Can marketers save the planet? Only if we tackle the skills gap first.

?“Saving our planet is now a communications challenge.? We know what we need to do, we just need the will to act."? Those sage words from Sir David Attenborough were shared back in 2020 but carry even greater weight today.? Despite being well into the UN described ‘decade of action’, the progress being made to create a sustainable future is falling short and the implications are significant.? According to the UN's recent IPCC report, the window to act to avoid climate catastrophe is closing fast.

Bold and ambitious business transformation is needed to accelerate progress toward a net-zero, nature-positive future. That transformation includes an overhaul of commercial models and a rewiring of how businesses run.? With such change comes the need for creative consumer engagement.? Engagement that contextualises business adaptation.? Engagement that encourages sustainable consumption.? Engagement that demonstrates credible progress-making.?

Although marketers increasingly find themselves tasked to drive this type of engagement many don’t feel comfortable to lead it.? According to recent research from the UK’s Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), nearly half of marketers (45%) feel under pressure to communicate their company or clients’ sustainability credentials.? Some of this pressure comes from the public critique marketers fear will result from sustainability-focused marketing.? In a lot of cases this concern is valid.? Too often, there are big gaps between what’s being communicated and the ambition and substance of a business’ transformation.?

For marketers keen to avoid this gap, understanding where a business is at on its journey to become more sustainable is critical.? The more marketers understand the societal and environmental contribution their organisation is (or isn’t) making, the better placed you'll be to help.? That help might include influencing the development of bold and ambitious sustainability strategies, creating campaigns that bring a business’ sustainable transformation to life, or rolling out initiatives that support broader sustainability priorities and goals.??

Understanding where a business is at on its sustainability journey requires asking questions.? Knowing what questions to ask requires education.? Fortunately, marketers show increasing interest in getting educated on sustainability.? Whether it’s improving their understanding of relevant regulation or learning how to avoid green-washing, there's a growing appetite to build knowledge.?

Diageo is an example of a business that's responded to this appetite.? At last year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the company launched Brand Activism - sustainability training for its marketers.? The program focused on equipping 1,200 employees in its marketing and innovation division with the knowledge of how to apply sustainability principles in their roles and lead the change agenda.? Encouragingly, the initiative was developed with Diageo’s Group sustainability team.? I say encouragingly because the more marketing and sustainability teams find ways to work and learn from each other, the more likely we’ll see brands lead with comms and engagement that’s both credible and creative.

Striking that credible and creative balance is key to avoiding not just green washing, but grey washing too.? Grey washing is what we use to label sustainability strategies, plans or engagement that fails to challenge, isn’t creative and doesn’t enable meaningful change.? Grey washing typically applies to organisations that have robust sustainability strategies and plans in place but aren’t harnessing the power of creativity to win the hearts and minds of stakeholders.? That’s a big miss when it comes to ensuring the investment in sustainability drives reputational, brand and commercial gains.? It’s also a missed opportunity in terms of harnessing the talents of marketers, who possess skills businesses need to engage consumers on their journey of transformation.?

For marketers keen to put these skills to good use it pays to get educated on sustainability.? The more marketers understand. the better positioned they’ll be to help their organisations drive the? credible and creative action that’s urgently needed to both do less harm and create more positive commercial, environmental and societal value.