Sustainability Flashcards
(11 cards)
What is sustainability?
- Sustainability, refers to meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Brundtland Report, 1987).
- It encompasses three pillars: environmental (planet), social (people), and economic (profit).
What are SDGs?
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a framework adopted by 193 countries to address global issues like climate change, poverty, and inequality by 2030.
What does sustainable marketing focus on?
- delivering long-term value to customers and society, rather than just short-term sales.
- Unlike green marketing, which focuses primarily on environmental issues (e.g., recyclable packaging or emissions reduction),
- sustainable marketing also includes social justice, economic fairness, and community well-being.
In what ways do brands incorporate sustainable marketing?
- Sustainable branding
- label certification
- eco-friendly packaging
- storytelling message
What is greenwashing?
making misleading or exaggerated claims about environmental benefits. This undermines consumer trust and devalues genuine sustainability efforts.
Example of Greenwashing
- Volkswagen’s “clean diesel” scandal involved manipulating emissions tests while promoting eco-friendly credentials — a clear case of deception.
- H&M’s Conscious Collection was criticized for marketing recycled clothes without clear data on the overall environmental impact, raising concerns about tokenism in fast fashion.
- Tesla, while often labeled a “green” company, raises ethical and sustainability concerns regarding lithium mining, battery disposal, and human rights — demonstrating that green isn’t always sustainable.
When does Greenwashing occur?
Greenwashing occurs when sustainability becomes a branding exercise rather than a business model, often due to lack of regulation, pressure to compete, or misaligned internal values.
What are some opportunities in sustainable marketing?
- Sustainability drives innovation and competitive advantage.
- Aligns with consumer demand — particularly from Gen Z and millennials who prioritize ethics and values in buying decisions.
- Builds brand trust and loyalty through transparency and purpose-led communication.
What are some challenges in sustainable marketing?
- Cost and complexity of implementing sustainable supply chains.
- Consumer skepticism due to widespread greenwashing.
- Lack of clear standards and definitions — some brands claim to be sustainable when they are simply reducing harm.
Future of sustainable marketing? Opinion?
- Move beyond surface-level messaging and be fully integrated into product design, stakeholder engagement, and digital transformation. - AI and augmented reality (AR) can help consumers visualise a product’s life cycle or carbon footprint - greater transparency.
- Digitalisation enables interactive storytelling, brand activism, and consumer co-creation — where consumers are not just passive buyers, but active partners in change.
- Models like Service-Dominant Logic (Vargo & Lusch, 2004) reinforce shift, value is co-created.
- Marketing becomes about solutions to problems rather than mere persuasion.
- Communication shifts from the 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) to the 4Cs (Customer solution, Cost, Convenience, Communication), or further to FIVA (Feel, Inform, Value, Act) — all more aligned with sustainable, customer-centric practices.
Conclusion
- In my view, the sustainability agenda in marketing must move from performance to purpose.
- Brands cannot afford to treat sustainability as a campaign theme; it must be part of their identity and operations.
- While there are signs of progress, too many brands still view sustainability as a marketing tactic rather than a business imperative.
- Sustainable marketing communications, when honest and embedded in the value proposition, offer real potential for creating long-term trust and impact.
- But this requires humility, consistency, and the willingness to be held accountable — not just to shareholders, but to society.
