The Sustainable Marketer Manifesto
Our view is that there’s no one better placed to affect change, align with and influence customers and drive hope for a better, more sustainable future, than an ‘educated and aware’ responsible marketer.
If you agree and want to join our movement to use marketing as a force for good - and want to commit and align with the commitments below - simply sign our Manifesto - (we liken it to a ‘Hippocratic Oath’ for marketers). We’re all in this together. And it’s together that we can drive significant change.
The 3 Commitments of a Sustainable Marketer:
I commit to using my marketing skills as a force for good acting responsibly with full transparency and honesty when it comes to messaging, communication and creative. My role is to communicate with clarity the truth of a brand or organisation I am responsible to ‘market’, rather than sharing the best ‘version of the truth ’ – which could be misconstrued as misleading (greenwashing / purpose-washing / mislabelling) and most certainly doesn’t align with transparency and honesty.
I commit to continuous education around the climate crisis, ethical and sustainable marketing using these critical areas as a lens through which to operate. My responsibility is to educate myself and commit to continually staying curious and alert, so that I can create meaningful and innovative solutions and share knowledge to meet the needs of stakeholders, whilst wholly respecting the planet.
I commit to working across the business to support, address, and courageously call out and challenge any areas where more progress in these critical areas is needed and isn’t being addressed. My responsibility is to educate others so that collectively we can create meaningful and innovative solutions and shared knowledge to meet the needs of stakeholders, whilst wholly respecting the planet - and to courageously scrutinise and challenge plans, products, campaigns, agency / supplier relationships and communications that I consider fall outside of my sustainable marketer manifesto.
TAKE ANOTHER ACTION NOW: We’re all about ACTION taking - so now you’ve signed our Sustainable Marketer Manifesto - take action and rise to our 100 Points Challenge to drive the commitments of the Manifesto. Take action now!
The 100 points Sustainable Marketer Challenge
Our Learning Zone is the ultimate ‘sustainable marketing tool kit’ - you’ll find a range of resources to support you with your Sustainable Marketer Manifesto Commitments. We’ve allocated a simple ‘points’ system to each resource. Challenge yourself to get to 100 points and claim your Sustainable Marketer badge!
The learning outcomes from working through these resources will help you to:
Grow awareness of carbon literacy, the science and urgency behind the climate crisis.
Understand the impact of too much carbon on the planet, where it’s coming from and what we can all be doing to reduce it.
Understand the role we all play as consumers - and you play as a responsible marketer.
Build a business case for climate action within your organisation - with clear and practical action steps.
Provide you with a range of useful tools which you can signpost to leadership teams, stakeholders and suppliers so you can continue to educate others.
Gain a strong narrative around sustainable marketing so that you can start important conversations with the leadership team or others within your organisation or client portfolio to drive impact and action.
Ask the right questions and understand the opportunities.
Understand the role leadership plays in sustainability, what it takes to be a sustainable leader and why it must be led from the top.
Understand how and why every part of the stakeholder chain is now important to your business success.
Why partnerships and working together across industry is an important part in tackling the environmental crisis. What type of partnerships you should be considering and what best practice looks like.
When you’ve hit your 100 points, let us know and we’ll send you your certification. But of course… don’t stop at 100 points - keep going. We’re all learning together - and we add new resources pretty much weekly. More information in the Learning Zone.
Showcase your support…
Download your ‘badge’ - add it to your site, or your social media profiles - and proudly showcase your support and commitment - whilst letting others explore The Sustainable Marketer Manifesto too. Whether an individual or Partner - thank you for joining the movement.
Our Partners - Those supporting The Sustainable Marketer Manifesto
Our Partners play an important role in spreading the word on our Sustainable Marketer Manifesto. They align with the commitments and are keen to support us in aligning the approx 10.6M marketers on the planet with our Manifesto. If you’re keen to Partner with us spread the word to your community, then simply get in touch .
The Sustainable Marketer Manifesto Champions
Gemma Butler - Chief Community Office - WeAre8
Strategic, collaborative and ideas driven leader who likes to challenge convention. Former Marketing Director at the CIM and now Chief Community Officer at WeAre8, Author - “Sustainable Marketing” | ‘Can Marketing Save the Planet?’ podcast | Sustainable Marketer - MCIM, Speaker | Guest Lecturer | Thinker | Passion for proposition development |Corporate and Not for Profit
Michelle Carvill - Author, Director, Marketer, Educator
Experienced Marketer | Agency Founder | Consultant | Digital Educator | 5 x published / shortlisted author on the topic of Marketing, Digital and Social Media Strategy | CIM Course Director | Thinkers360 - Top 50 Thought Leaders in Sustainability May 2021 | F:Entrepreneur Small Business Britain - Top 100 Inspirational Female Business Leaders 2021. Sustainability and Inclusive Leadership - NTU, Spring 2021. Certified Carbon Literate - Carbon Literacy Trust.