4A's Sustainability Summit: Marketers Must Take Action on Climate Change

quotThe time has never been more urgent to have the conversations we39re having todayquot said 4A39s President and CEO Marla Kaplowitz who moderated the panel quotThe Time Is Now Why Brands and Agencies Must Be the Architects of Shaping the Future of Environmental SustainabilityquotquotSitting on the sidelines is no longer an optionquot Kaplowitz continued quotBrands and agencies have a unique opportunity to be proudly part of meaningful solutions And while international and domestic regulators and standardsetting NGOs nongovernmental organizations will continue to work towards getting consensus and commitments on climate action it39s increasingly clear that the process will be slow and might evolve to a bareminimum standardquotThe industry has a quotmassive credibility issuequot when it comes to sustainability said panelist Oliver Joyce Mindshare39s Global Chief Transformation Officer and GroupM Decarbonisation Programme Executive DirectorJoyce referenced a recent World Federation of Advertisers event during which 74 of some 850 marketeers voted quotyesquot to the statement quotMarketing today is incompatible with sustainability goalsquotquotI think there are three things internally that we need to look atquot Joyce noted quotWe need 39architects39 who are supremely wellqualified more people working in the front line of agencies cocreating solutions Sustainability people can39t be 39ticking the boxes39 saying 39Okay that39s acceptable39 They need to be creating the solutions with usquotSecondly Joyce continued quotWe need to get our house in order If you look at the big agency groups there are only two that have earned CDP Carbon Disclosure Project 39A39 ratings which isn39t enoughquotThirdly quotwe need to be working with the scientists the engineers the financiers the policymakers to find the solutionsquot he said quotIf we do that and we39re humble about it I think we can significantly accelerate the impact of the work those people are doing but it39s collaborativequotLooking at the sustainability problem externally Joyce described it as quota marketing challenge How do we rapidly close the gap between consumer claims and actual behaviorsquot He recently read that 71 of consumers view climate change to be as big a risk as COVID while only 27 of consumers were classified as quotecoactivequot a gap of more than 40quotI think it39s critical that we close that gap between claimed intent and behaviorsquot Joyce asserted quotIn addressing that we can prove to businesses that sustainability is going to be central to any future success Because if sustainability is seen to be hindering economic progress we have a big problem voters will continue to prioritize shortterm wellbeing versus the longterm threatsquotOn that front Joyce said he doesn39t blame the public quotPeople need to feed their families and keep their houses warm they39re busy and in a rushquot he said quotSo we need to find ways that they can do all of those things We need to sort out affordability and access to close that gapquotKaplowitz pointed out that businesses need to help individual consumers understand what they can do quotIt39s very easy to say 39Well that39s someone else39s problem39 or 39the government or companies are going to fix it39quot she said quotIt39s going to take everyone39s immediate actions to really drive that changequotquotWe need to treat sustainability in the same way that we treated digital transformation for the last 15 yearsquot Joyce said quotDigital transformation has been all about business growth and ultimately if you haven39t invested in it you39ve gotten left behind And I think we need to take the same attitude with this because unless you39re truly invested in sustainability you really are going to be left behindquotJoyce also identified three transformational quotpillarsquot required for sustained and enduring growth The first is an improved consumer experience The second is an improved working experience where employees are motivated to deliver better products or services quotAnd we knowquot he added quotthat sustainability is a huge staff motivator it39s a brilliant way of attracting and keeping talentquot The third pillar is the positive impact of sustainability on people and the planetquotNo one gets out of bed and thinks 39Let39s pollute the planet39quot Joyce explained quotThey think 39How can I live my life in the easiest most convenient most affordable way39 I truly believe that it39s about access and affordability We39ve gotten very good at justifying investments in digital transformation and technology I think applying that same sort of thinking to sustainability has to be the way forward And it is the most important marketing opportunity and challenge of our generationquotClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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4A's Sustainability Summit: Marketers Must Take Action on Climate Change

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Richard Mancini

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