Can Marketing Save the Planet?

Episode 100: ‘Navigating Greenwashing and Green Claims - 4-Part Mini Series’, Part 1 - Cecilia Parker Aranha, Director, Competition and Markets Authority

In our 100th episode of Can Marketing Save the Planet we kick off our ‘4 part mini-series on greenwashing and navigating green claims’ with Cecilia Parker-Aranha, Director of Consumer Protection at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

Cecilia joined us back in 2021, and so it was great to have her join us again to discuss the evolving landscape to provide an up to date understanding of where we are with greenwashing.

Since the publication of the Green Claims Code in 2021 significant progress has been made however, challenges remain. Cecilia tells us that since we last spoke, the CMA has taken action against misleading claims in sectors like fashion and fast-moving consumer goods prompting businesses to reassess their environmental messaging. She highlights how technology can be used to aid businesses in tracking supply chain data, but the human part remains crucial to ensure claims are accurate and not misleading.

We discuss how consumers are increasingly distrustful of green claims and how now is the time for organisations to focus on making sure what they are saying is accurate and evidence-based. Cecilia again explains that the CMA’s role is not to punish but to guide organisations toward compliance through education and support. However, under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, everyone needs to be aware that the CMA can now impose fines directly and these can be up to 10% of global turnover for breaches and - breaches including misleading green claims. Cecilia explains, “so from April this year (2025), we'll have the power to reach our own decisions on whether or not a business has breached consumer law. The second thing is that at the moment there aren't any financial penalties for breaches of consumer law, at least those pursued through the civil route. Again, from April this year, it will be possible for the CMA to impose financial penalties on businesses who break the law.”

Cecilia stresses the importance of collaboration between marketing and sustainability teams to ensure there is clear, accurate communication. She recommends that Marketers test claims with consumers to avoid misinterpretation and ensure transparency. Sharing so much knowledge and advice in this episode Cecilia believes Marketers should start by measuring their impact and build claims from solid evidence. And, this isn’t just for those organisations operating in the UK, and as many organisations sell into other countries, she advises ensuring alignment with global standards like the EU Green Claims Directive.

Tune in and listen as we talk to Cecilia about:

• The current green claims landscape as we progress through 2025

• What organisations and Marketers should be thinking about when considering making green claims

• Where to go to stay informed and up to date

• Digital products passports and how they align with green claims

• The use of technology in supporting green claims

• The need for Marketing teams to work cross-functionally

• Why it’s important for organisations to talk about what they are doing

   

  For resources check out the CMA’s Green Claims Code and on their website you’ll find lots of information, such as - what has happened in cases and what advice and agreements were reached. These real world cases further provide guidance on the changes organisations need to consider to ensure they are being responsible when making green claims.

  More in this mini-series to follow with conversations with the ASA, ClientEarth and Fanclub PR. Stay tuned.

________________________________________________________________________

About us…

We help Marketers save the planet. 🌍

Join the Marketers and organisations who have signed our manifesto, engage with our newsletter and training and, work with us to communicate sustainability more effectively. Sign our Sustainable Marketer Manifesto, work with us, and join us on our mission. Get in touch to chat.

You’ll find the Podcast on all the usual pod platforms - and also on The Global Player and via The Marketing Society. If you love it, do share it and spread the word. Talking about climate change and the role we play is one of the most important things we can do. So join the conversation. We’re all in this together.

Our podcasts are recorded purely via online conferencing platforms, we apologise for any minor sound quality issues.

Episode 99: The Marketing Playbook for a Circular Economy - Ready to be part of the Shift? …with Andrés Oliva and Neda Hashemi, Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Round and round and round it goes, where it stops nobody knows… and that’s a really good thing if it means it doesn’t end up in the unmanageable waste landscape we humans have created for ourselves.

In our 99th episode we’re joined by Neda Hashemi and Andrés Olivia from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation where we explore why Marketers are key facilitators in the transition to a circular economy.

Neda and Andrés talk about their latest research and explain the different ways that the circular economy can future-proof and scale businesses, drive efficiencies, reduce emissions and help to ease the burden we place on biodiversity and the planet.

Andrés explains that their are many different ways to implement circularity, “the first one is about selling access rather than ownership for example, a washing machine, what if you rented it instead of owning it? We also have monetising of product through life extension for example selling repair services. And finally, and this is the last resort, once products are no longer fit use, reuse or repair can they can be recycled and turned into new products?”

Neda and Andrés share how B2B is leading the charge when it comes to circularity, but in the B2C world, whilst there is plenty of innovation - it is not scaling at the levels required. A reason for this Neda explains is “the demand isn’t happening because behaviours are not consistent.”  She goes to say, “don't be intimidated by the concept of the circular economy and circularity, all need to do is understand the simple premise of what the business model entails, which again, they have been doing forever and inject their creativity and human understanding into it. And then the potential is huge for them to engage with it.”

It’s not rocket science, when you remove the word circular economy and focus on what people value and want, then there’s plenty of scope to unlock the opportunities.

Tune in to hear us talking about how:

• Bringing in the marketing function as problem solvers and the key communication interface between the brand, the organisation and the consumer is key.

• The role of education and how Marketers are critical in driving this.

• The key areas coming out of the research including their “Four Action Pathways”

• How Marketers can make circularity desirable, irresistible and remove the barriers for adoption.

• The ‘Why’ we need to build a circular economy.

• How focusing on upstream demand should bring in multiple perspectives to take the innovation forward and bring everybody together to organize themselves around the common objectives.

• Metrics – from circular sales to increased loyalty and lifetime transaction values. Core resilience of the business is often not brought into the business case for circularity.

For more information and resources visit the Ellen MacArthur Foundation

The Marketing Playbook for a Circular Economy you’ll find here.

________________________________________________________________________

About us…

We help Marketers save the planet. 🌍

Join the Marketers and organisations who have signed our manifesto, engage with our newsletter and training and, work with us to communicate sustainability more effectively. Sign our Sustainable Marketer Manifesto, work with us, and join us on our mission. Get in touch to chat.

You’ll find the Podcast on all the usual pod platforms - and also on The Global Player and via The Marketing Society. If you love it, do share it and spread the word. Talking about climate change and the role we play is one of the most important things we can do. So join the conversation. We’re all in this together.

Our podcasts are recorded purely via online conferencing platforms, we apologise for any minor sound quality issues.

Episode 98: Protect the Planet One Square at a Time - Driving nature based impact with transparency and fairness …with Rob Cobbold, Founder and CEO, Native

“It’s fair and square - every square essentially helps you hit three ESG metrics with a single product.”

In this episode of the Can Marketing Save the Planet podcast, we are joined by Rob Cobbold, Founder and CEO, of the brilliant organisation, Native - a platform which allows people, groups, communities and organisations of all sizes to protect the planet – one square at a time!

The platform enables the purchase of ‘squares’ from a range of terrestrial or marine habitats including rainforests, mangroves or coral reefs.

Rob talks us through why he founded Native, “we’re an evolution I suppose on binary one-dimensional carbon markets. We're trying to do things with a bit more transparency, a bit more holistically, and a bit more fairly as well.” We discuss the fact that when it comes to protecting the environment, how we are all responsible.

We discuss the importance of decarbonisation, but also the reality that carbon isn’t tangible, you can’t see it and you can’t connect to it and this creates a challenge when it comes to understanding and engagement. Rob tells us that we, (humans) have a very ‘left-brain bias’, “we like to break things down into their parts so that we can manipulate them, control them and make use of them.”

We talk about the unique features of Native and the fact that you can view your square(s) in real time, watching them grow and evolve. However, Rob also talks about the fact that you can also see the reality of what is happening in the places you’re investing in… - “in the map of our first project in the Solomon Islands, you can see the forest, and you can also see active logging, just 50 kilometers away.” It’s both exciting and sobering.

Rob has so may plans for Native when it comes to how people and organisations can get involved; from everyone being able to drive positive impact and take action - seeing the impact of their investment in real-time, through to employee engagement programmes, gifting, gamification and overall creating a big talking point - bringing friends, family and partners on the journey with you.

From as little as just £3 per square - there is no way you won’t be motivated to buy a square or two (or more) by the end of this episode. Indeed, we’re already ‘in’ –and so if you invest, do let us know!

Tune in and listen as we talk to Rob about:

• Native – the platform, it’s purpose and why it’s truly ‘fair and square’

• Why it is so important that we all take responsibility about protecting the planet

• How Native enables organisations to hit the environmental (E), Social (S) and Governance (G) all in one solution

• Why transparency and fairness is critically important

• How going beyond carbon brings impact to life - (literally)

• The need for better stories and engagement

• The need to measure impact in different ways

• The need for better more accessible funding across a broader range of projects

For more information about this nature based solution visit Native

And to connect with Rob to find out more and discuss your ‘squares’ - connect via LinkedIn.

________________________________________________________________________

About us…

We help Marketers save the planet. 🌍

Join the Marketers and organisations who have signed our manifesto, engage with our newsletter and training and, work with us to communicate sustainability more effectively. Sign our Sustainable Marketer Manifesto, work with us, and join us on our mission. Get in touch to chat.

You’ll find the Podcast on all the usual pod platforms - and also on The Global Player and via The Marketing Society. If you love it, do share it and spread the word. Talking about climate change and the role we play is one of the most important things we can do. So join the conversation. We’re all in this together.

Our podcasts are recorded purely via online conferencing platforms, we apologise for any minor sound quality issues.

Episode 97: Sustainability and AI - Friends or Foes? with tech futurist, Dan Södergren and sustainability pro, Russ Avery

“The more people bring AI in-house the better it will be for the environment”…

“You’ve got to spend the money to take advantage of the opportunity – and you can say but AI is free, but it isn't - that's just bad AI”…

“AI allows us to do the art of marketing without marketing” …

A slightly longer episode this week, but boy is it an interesting one! In this episode of Can Marketing Save the Planet we bring together two of the biggest conversations in the world today; AI and sustainability to find out if they are friend or foe. Joined by tech futurist Dan Södergren and sustainability guy, Russ Avery, we discuss questions around, is business and society responsible enough to use AI? Why AI policies a must for organisations - and, how can Marketers use AI in an informed and meaningful way?

As with any big subject matter we jump straight into the challenges and opportunities. When it comes to challenges we of course go straight to the environmental impact where Russ explains, “AI -driven data centers are projected to consume 90 terawatt hours annually by 2026, which will be a 10 -fold increase from 2022 levels, which is only three years ago. And for context, that's equivalent to the energy uses of some entire countries.” Only part of the story - but something we should all be aware of as we all look to AI and how it will increasingly become more prevalent in our lives.

Dan agrees that energy is definitely something we need to be aware of, but more importantly, “it's more the fact of what you do with it. En-masse if you just take it out by itself and you add it on to the marketing you're doing, then yes, by its very nature, you're going to be creating more problems because you are going to be using more energy.  But on the whole, he believes AI can make the world a better place (caveat - if the good guys use it). The ‘fifth industrial revolution’ also comes up a lot in this conversation, but you’ll need to tune in to find out more.

We talk about the need for more education, upskilling and awareness. Training is another area that we keep coming back to. Russ talks about the need for education and using AI responsibly, “we should not be using AI for socially useless mundane purposes’ – Take note Marketers! Dan agrees that education and understanding is critical if we want to be more productive and less wasteful. Both share hints, tips and ways we (Marketers) can all be using AI more effectively.  

Russ believes that Marketers can use AI effectively if they “lean into their curiosity and understand the foundations of what you are using”, he goes on to explain, “I would just encourage Marketers to learn about the fundamentals of AI because it can only benefit your understanding how these things work and how they actually came about”.

Dan talks about the need for better prompt engineering, an understanding of language models and, the need for culture change, moving away from specialisation and IP to considering, “how does your organisation incentivise not just the use of AI, but actually incentivise the best practice use of AI? Say I've created a great prompt, what's in it for me to share that knowledge with the rest of the team? Now, that's something we've never really had.”

There is simply too much in this episode to summarise here in a way that does it justice, you’ll just need to tune in and get your pens and pads ready….and then click on the links in the show notes to take advantage of the offers from Dan…we certainly will be.

Tune in and listen as we talk to Dan and Russ about:

• The challenges and opportunities around AI

• The ethics and dilemma - Humans vs AI in the workplace

• Data with intelligence can help us do all the things we’ve been talking about for 20 years

• The need to train and upskill your employees

• The purpose of organisations and business

• The green tech revolution

• The need to understand how we use AI

• What skills and knowledge marketers need to have to use AI effectively

• The need for organisations to have AI policies

• Small language models vs. large language model and the benefits that can come from that for organisations

• How marketers, agencies, organisations can use AI in the RIGHT way

A truly informative and thought provoking episode. Tune in, enjoy it, share it - and of course, share your comments.

For all the links / offers Dan shares:

The AI Marketing Course 

https://www.letslevelup.app/course/TheAIMarketingCourse 

200 off:      AIMarketing200OFF

The Prompt Engineering Course 

https://www.letslevelup.app/course/PromptEngineering 

To access Dan’s books visit Dan Sodergren #FutureOfWork use the code TRAININGTHANKYOU  and get any one book downloadable for free.

Books here:

How to effectively use AI to market your business in one day a month

THE NEW INTELLIGENCE The 5th Industrial Revolution

https://dansodergren.medium.com/the-free-first-chapter-of-how-to-thrive-and-survive-in-2025-e4518b3525ec

And free to download at www.aileadershipcourse.com

And here is an audio version for free if you would like that… 

The Free First Chapter Of “How to Thrive and Survive in 2025” A #leader’s guide to the times of #ai.

You’ll find Dan on LinkedIn here

You’ll find Russ on LinkedIn here

________________________________________________________________________________

About us…

We help Marketers save the planet. 🌍

Join the Marketers and organisations who have signed our manifesto, engage with our newsletter and training and, work with us to communicate sustainability more effectively. Sign our Sustainable Marketer Manifesto, work with us, and join us on our mission. Get in touch to chat.

You’ll find the Podcast on all the usual pod platforms - and also on The Global Player and via The Marketing Society. If you love it, do share it and spread the word. Talking about climate change and the role we play is one of the most important things we can do. So join the conversation. We’re all in this together.

Our podcasts are recorded purely via online conferencing platforms, we apologise for any minor sound quality issues.

Episode 96: Time for Marketers to Drive Meaning and Difference - Key Skills Required and Barriers to Overcome with Ozlem Senturk, Global Sustainability Transformation, Kantar

“90% of Marketers agree that sustainability agendas need to be more ambitious.”

We are back to 2025 with a bang and a full-on schedule of fantastic guests and riveting conversations. In our first episode of the year we’re joined by Ozlem Senturk, Senior Partner at Kantar’s Global Sustainable Transformation Practice. Ozlem shares so many interesting insights from Kantar and the World Federation of Advertisers study ‘Sustainable Marketing 2030’, where they identified what Marketers need to do to transform faster, the structural challenges and lack of internal resources that need to be overcome and the need for a P&L that factors in planet and profit.

We explore the need for new economic frameworks and how circularity plays a pivotal role in both driving and supporting that. Ozlem shares with us, that there is a clear skills gap when it comes to Marketers, she explains, “it’s a lot around the daily challenges and people having to understand the value chain and its impact”, and that, “there is a need to speed up the adoption of the circular economy, but Marketers are having a harder time in understanding it, plus they are still quite focused on traditional moments of consumption. We need to expand the understanding of the value chain for marketing.”

The need for Marketers to also focus internally and understand what is happening throughout the organisations they work for is becoming increasingly more important. In addition, Ozlem explains that “sustainability drives meaning and difference”, so Marketers should be considering sustainability KPIs as an integrated part of the communications process. “We need to think big when we communicate” … she tells us.

There is work to be done, and skills to be honed, but with that comes opportunity. Download the study to find out more!

Tune in and listen as we talk to Ozlem about:

• The range of findings from the study

• Why Marketers need to understand the circular economy

• How internal focus is a key requirement to understanding the opportunities

• Why we can’t shy away from talking about what we are doing

• Marketing’s brain print

• How from a creative brief perspective – sustainability remains at a low level

• Setting sustainability KPIs as an integrated part of the communications process

• The barriers to engagement with sustainability

This really is an inspiring but highly practical episode to start our 2025 conversations. Tune in, enjoy it, share it - and of course, share your comments.

Find out more information about the Sustainable Marketing 2030 report.

Connect with OzLem Senturk on LinkedIn.

We’ve got plenty more terrific conversations coming in 2025. Stay tuned… here’s to more.

________________________________________________________________________________

About us…

We help Marketers save the planet. 🌍

Join the Marketers and organisations who have signed our manifesto, engage with our newsletter and training and, work with us to communicate sustainability more effectively. Sign our Sustainable Marketer Manifesto, work with us, and join us on our mission. Get in touch to chat.

You’ll find the Podcast on all the usual pod platforms - and also on The Global Player and via The Marketing Society. If you love it, do share it and spread the word. Talking about climate change and the role we play is one of the most important things we can do. So join the conversation. We’re all in this together.

Our podcasts are recorded purely via online conferencing platforms, we apologise for any minor sound quality issues.

Episode 95: The Power of Research & Understanding our Audiences - A Missing Marketing Fundamental with Denise Hicks, Global Climate Lead, C-Space

“We need to get back to classic marketing – what matters to our audience is a must. Even those people who don’t ‘buy into’ sustainability – up to 70% of them are actually engaged in sustainable behaviours – they just don’t label it as sustainable….”

In this episode were joined by Denise Hicks, Global Climate Lead at strategy and insights consultancy, C-Space. We were particularly interested in a very soon to be published piece of research titled, ‘The S Word’.

Denise shares insights from the research findings, highlighting the ‘dysfunctional love triangle’ that exists between brands, their stakeholders and regulations and the tensions and frictions which are causing trust issues.

We explore some of the key highlights from the research (due out January 2025), Denise reveals, “consumers are frustrated, the problem is stuff – there is too much stuff and brands / manufacturers need to start taking responsibility”. She also talks about, “the increasing amount of skepticism at all level at the ways the S word is used for commercial gain”.

Denise shares some brilliant examples of brands who are showing up in this space and engaging with their customers however, whilst they have sustainability high up on their agendas, they aren’t leading with it – rather they are leading with good old fashion marketing tactics around what benefits their customers. The fact they are also sustainability focused is an added benefit.

Denise explains, “the need to get back to classic marketing – what matters to our audience is a must. Even those people who don’t ‘buy into’ sustainability – up to 70% of them are actually engaged in sustainable behaviours – they just don’t label it as sustainable.” Sustainability paralysis is very real, the need for strong listening, insights and learning about what truly matters to audiences has never been greater. This episode is a MUST LISTEN TO for all Marketers….packed with plenty of food for thought!

Tune in and listen as we talk to Denise about:

• The importance of research.

• Sustainability paralysis and why it is very real.

• Why it is so important to understand the views of everybody and where they are at.

• The need to drive mutual benefit and work together collectively.

• How regulation plays an important part - but we can’t just wait for it, all stakeholders need to keep moving forwards.

• Why brands / Marketers need to be asking - is sustainability a big part of our identity as a brand?

• The need to meet your audiences where they are at and focus on what matter to them – elements which aren’t necessarily sustainability related.

• What it means to behave more responsibly and asking what’s the role of responsible products and services in achieving a ‘better life’.

This really is a fantastic episode to wrap up all our 2024 conversations. Tune in, enjoy it, share it - and of course, share your comments.

Find out more information about C-Space and the work they do. Connect with Denise Hicks - and you can register to receive The S Word research once published.

We’ve got plenty more terrific conversations coming in 2025. Stay tuned… and here’s to more.

________________________________________________________________________________

About us…

We help Marketers save the planet. 🌍

Join the Marketers and organisations who have signed our manifesto, engage with our newsletter and training and, work with us to communicate sustainability more effectively. Sign our Sustainable Marketer Manifesto, work with us, and join us on our mission. Get in touch to chat.

You’ll find the Podcast on all the usual pod platforms - and also on The Global Player and via The Marketing Society. If you love it, do share it and spread the word. Talking about climate change and the role we play is one of the most important things we can do. So join the conversation. We’re all in this together.

Our podcasts are recorded purely via online conferencing platforms, we apologise for any minor sound quality issues.

Episode 94: ‘The 9 Principles of Effective Climate Communication’ (and more…) with Dr Graeme Heyes and Laurence Adams, Litmus Sustainability

Businesses need to be asking themselves – “What could this business be, redesigning it from the ground up?” Start with the opportunity as opposed to the challenges.

We know communication and engagement is critical to driving change, a su bject we have explored many times on the podcast, but there’s always something new to learn. Hence why we really enjoyed meeting Laurence and Graeme from Litmus Sustainability to talk more deeply about a subject which is very close to our hearts.

Setting up their business with the aim of helping creative and ambitious organisations integrate sustainability into the core of what they do, Laurence and Graeme are working across a wide range of areas with communication playing a vital role. The need to focus on the long term vision, understand the short term wins and, navigate the challenges and confusion when you’re told one thing is good (e.g. offsetting) - and then finding out it’s bad, are all part of the complex learning curve when it comes to sustainability.

Graeme talks about the need to level up your game, he explains, “businesses need to do something really exciting that capture people’s imaginations, so thinking what could this business be, redesigning it from the ground up.” An approach and way of thinking which drives long term vision and opportunity to do something unique, as opposed to starting with the challenges.

We discuss the need for climate skills and how mobilising an army of climate champions can drive hope and motivate people who then often go on to become experts in the field (of sustainability). Laurence, talks about the fact that technical expertise isn’t always the most impactful thing. He explains, “the greatest climate skill I think is communication, one piece of research into what makes a great sustainable leader revealed it’s skills like collaboration, negotiation, influence and effective communication, once engaged this is what brings great ideas which can be uses on the ground”. And of course these are all key traits of Marketers.

We delve deep into communication with both Laurence and Graeme sharing many insights and examples...a great conversation and source of knowledge for Marketers everywhere.

 Tune in and listen as we talk to Laurence and Graeme about:

• The barriers to sustainability – ‘it’s not easy being green’.

• How businesses are integrating sustainability into the core of what they do and as a result taking their organisations forward.

• The 9 principles of effective climate communication - taken from their work and evidence of what works for different people and psychologies.

• The need for Marketers to start and change the conversations.

• The difference between communication and engagement.

• How communicating and influencing other people has a much greater impact than acting alone.

• How we need to level up our knowledge about good communication and link it back to the core values of what drives a person’s behaviour.

• What your unique superpower is in bringing ‘good’ to the world.

For more information you can contact the team via : https://litmussustainability.com/

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/litmus-sustainability/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvMk_MGGoooRGnfn3uzcb9A

Dr Graeme Heyes was also involved in a piece of work with a local community group looking to embed Doughnut Economics across Greater Manchester through engagement with communities. You can find out more here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/transform-gm

________________________________________________________________________________

About us…

We help Marketers save the planet. 🌍

Join the Marketers and organisations who have signed our manifesto, engage with our newsletter and training and, work with us to communicate sustainability more effectively. Sign our Sustainable Marketer Manifesto, work with us, and join us on our mission. Get in touch to chat.

You’ll find the Podcast on all the usual pod platforms - and also on The Global Player and via The Marketing Society. If you love it, do share it and spread the word. Talking about climate change and the role we play is one of the most important things we can do. So join the conversation. We’re all in this together.

Our podcasts are recorded purely via online conferencing platforms, we apologise for any minor sound quality issues.

Ep 93: ‘Marketing for Social Change’ - How to develop a more flourishing society and more sustainable future with Kian Bhaktiari, Founder, The People

“We don’t ’speak for young people, we let them be the voice and share their perspective.”

We keep coming back to the S – ‘social and societal impact’ in many of our conversations with clients, leaders and marketers, we’re discussing the role of business, both in how they operate and what they are doing for society.

In this episode of the podcast we have a chat with the brilliant Kian Bakhtiari, Founder of The People, a Gen-Z consultancy. We were keen to know more about the work Kian does both with the youth generation and businesses, how he brings those worlds together (which is very much needed). Kian explains, “We’ve applied such a narrow lens to how business can be done, how marketing can be done that we’ve lost track of the opportunities and all the ways that we can create a more flourishing society and more sustainable future.” Kian tells us about how the younger generation feel and think about the world they are growing up in, making the point, “Wealth inequalities are a bigger determinant of your future than your education and how hard you work.” Kian and his teams bring Gen Z insights into the boardroom, they want to close the gap between as he says, “those who make the decisions and those whose lives are impacted by the decisions”, opening up opportunities to share knowledge and insights both ways and, and create a space to explore how we can change business.

A new author, Kian has recently published his book, ‘Marketing for Social Change – How to Turn Purpose into Business and Social Impact’ , a book which explores and asks the question – What is the role of marketing in the 21st century? Like us, Kian firmly believes that marketing has a significant role to play and if harnessed in the right way can accelerate social change. “We need to find ways to bring business and communities together.” When asked how he would measure social impact, Kian shares, “There are lots of different lenses on social impact- start by being neutral, then bring in meaningful connection and impact.” “Start small – it can be really overwhelming at a system level. What is something you can do today which might have an impact and go from there.”

Tune in and listen as we talk to Kian about:

• The importance of the role of marketing in driving positive impact on society.

• Why he wrote his new book ‘Marketing for Social Change’ and what he learnt.

• Thinking about the way things are done, outside the ways things are currently done.

• The work he does with the youth community and, diverse communities.

• Understanding what businesses want from the future.

• What unifying factors young people are finding challenging.

• Social impact and how we can approach it and measure it.

For more, follow and connect with Kian here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kianbakhtiari/

And to find out more about The People and the work they do - here https://www.thepeople.work/

Kian talks about Earth Watch -and more can be found here: https://earthwatch.org.uk/

And check out his new book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Marketing-Social-Change-Purpose-Business/dp/1398616842

________________________________________________________________________________

About us…

We help Marketers save the planet. 🌍

Join the Marketers and organisations who have signed our manifesto, engage with our newsletter and training and, work with us to communicate sustainability more effectively. Sign our Sustainable Marketer Manifesto, work with us, and join us on our mission. Get in touch to chat.

You’ll find the Podcast on all the usual pod platforms - and also on The Global Player and via The Marketing Society. If you love it, do share it and spread the word. Talking about climate change and the role we play is one of the most important things we can do. So join the conversation. We’re all in this together.

Our podcasts are recorded purely via online conferencing platforms, we apologise for any minor sound quality issues.

Episode 92: Food Security - Education and Awareness and Where Marketing Fits In, with Ali Cox, Founder and CEO, Noble West

“When it comes to food systems, Marketers can be the most valuable in providing extraordinary consumer insights so that assumptions are not made in what people want.”

To maintain food security, food systems need to change. They need to be more sustainable, less impactful on the planet, healthier and way less wasteful. But, there is still a huge amount of education and awareness that needs to happen if people are to truly understand why food systems are at risk and, how we choose what we eat really does matter.

In this super informative episode, we were joined by Ali Cox, CEO and Founder of Noble West, an agriculture and food ingredient marketing agency taking on a big challenge. Ali believes that, “the biggest challenge is that consumers (in the USA) are confused. Research shows that people make their food choices based on price, taste and availability – climate is a very distant fourth.”

Socioeconomic factors are definitely a challenge, however how we market food also needs to change. Ali shares with us her experiences both as a fifth generation farmer herself and the experiences of the farmers and organisations she works with. Truly passionate about ingredients and telling great stories, Ali wants the food industry to play the role it should be playing in educating and being part of the solution when it comes to tackling the enormous challenges around food security.  

Ali shares so many examples of projects she has worked on and the brands she believes are getting their marketing right. We explore the need for shared value and the importance of meeting people where they are at.

Tune in and listen as we talk to Ali about:

• Imperfect food and the difference between food loss and food waste.

• The significant business opportunity being missed when it comes to waste.

• Why upcycling is the future.

• Whether we really need so many options when it comes to food?

• The need to tell the origin stories and why we should absolutely want to know where our food comes from.

• How Marketers need to understand what people really want so that they can bring those insights back into their organisations.

For more, follow and connect with Ali here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicox/

And to find out more about Noble West and the work they do - here https://wearenoblewest.com/

Episode 91: Leadership can happen anywhere… with Professor Chris Marquis, Author of ‘Better Business: How the B-Corp Movement is Remaking Capitalism’

It’s the final episode in our mini-series on sustainable leadership and in this episode we’re joined by Professor Chris Marquis. Chris talks to us about his experience studying, writing about and working with organisations on sustainability. Author of, “Better Business: How the B Corp Movement Is Remaking Capitalism,” we explore Chris’ first experience of B-Corp, a movement setting new standards for how business should operate. Chris believes we can learn a lot from B-Corps, “we should be studying B corporations, companies that are putting the social at their core.”

We discussed the critical component of the internal pieces which need to happen to “align with the idea of mindset and leadership,” but aren’t necessarily “the remit of just the leaders around ability and driving the impact.” As has been a consistent theme throughout this mini-series, “leadership can happen anywhere.”

So, if you are looking to find out more about the B-Corp movement, are curious about what steps you should consider or, want to explore internal engagement and sustainable leadership a bit more, then tune in and have a listen!

Join us on this episode as we talk to Chris about:

• The B-Corp process

• The B-Impact Assessment (link below)

• The challenges of being a leader today

• Key skills of a sustainable leader

• The importance of internal communication and engagement

• The need to be accountable to a broader set of stakeholders

For more, follow and connect with Chris on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-marquis/

B Impact Assessment - can be accessed here: https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/programs-and-tools/b-impact-assessment/

Thanks to Chris for a great episode to conclude our Sustainable Leadership mini-series. Stay tuned for more episodes and mini-series, we’ve got a packed schedule. And if you love the podcast, do share with colleagues, peers and friends.