amongst most persuasive data comes from Unilever. They suggest that brands are missing out on £820 billion by not pushing sustainability. This goes beyond research. Unilever’s 10-year sustainable living project is turning research and theory into strategic action.

Sustainable Living brands were in Unilever’s top 40 selling brands in 2016. They enjoyed 50% faster growth compared to the rest of business and delivered 60% of Unilever’s growth in the same period.

The Five ‘E’s

So, what do we understand by sustainable marketing and what can we do? We should begin by addressing five principles – I define them by the Five ‘E’s.

Environment – impact upon the environment in which the brand operates
Ecology – impact upon the planet and its resources
Economy – impact upon both the local and global economy
Ethnography – impact upon peoples and their cultures
Ethics – sustainable ethical and moral practices

Ian West

CEO One Marketing Ltd.