Afleveringen
-
It’s another mini-series and this one is all about leadership, something which is incredibly important as we come together and take on the biggest challenge humanity has ever faced (and nope, we’re not being overly dramatic).
Sustainable leadership is about making a positive impact, contributing to society and the environment and, driving long-term performance for business. Sustainable leadership is a big role and a role which is open to everyone, something you’ll discover as we go through this 4-part series.
To kick things off, we’re joined by Karen Hamilton, former Global VP for Sustainability at Unilever. Karen spent over 30 years at Unilever and worked alongside Paul Polman who believed, “sustainability can be part of the way that we fix the business”. Karen played a key part in driving the organisation to ‘make sustainable living commonplace’, deliver the the Unilever “Sustainable Living Plan” – a 10 year plan with 50 time-bound targets. Karen shares how this was the start of the journey to change the organisation.
Throughout this episode, Karen generously shares her wealth of knowledge and experience, talks about the different approaches she took, how sustainability was cascaded through such an enormous network of people and gives some great practical examples.
Join us on this episode as we talk to Karen about:
Karen’s role and journey at Unilever
How to mobilise and engage a global network of employees and suppliers
Why transparency is so important when it comes to communicating your sustainability agenda
The role of ambition when it comes to sustainability
Why we all need a leadership mindset
The role of marketing in driving sustainability
For more, follow and connect with Karen on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-hamilton-a1393a27/
A great first episode in our Sustainable Leadership mini-series. More to come. Stay tuned. And if you love the podcast, do share with colleagues, peers and friends.
________________________________________________________________________________
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.
-
In the final episode of our ‘greening your marketing activity’ mini-series, we caught up with some of our original guests to the podcast, Ollie Deane and Guy Jones from The GoodNet, the ethical intelligence company, focusing on helping ethical brands and products grow. The Goodnet firmly believe that advertising can do good in the world and, we agree with and support their mission!
Ollie and Guy shared their journey since last coming on the podcast a couple of years ago, sharing what is happening in the media space. They introduced us to GoodIQ, their intelligence tool which measures sustainability metrics. They share their advice on what brands, agencies and Marketers need to be considering when it comes to making ethical media choices which not only support their organisations sustainable agendas, but help their audiences lead better, more sustainable lives.
Join us on this episode as we talk to Ollie and Guy about:
Ethical media, sustainability and advertising
GoodIQ, their media planning and measurement tool
Being more sustainable with your marketing spend and how to measure the results
Upcoming regulations and how they are driving focus and conversations
Whether ads are driving more awareness and sustainable behaviour in line with changing market needs?
For more information about The Goodnet and GoodIQ - visit https://wearethegoodnet.com/
And to connect with them on LinkedIn - Ollie Deane and Guy Jones
A great final episode in our greening your marketing channels mini-series. We did cover a few more areas in our latest book too - so you can always pick up a copy for more practical solutions.
________________________________________________________________________________
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.
-
Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
-
“When it comes to including sustainability in events - we’re finding the focus on sustainability is increasingly part of the client brief.”
As we continue with our greening your marketing activity mini-series, we wanted to turn our attention to events. Events can be fun, they allow us to learn and connect, but they also come with a considerable footprint and impact, mainly from travel, food and that infamous swag. However, the events landscape is evolving and sustainability is an increasingly growing focal point. We met up with Matilda Riley, an expert in sustainable events. Matilda talks openly and frankly about all the different areas that events impact and how there are sustainable alternatives and choices for pretty much every element when it comes to planning and running an event. Matilda tells us that she now sees sustainability on the majority (approx. 90%) of all briefs coming in from clients, which is a big and positive step change.
Sharing so many ideas, solutions and ways you can make your event not only more sustainable but, more creative, engaging and successful, you won’t want to miss out.
Join us on this episode as we talk to Matilda about:
What you need to consider when planning and running an event
How sustainability is now included on the majority of briefs
How events are part of your scope 3 emissions so need to be part of your standards
How to be proactive and not reactive
Getting creative and doing things differently in a way that brings new life to your events for your organisation and, your audience.
For more information about ECO3 and From Now - visit https://from-now.com/
And to connect with Matilde via LinkedIn - she’s here
Another great episode… and still more to follow in this greening your marketing channels mini-series - so stay tuned.
________________________________________________________________________________
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.
-
“There's something like 7.5 million data centers around the world now, and most of them are still powered by coal and gas. One of the easiest things you can do is move your hosting.”
Welcome back to the second part in our mini-series on ‘greening your marketing activities’ and this episode we explored smarter, greener websites with Sepas Seraj, Founder of Pixeled Eggs.
With the amount of activity that takes place online today purpose-driven digital is a must, and it’s not difficult, in fact, it’s super efficient, usable and can dramatically improve your organisations’ performance - (giving it a ‘digital edge’ as Sepas refers to it) - whilst simultaneously supporting your sustainability agendas now and into the future.
There is a staggering amount of waste when it comes to websites and many of them are woefully inefficient, yet we can start to make changes immediately, improving performance and reducing negative impact. Sepas shares tools, resources and practical advice in abundance, we can’t recommend this episode enough.
Join us on this episode as we talk to Sepas about:
The impact of digital
Understanding the opportunities to optimise your website
Green hosting, videos, images, page weights and variable fonts
Ways you can make your website greener, more efficient and improve its performance
The need for more conversations between design teams, developers, Marketers and sustainability teams
Sustainability driving improved performance time and time again
Best practice, tools and resources
For more information about Pixeled Eggs - visit https://www.pixeledeggs.com/
And to connect with Sepas via LinkedIn - he’s here https://www.linkedin.com/in/sepasseraj/
Another great episode… and still more to follow in this greening your marketing channels mini-series - so stay tuned.
________________________________________________________________________________
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.
-
Have you ever considered the carbon footprint of your email activity?
Welcome to the first in our ‘greening your marketing activity’ mini-series! Did you know that your digital activity has a carbon footprint? Are you aware that there are better choices you can make which mean your marketing activity is greener and more sustainable, without compromising on performance and quality? Well, that’s what we’ll be exploring in the next few episodes.
Every organisation will have to commit to decarbonisation targets, regardless of sector or size. When writing our latest book, research identified that behind R&D, marketing has the largest proportion of organisational budget. Therefore, Marketers need to consider their marketing carbon footprint if they are to align with and support their organisations’ sustainability agendas.
We wanted to kick this mini-series off with the second most used online channel in the world (after instant messaging) - email. Why, because we send a LOT of emails, over 300 BILLION emails a day and, as well as needing to develop better and more efficient and responsible practices when it comes to our email marketing activity, there is also the practicalities of the carbon footprint to consider. So, we spoke to James Gill, Founder of EcoSend a platform that delivers, ‘Better email campaigns. Fewer emissions.’
Join us on this episode as we talk to James about:
The concept of digital sustainability and how our online activities have a carbon footprint.
The importance of understanding your email activity and how you can improve it from both a performance and sustainability perspective.
What goes on behind the email platforms you use.
Improving your email behaviours and practices – professionally and personally.
How to drive efficiencies.
How EcoSend can make the platform switch as painless as possible.
This episode is packed full of insights and practical information which will get your brains whirling, so dive in and get your notebooks ready.
For more information about Ecosend - visit https://ecosend.io/
And to connect with James via LinkedIn - he’s here https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesjgill/
Another great episode… enjoy.
________________________________________________________________________________
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.
-
Every other breath you take comes from the ocean …
How much thought do you give to the products you use to clean your home? We recently took a metaphorical deep dive with Amanda Horn into her love of the ocean as part of World Ocean Day and Ocean Week (in Canada), and how important the ocean and water is to our lives. Following our chat with Amanda, we then we explored toxic free circularity with Paul Arellano Foulkes.
In this episode, we continue the theme of caring for our oceans, speaking with Adam Parker over at OceanSaver, a brand on an incredible mission to “save Ocean life from the plastic pollution and harmful chemicals in 28 billion plastic cleaning products created every year.”
OceanSaver make plastic-free, plant based cleaning products, and as customers, we can vouch for how good they are!
Adam talks about the big picture, how the ocean itself is drowning from overfishing, plastic pollution and harmful chemicals. We discuss the need for solutions and products which do less / no harm and the need and role for us (Marketers), especially those working in the FMCG space, to think about the responsibilities we have and the stories we tell.
Adam shares his experience, the approach they take at OceanSaver and the journey they are on to keep making ecofriendly cleaning products accessible, affordable and a no brainer choice for consumers. They also donate 1% of profit for ocean conversation!
We love how innovative, creative and vibrant OceanSaver is, so be sure to tune in and, get them on your shopping list, you won’t be disappointed. Kind to wallet and the ocean - and very effective.
Tune in to hear us talk with Adam about:
How we need to reconnect people with the ocean and keep educating folks on how incredibly important it is to us
How to make better product choices more accessible
Working with the grain of human psychology and behaviour
Letting people on auto pilot make more sustainable choices
Showing that sustainable choices are affordable and that people are looking for them
The critical role of retailers
What Marketers can be doing to support the business case for change
For more information about Oceansaver - visit https://www.ocean-saver.com
View their latest, fun and informative ad - meet Gareth… and enjoy the sea shanty
And to connect with Adam via LinkedIn - it’s here…
Another great episode… enjoy.
________________________________________________________________________________
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.
-
Degrowth equals greater profits – and big disruptions are coming…
In this episode we got to talk to the brilliant Paul Folkes Arellano about circularity, and not just circularity, but toxic free circularity. Paul shares his knowledge, insights and experience in a space which plays a significant role in sustainability, business and societal behaviours.
Paul share with us how he got into the toxic free circularity space, and shares so many examples of organisations who are doing great things with circularity, and also how collaboration and partnerships are critical to building the business case and turning circularity into meaningful business solutions that can scale.
We talked about the need for Marketers to get involved, to get to grips with and understand their product lifecycle assessments by spending time with their R&D teams, and as Paul says it, “sticking your hands in the compost”. A critical part that brings with it a wealth of stories.
Paul also talks about degrowth and the fact that degrowth equals greater profits. Circularity drives efficiencies, greater loyalty, less waste and, there is also huge amounts of capital to be gained from waste. This episode left us feeling uplifted and full of motivation and confirmed, once again, why we are such big advocates for circularity.
Join us on this episode as we talk to Paul about:
The circular economy and toxic free circularity.
The opportunities and the business case for circularity.
Why Marketers should be spending time in R&D labs to truly understand their products
The great work being done in circularity and why full product life cycle assessments are imperative for marketers to be part of.
The need for more good stories to be shared.
The future of sustainability and circularity and long-term planning.
For more information about Paul’s work visit Circuthon Consulting.
And follow his insights and great conversations via LinkedIn too.
A great episode… enjoy.
________________________________________________________________________________
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.
-
The need to reconnect to water and rebrand the ‘Big Blue’…
World Ocean Day falls on June 8th and for those who haven’t heard of this event, it’s about “catalyzing collective action for a healthy ocean and a stable climate”.
The ocean’s role is one of the most important there is, and, water security is a real concern. But, to make such events successful in reaching global goals and targets around our oceans and water, we have to take notice, understand the challenges we face and importantly, be prepared to take action.
We met with Amanda Horn, a brand marketer who fell in love with water and found a deep connection, which as she shares in this episode, changed so many areas of her life personally and, professionally when she turned her passion into a circular business looking to solve problems in the beauty industry, with water at the heart.
Amanda is a strong advocate for protecting water, raising awareness of the challenges and opportunities and as she says, ‘rebranding big blue’.
Water conservation – Ocean conservation – plastic solutions - waste - water consumption – they are all connected and we have to take responsibility for them, and more importantly understand the challenges and how our behaviors and choices either speed up progress, or slow it down.
When Amanda began her journey to build a responsible brand, she didn’t realise how epic it would be at every single stage. She shares her learnings from the resources needed, commercial understanding, packaging needs, materials sourcing, collaboration and co-creation and what happens at the end of life of her product to make it truly circular.
Join us on this episode as we talk to Amanda about:
The power of connecting with water and the parallels between humans and the ocean.
The importance of ocean literacy in meeting the global goal of protecting 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030.
The need to protect water at all costs through increasing our knowledge and conversations around what it is the most important resource we have.
The “10 Challenges of the Decade”.
How Marketers can make connections through story and emotion as Amanda puts it – “Rebranding the big blue”.
Evolving her passion into a circular business – and how understanding every stage of the product lifecycle is critical to not only the product but the story.
And here’s a rallying call to action for you, our listener to get involved:
World Ocean Day https://worldoceanday.org/about/ in the lead up to World Ocean Day, explore and see what you can do. Amanda also shares her tips!
World Ocean Week https://oceanweekcan.ca/ if you’re in Canada, then you have Ocean Week, which is a public celebration of the ocean from coast to coast.
Wherever you are, even if you are nowhere near a body of water, it is connected to your life, so commit to understanding a bit more, raising your awareness and taking steps to be part of the solution.
For more information about Amanda Horn and Ocean Literacy, click this link.
Enjoy…
________________________________________________________________________________
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.
-
We’re only consciously aware of 0.0004% of everything around us at once…read that again!
Fake news, real news, social media, pickup artists. With all the messages we see and decisions we make every day, have you ever thought about how we are constantly being nudged towards one thing or another? In this episode we explore behavioural science with Patrick Fagan and whilst all communications are design to influence and manipulate in some way, how can we (marketers / communicators) use skill, creativity and influence for good?
When it comes to marketing, our role is to understand needs and desires, tune in to what people want and then talk to them about how our products and services benefit them, meeting those needs and desires and helping them to feel a particular way to purchase or engage. But, as we’ve talked about many times on our podcast series, we need to rethink the role of marketing, we need to evolve our stories, drive awareness, educate, shape new behaviours and get people to care enough to want to make different choices, or change behaviours. There is SO much for Marketers to take away from this conversation with Patrick - from frameworks, steps and examples to connecting the dots. It’s a must listen. Tune in as we talk to Patrick about:
The nuances of language and how they are ordered
Nudge theory and Cialdini's 6 Principles of Influence
Types of nudges - the most used and the most powerful
What we can do as communicators to change behaviours through choice architecture
Fear messaging
Creating campaigns which cut through the noise
Finding out about brain’s ‘memory bouncer’
For more information about Patrick Fagan, the books he’s written, and the work he does - you can follow him on LinkedIn or visit https://www.patrickfagan.co.uk/
Enjoy…
________________________________________________________________________________
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.
-
Honing in on the ‘S’ of E S G – a critical component of the sustainability journey
ESG – environmental, social, governance, a subject that has been an increasing topic of debate and discussion, but what about the S?
In this episode we speak to Beth Knight, a leading figure in social impact and sustainability, with over 15 years’ experience in purpose-led business transformation – Beth shares incredible insights as we take a deeper diver into the ‘S’ for social - an area that, whilst often the least talked about, is critical for key stakeholders (employees, customers, communities) who are looking to gauge whether they want to engage.
With information being more accessible, people are more vocal, and therefore, it is no longer enough for organisations to simply broadcast messages that stakeholders take at face value, without question.
Beth speaks about the rise of data and sentiment monitoring to understand if your brand is doing well beyond the campaigns and how looking at the full health of your organisation is now a critical part the sustainability journey.
We discuss the challenges faced by large corporations who have teams dedicated to ESG and sustainability and Beth shares some insightful ‘hacks’ for SMEs who perhaps don’t have the resources, but need to start or accelerate their journeys.
Beth’s commitment to making a positive impact is unwavering – and with her wealth of experience, we could have picked Beth’s brains for hours – so many insights and examples.
Tune in to hear Beth talk about:
How we raise the profile of the S in ESG?
The acceleration of the social impact conversation and the opportunities that align with that social side.
How we advance the conversations and narrative both internally and externally.
The importance of understanding the materiality assessment of an organisation and the social impact indicators within that.
How as a Marketer you should be helping your organisation plan how you're going to proactively engage with key stakeholders on the ‘Social’ topics.
The challenges being faced by SMEs and the ‘hacks’ to navigate them.
The role of Social Marketing (not to be confused with social media marketing) in educating, driving awareness and changing behaviours.
For more information about Beth Knight - you can visit her site.
Enjoy…
________________________________________________________________________________
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.
-
“Be the voice of the consumer who wants to do more.”
ESG – environmental, social and growth, (yep you read that right), growth rather than governance. We absolutely loved that take from Sandy Skees, Purpose and Impact Global Lead at Porter Novelli. We’ve wanted to talk to Sandy for some time since we came across their research on the ‘Intention – Action Gap - the ‘Rise of the Conscious Consumer’, when writing ‘Can Marketing Save the Planet - 101 Ways to use Sustainable Marketing as a Force for Good’.
This particular piece of research looks at people’s willingness to adopt changes to their behaviours, and not just by purchasing ‘green’ products. Sandy shares example after example of the significant shifts that are happening with consumer appetite and behaviour - shifts which are some of the biggest indicators yet that things are starting to change, and quickly.
Tune in and listen as Sandy shares many fascinating insights from the data and research and, her vast knowledge and decades of experience in this space. You’ll learn:
What the pressure points are in driving new mindsets.
What Marketers need to do and why a focus on culture change is critical.
Why one of the most important roles of business is to change societal behaviours and how communication is the most powerful way of doing this.
Why communication has to be intentional.
What is holding brands back.
What some of the biggest challenges facing marketers are.
For more information about Sandy Skees - you can visit her site.
To view the research The Gap Between Say and Do - see here.
Enjoy…
________________________________________________________________________________
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.
-
“If you can change how people spend their money, you can change the world.”
Social Impact, sustainable business, creative ideas and changing behaviours, these are just some of the areas that we explored with Chris Baker, strategist turned entrepreneur and CEO of Serious Tissues.
With behavioural science sitting behind so many successful business models Chris talks to us about his experience across a number of social impact businesses and initiatives that he is involved with, and how a simple switch can make such a positive impact.
You’ll hear us discuss the growing momentum behind sustainable toilet rolls and tissues both within B2B and B2C, bamboo vs. recycled paper and the challenges and opportunities that he is currently seeing. We discuss Chris’s upcoming book exploring social impact and how it’s becoming more fundamental than ever for organisations, the rise of impact investing and how doing good is becoming a competitive advantage. Chris talks about the journey writing his book took him on as he spoke to multiple change brands working towards securing a more sustainable future. Chris shares so many examples, this episode will leave your minds brimming with ideas and inspiration.
Join us as we talk to Chris about:
Social marketing and behavioural science and why they’re at the forefront of driving commercial and social good.
The challenges of changing behaviours and the approaches you can take.
How little changes add up and can open the door to bigger lifestyle changes.
When it comes to change, the need to look at what you are doing through the lens of opportunity – and framing them as such, as opposed to a threat.
The intriguing concept of disrupting from within.
The need to put the right metrics behind innovation to avoid setting it up to fail from the get go.
The rise of impact investing and how it can scale the good.
For more information about Serious Tissues https://serioustissues.com/
And to tune in to hear Chris talking about the latest Which report about ‘loo roll’, provenance and greenwashing tune in here. (You can connect with him on LinkedIn there too!).
Enjoy…
________________________________________________________________________________
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.
-
Did you know that 20% of the world's fish and meat is consumed by our pets?
We didn’t… and so yet again, the learning curve continues. We love having conversations with amazing brands who are pioneering, disrupting the norms and thinking outside the box with a focus on delivering social and environmental impact.
Food security, the impact of food production and what we eat is an area of significant focus when it comes to wellbeing for all and transitioning to a sustainable future - something we cannot afford to ignore when considering food consumption for humans, but what about our beloved pets?
We invited Alessandro Di Trapani from Grub Club onto the Can Marketing Save the Planet podcast to dive into this very subject and find out more about their insect based pet food products, the benefits to pets (and the planet) and, the important role marketing plays in the narrative and behaviour change around insect based food.
We learnt so much in this episode so tune in to hear about:
The only real way to drive sustainable change is to change where people spend their money. And, how we need to provide people with the options to drive change.
Why having a vision and a belief in what you do can allow you to shake up an industry.
Marginal and incremental steps to being more sustainable is so important and can drive real progress.
How Grub Club has approached changing the narrative and telling their story which is key to overcoming some of the challenges both in terms of educating people, and changing mindsets which then leads to behaviour change.
The importance of staying close to your customer - how to drive loyalty when building a community through wrapping a service around your products.
Addressing the challenges of transparency, price points and education.
Why creativity is so important in telling your story and how Grub Club try new ways and, channels.
For more information about Grub Club visit https://mygrubclub.com/
And connect with Alessandro via LinkedIn here.
________________________________________________________________________________
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.
-
Proving unequivocally that waste can build capital, UpCircle is a truly inspiring organisation built on circular economy principles.
The circular economy presents a huge opportunity for both business and the environment so we were really excited when Anna Brightman from UpCircle, a skincare and beauty brand built from waste and, focused entirely on the circular economy principles joined us on the podcast.
UpCircle fully owns the concept of circularity and builds it into every strand of their business. They have learnt how to turn waste not only into a succesful business, but a global successful business, which is continuously testing the limits of what can be done.
As you’ll hear, their marketing knowledge and know-how is an exemplar on how to engage with community to grow whilst doing good for the environment - which is no easy task when you consider some of the staggering impacts the beauty industry has on the planet, from the 120 billion pieces of packaging they put out every year, through to the questionable product testing practices which are still happening even in 2024.
Join us on this episode as we talk to Anna about:
How UpCircle entered one of the most competitive industries in the world and now sells in 50 countries, created a full packaging return scheme and grew a dedicated community who embrace not just the products, but get fully involved with the refill initiative.
The challenges along the way and how they overcame them.
How they built, incentivised and drive a successful refill service which their tribe as Anna calls them want to get involved with.
What it takes to build an engaged community, building brand loyalty with high levels of retention and ongoing two-way conversation.
The importance of working with your community on everything from product development through to growing share of voice and raising awareness of circularity and the need for behavior change.
Why metrics are so important to ensure your business is moving in the right direction. Brining sustainable and commercial objectives together and how commercial metrics can deliver social impact.
How every product at UpCircle is collaborative by nature – and through building partnerships with industries you might not ever put together has delivered so much impact commercially and socially.Enjoy…
For more information about UpCircle visit https://upcirclebeauty.com/
And connect with Anna via LinkedIn here.
________________________________________________________________________________
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.
-
When you view something as a competitive opportunity, you look at it totally differently - how can we go above and beyond? How can we get a real angle on this? How can we bring people with us along this process?
We’ve had a bit of a focus or mini-series on biodiversity and nature over the last few episodes of Can Marketing Save the Planet because it is so so critical that we start to understand, talk about and most importantly take action in reducing, removing and restoring the damage that we (business and society) are doing to the environment.
So, we were delighted when Gavin and Rob over at Pinwheel agreed to come back on the podcast to talk about the solutions and actions that are available today that businesses can make part of their sustainability agendas, and the compelling business case this type of investment can build across, acquisition, retention, collaboration, competitive opportunity, sales and profit. As Gavin says, these projects give, “access beyond value chain mitigation projects which repair and restore our climate and ecosystems.”
The damage that has been done is staggering, there has been a 69% reduction in living species since 1970 globally and, in the UK we currently only protect 3% of land 8% of seas, well behind the 30% global target needed by 2030 set out at COP15.
Biodiversity and climate are not mutually exclusive – as with everything it’s all interconnected.
Tune in and listen as we cover:
The opportunity for brands to really get involved and for marketers to be able to tell the stories of the projects their organisations support as well as that all important progress.
·The fact business can take action now, we can start to reduce the damage, remove the legacy damage and, restore habitats immediately.
Consumer demand, investor demand and changing regulations will force business to do this eventually, so why not be a pacesetter.
Why investing in biodiversity is a competitive opportunity.
How biodiversity is different to carbon in so many ways, yet they are so inextricably linked and addressing one helps the other and vice versa.
·Why B2B organisations are moving quickly on this.
The data and insights that come from investing in biodiversity projects builds a compelling business case across the board.
Enjoy…
For more information about Pinwheel - see here.
________________________________________________________________________________
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.
-
“We are totally dependent on biodiversity to survive – this is not a ‘greeny’ concern, this is an everyone concern.”
Given nature and biodiversity is SO important to the future of humanity, we wanted to dive deeper into this important area. Following our recent episodes with the brilliant Alexandra Pimor, who works with organisations to give nature a voice and a seat at the boardroom table, we jumped at the chance to chat with Dr Sam Sinclair, a conservationist and expert on biodiversity.
Sam starts with explaining what biodiversity is, and just how totally dependent we are on biodiversity to survive.
There are more people and cattle than on earth today than there are wild animals – which is terrifying. We’ve reached a critical point where nature can no longer be a nice thing to look after. And we discuss how biodiversity loss poses a real threat to humankind.
“The biodiversity field has absolutely exploded in the last year and companies all over the place are now questioning and thinking about this in really serious terms, asking what is my businesses impact on biodiversity and what can I do to reverse it?”
As you’ll hear we talk about developing a biodiversity strategy, and importantly how organisations can take action and make different choices. A key point Sam raises is that, “biodiversity is different to carbon as there is no single metric of measure…it’s very context specific.” He goes on to explain, “what a good biodiversity strategy should do is take all the frustrating complexity and make it not frustrating…here’s how it all comes together and this is where we are and this is what good looks like.”
Sam talks about the shift he is seeing from organisations moving away from individual projects, towards holistic programs and it’s at this point we talk about how for marketing this presents an incredible opportunity. Why? Because, people actually care about biodiversity. “Everybody has a story, everybody has a personal connection to biodiversity. This gives marketers those opportunities to craft narratives and people want to do the right thing, which is share by organisational culture.” Who doesn’t want to tell engaging stories which resonate and capture people’s attention, inspiring them to want to be part of the solution?”|
We ask Sam about tree planting and the context and effectiveness around this well-known initiative. He explains that it is an important element, but it is a small piece of the solution. “Tree planting has great PR so people can get it, it is one unit of nature and they can see it. People don’t look at grasslands and soils in the same way, understandably. Tree planting captures the imagination.”
Sam shares so much wisdom and insight in this episode, it really is one for everyone so we’d encourage you to listen, and share no matter what sector, industry or role you are in.
Enjoy…
For more information about Sam and Biodiversify - see here.
________________________________________________________________________________
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.
-
Are you using your career to fight for the future?
In this episode we talk with Claire Osborne who has a fascinating job as a sustainability career coach. Claire works with people who are increasingly looking at where and how they work, questioning the role they can play as climate change, climate action and sustainability continue to rise up the world’s agenda.
Claire talks about the challenges both business and people are facing and the research from David Graeber’s work around ‘bullshit’ jobs. Claire tell us that research reveals that, “37% of all roles are done by people who themselves rate them as having no positive impact in society”. She goes on to explain, there are box tickers, duct tapers, flunkies and many more categories, all of which open up many questions about the roles we spend most of our time doing.
Claire shares the trends she is seeing such as people defining their own roles and setting their own purpose in work, as well as asking, how one applies the role to drive meaningful impact.
Claire works with people who are trying to change the status quo, and shares with us some of the challenges that come with doing that and what you can do to feel supported, capable and less isolated in the sustainability space.
We also talk about how to influence and build the business case for change and Claire shares some key principles around this and things people can be doing such as, “1. Seed-bombing, 2. Doing your research and listening for certain things within the audiences you are talking – what are their aspirations, ambivalences do they have, and what anxieties do they have? And 3. Listening in the moment, to find the 10% that the other person is right and explore that.”
We dive into effective communication skills and the need to listen more, to share and have conversations, as opposed to purley broadcasting and talking ‘at’ our audiences. Claire shares her view on marketing and the skills Marketers have that can be put to great use in the sustainability space, explaining… “there is a ballsy-ness and incisiveness, which we could all do with applying.”
Claire believes, “Marketers can use their knowledge, the insights and research they have access to, to create clear, rather than clever messaging to help with understanding, and to bring in a rigour that doesn’t overwhelm, but sells the next action, the next thing to do.”
There’s a lot of advice Claire shares, and she busts open some of the most prominent myths in the sustainability space, giving a wealth of practical things for listeners to take away from this episode.
Enjoy and any questions… simply get in touch.
From Claire’s website:
Working in sustainability is tough - the scale and urgency of the climate crisis can make it tough to keep moving forward with energy & focus. Frustration, exhaustion, uncertainty & overwhelm drain energy and make it harder to bring your best thinking to the challenge. One thing is for sure though; we need experienced Sustainability Leaders on the pitch. Your expertise is essential to steer the debate and drive action. Use the latest in neuroscience and behavioural psychology to set you up to be a force for change on climate.
If you feel like you want to speak to Claire, you can find more on her website here: https://www.claireosborne.co.uk/
-
Part 2 - “We have to find the courage to do something different…”
Following on from Episode 1, we delve further into the role of law in sustainability. 2023 saw a marked rise in legal cases being brought against businesses and governments, as well as the tightening of regulations and guidelines around not only what businesses can do, but what they can say.
The reality Alexandra explains is “the law takes time; for case law we need the means, will and resources to bring cases forward and for legislation we need governments to listen.” Earth Law Centre supports the law, “very rarely will the law be the real generator of change, for example, the EU Green Deal – the law won’t drive change at the core, the law is what will influence change, it will force it. The law is a tool, and it can be a carrot and it can be a stick.”
This raises a big question for business, ‘are you going to be a pacesetter or are you going to wait to be regulated?’ We definitely need more pacesetters.
Alexandra talks about “Four circles of service” looking at nature on the board, in professional practice, across project development and within cultural evolution, and a need to drive the real change towards an eco-centric approach and way of thinking. She explains that, “nature governance, is about responsibility, accountability and wisdom – we have all the knowledge that we can ever want, we have access to data, expertise and technology and we know what we have to do and stop doing – the question is, do we do that?”
We naturally progress into the role of leadership and the need for honesty to make the right decisions to do something good. And, also the role Marketers play, and the need to be more responsible when it comes to the stories they tell and how we need to break away from some of the conditioned thinking so that we get creative and use our imaginations again. Marketing’s role in Nature governance is still very much a concept, but we need to be open to it and start to think differently.
The need for a shift in consciousness is now. We discuss how ‘you’ can be the change and the need to have the right conversations to grow our understanding to get to the experience you want to create. Alexandra poses another big question, which we’ll leave you with, “what needs to change today in order to achieve the vision for tomorrow?” - We’d love to hear your thoughts!
For more information about Nature Governance and the great work Alexandra and her team champion see here:
And for more about Faith in Nature and putting nature on the board, see here:
Enjoy…
-
“What does business have to do with nature?
The next two episodes of Can Marketing Save the Planet go DEEP! We suggest you wrap up warm, pop in your headphones, and go for a wintry walk as we catch up with Alexandra Pimor, Director of Nature Governance at the Earth Law Centre. Despite preconceptions, we (humans) are part of nature, we are not above it and we need it – it is indeed our greatest ally. We talk to Alexandra about how reimagining and reengineering our systems from a nature conscious perspective and delve into her work, looking at how we offer nature a voice, a place and a stake in our systems – for nature to be both heard and represented.
Alexandra talks about a responsibility based framework - “where there is a right, there is a responsibility.” We discuss how humans and business can no longer ignore the damage we are doing and how we need to take action to address the situation collectively. As Alexandra says, “if we give nature rights, we are responsible for making sure those rights are not only upheld but understood.” Climate change may be the big headline, but climate change is a result of the loss of nature and biodiversity.
Alexandra told us about her amazing work putting nature on the board, when it comes to, “tackling the temperature of the planet and addressing the core”. She believes, “there are enough of us out there to do it, but we need more cooperation and collaboration with each other and it is not a linear approach we need to address or take, it’s a systemic one.”
We discuss how humans treat every earth community on the planet as a commodity, how the current systems would not exist if humans had not thought them up, and why we need to look at human behaviour and motivation to understand why we behave as we do. There is a fundamental need to let the natural systems do their thing and, there is a huge opportunity to rebuild these systems and get back to basics, being responsible human beings.
Alexandra talks about the practicalities of how business can become more conscious, and makes the point that business is 100% reliant on nature. She talks about the work she did with the brand Faith in Nature, giving nature a voice, and the process they went through to make that happen. Alexandra shared the 3 critical questions which had to be answered:
Legally - Can this be done within the legal framework of the UK – and what kind / type of director can nature be?
The articles of association for the organisation (structural framework) – what needs to change? What do they (Faith in Nature), need to do? What are their obligations?
Culture - What does the governance and practice on the ground actually look like?
Answering each of those questions and finding a way led Faith in Nature to be the first organisation to legally put nature on the board, giving nature a voice and a vote, ensuring better and more informed decisions are made.
This was a truly inspiring discussion and one which couldn’t stop at just one episode! Tune in and go for that walk and who knows… maybe you’ll be considering putting nature on your board too.
For more information about Nature Governance and the great work Alexandra and her team champion see here:
And for more about Faith in Nature and putting nature on the board, see here:
Enjoy… Part 2 to follow on 24th Dec ;)
________________________________________________________________________________
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.
-
“Marketing is the management science of empathy - we need deep empathy if we want to take humanity and our economy through this massive change that we are facing.”
Marketing will not save the world, but we will not save the world without marketing.
In this episode we talk with Nicolas Lambert, author of, “Can Marketing Save the World”, (we know… a title very close to our hearts) and no surprises that it’s a book all about marketing and sustainability, An experienced and passionate marketer, he was CEO of Fairtrade Belgium, marketing executive at Unilever, AB InBev, Heineken and BBDO - and more recently, author and lecturer. We loved delving into the practicalities of sustainable marketing with Nicolas.
“Sustainability and marketing, two things that don’t work together, but they should and now have to.” Nicolas places marketing as the engine of an organisation and explains the opportunity for Marketers is to “broaden the scope of interaction”. Expanding their view to include the broader stakeholder chain so they don’t leave themselves with a large blind spot in their strategies.
When it comes to people, planet and profit or as Nicolas calls it, “the ménage à trios” he believes this needs to be at the core of what Marketers do, but acknowledges the challenges and underlying tensions that exist in the relationship between organisations and their stakeholders as we look for solutions and balance.
We covered so much in this episode with Nicolas as he shared his insights, experience and knowledge on the role of regulation, the need for Marketers to support their organisations’ sustainable agendas and, that all important missing sense of urgency.
Of course, we couldn’t talk sustainable marketing without discussing greenwashing which Nicolas believes, “most of the time it’s not because of cynicism of companies, it’s not because they want to be seen as greener than they are and manipulative, I think people are just being clumsy. They have a lack of knowledge and are applying traditional marketing tactics to sustainability, and that doesn’t work, and then they are surprised – because they just don’t get it.” Once again the need for Marketers to be more aware and educate themselves couldn’t be clearer.
So, tune in and check out resources such as Nicolas’s framework, the “fourteen levers to make marketing more sustainable.” he mentions which can be found here. (And don’t be fooled by the title of the slide - the document is in English ;)).
________________________________________________________________________________
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.
Marketing - The Management Science of Empathy, with Nicolas Lambert, Expert, Author,Can Marketing Save the Planet, Author, Nicolas Lambert - Can Marketing Save the World? - Laat meer zien
