Rhiannon Davies Shah of WWF-UK explores marketing’s biggest challenge in the decade ahead. Can marketing re-invent itself, encourage people to buy less, and help the planet recover?
It’s been the same since the first ads sold Hoovers and washing machines to housewives in the 1950s . These early ads showcased bold new products and sold new ‘modern’ lifestyles to millions. They also ushered in a wave of consumerism that many argue got us into the pickle that we’re in now. Now it’s these modern lifestyles that have become a risk to our own survival. It’s our consumption patterns that are fuelling the devastation. Recent studies show the richest 10% of the world’s population are responsible for 52% of the cumulative carbon emissions. Marketing can come to the rescue.
Faced with a planetary emergency of this magnitude, marketing departments all over the world need to work to a different brief. Otherwise the risk is being seen as anachronistic and out of touch with public sentiment that has so obviously changed in the past few years. Or worse, seen as fuelling the problem. Gone are the days when a marketeer can say that eco products don’t sell.
A recently published study by the Economist Intelligence Unit shows that searches for sustainable products have increased globally by 71%. The data in the past few years shows that they do care about the environment and they care immensely. Plus they are acutely aware that there aren’t enough products on the shelves that help to solve the environmental catastrophe we are heading for, but that there are rather many more that are contributing to the problems.
Just think about the school children who wrote to Burger King and got them to remove the plastic toys in their happy meals. They stated the obvious, and they’re not alone.
The facts are these… we need to halve emissions, halve the impact of production and consumption, and embark on ‘industrial scale’ ecosystem restoration by 2030. Let that sink in for a minute... that’s not just emission reduction (which is what everyone is focussing on), but reducing your impact on nature AND the restoration of wetlands, peatlands, grasslands, oceans, forests, etc.
Only if we do these things on an industrial level can we re-balance the planet-enough that scientists hope we can stabilise the planet. But, this is not guaranteed. There are those in the scientific community who believe it is infact too late to change the trajectory. That is a sobering thought.
If we are to remotely meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and keep the planet within its safe operating space, we need to totally transform the way vast swathes of our citizens consume and how we do business. This will require businesses globally to really question each product they put on the shelves and actively contribute to nature restoration. NGOs, scientists and interested citizens can’t change the future of the planet alone. We need marketing’s help to shift behaviours, create new habits and create a new sustainable wave of consumerism. Buying a few bamboo toothbrushes and eco-friendly deodorant just won’t cut it. The FTSE 100 is currently tracking a rise of temperature of 3.9°C by mid-century – which is not well below 2°C as was agreed in the Paris Agreement or remotely as close to 1.5°C as we need it to be. Let me put this in perspective... at 1.5°C of warming, we can expect to lose 70% of the world's coral reefs. 2°C degrees of warming will effectively wipe them out*. But if marketing joins the fight for our world, we stand a fighting chance of turning it around.
How quickly can you help your customers move to new sustainable lifestyle choices that will help our planet get through the next few millennia? This is everything from the more straightforward sustainably sourced products and electric vehicles, to the more difficult behavioural changes like eating less (or better) meat, buying less (or better) clothing, and saving water. The schoolchildren of today get it. As do the woke millennial generation who already have apps on their phones to tell them which brands are more sustainable than others. It’s the lifestyles and habits of the 30-60-year-olds that we need to shift and pronto. Here are some ideas that push the boundaries of green marketing beyond just pushing products that are gentler on the environment:
Botanica by Air Wick and WWF: Let’s Bring Nature Back
Brands like BrewDog, Sky, Tesco, Reckitt and Carlsberg have committed to one or more of the above and by engaging their marketing departments they are helping the planet to recover. We need more brands to follow their lead. Each brand’s voice is different. Just like each campaign. But choosing a topic that is aligned with your business as each of these examples show, makes good marketing sense. I’d encourage more brands to do one less traditional ad campaign this year and restore an ecosystem important to your business instead.
Did you know we’ve lost 98% of our UK wildflower meadows since 1930? Reckitt is tackling the challenge head on in their #BringNatureBack campaign and has committed to planting acres of wildflowers in 13 countries in the world to restore these crucial lost landscapes vital for pollinators (and crucial for their business). Did you know that seagrass stores 35x more carbon than a forest? Carlsberg and Sky do and they are actively working to restore lost seagrass beds around the UK to provide vital carbon sinks, as well as providing nurseries for baby fish to help our devastated fish populations.
Brewdog's Make Earth Great Again campaign
Did you know we’re not on track to meet the Paris Agreement? BrewDog is one of the few consumer brands who is shouting about climate with the ferocity and urgency felt by the scientific community. Their bold and iconic ads capture the zeitgeist are designed to wake up the non-believers. Their Make Earth Great Again campaign is creating carbon sinks, regenerating landscapes and creating some pretty edgy on-pack messaging. Did you know that less than 1% of UK seas are properly protected? Sky’s Ocean Hero campaign is tackling this issue and Sky is going above and beyond the common theme of plastic to a whole range of issues to tackle the catastrophic decline of vital ocean habitats around the UK. Part of this campaign is a petition to the UK government to commit to a 10-year strategy that includes and full protection for at least 30% of UK seas. Ambitious and much-needed for coastal communities and these fragile ecosystems around the country and creating thousands of #oceanhero(es) in the process.
Tesco meanwhile is doing a lot behind the scenes to push the boundaries of their entire industry and setting ambitious targets like halving the impact of the average shopping basket. This doesn’t mean just reducing the plastic packaging (although this is part of it), it is also fundamental work on restoring nature in food production and helping customers to eat more sustainably. Their new shopping basket metrics will be useful for all food retailers as they go on a similar crucial journey proving that every little does help especially when it’s from the UK’s biggest retailer.
By engaging the power and might of marketing to tackle fundamental issues affecting our planet, these brands are adding their voice to environmental campaigners everywhere and actively taking a stand to help the planet re-generate. They are helping to spread crucial information to millions of their customers, helping to motivate their suppliers to change, reducing their own business impact, creating inspiration for their employees, and creating additional value for their brand. It’s a win-win situation. It’s working for Triodos Bank.
Last year I wrote about the brand engaging their marketing to help save the planet and they’re one of the only banks currently enjoying a 20% boost in customers.
Just like WWF learned 60 years ago, we can’t save one species at a time. We can’t do this with one eco product at a time. We need a green revolution at the speed and the scale of the digital revolution. We need mass behaviour change if we are to get this right. Only by engaging the might of marketing, can we do this.
Instead of 1.5°C we are currently tracking a rise of temperature of 3-4°C by 2050 and by the end of the century the planet could be 5°C warmer. If you watch either of our two business films Our Planet: Our Business or Our Planet: Too Big To Fail you’ll see the projections. To find out how you can screen either of these films to your colleagues to raise momentum on these issues visit www.opobevents.com
Our Planet: Too Big To Fail, from WWF International
