Welcome to Marketing for Net Zero!

Lecture 1: Course Introduction

Dr Kristina Auxtova, [email protected]
Dr Pauline Ferguson, [email protected]
Today’s Session Aims

•To introduce the course and our expectations

•To contextualise marketing’s role in the climate crisis by

• Critique the conventional mainstream marketing management paradigm and
understanding how it has contributed to the climate crisis
• Understanding the environmental imperative and considering marketing as a potential
actor of good in terms of its ability to contribute to the sustainability agendas
•Introduce Sustainable Development, CSR, ESG, SDGs and TBL.

•Introduce the evolving Marketing context - towards Sustainability Marketing.

•Introduce and define Sustainability Marketing.

Course Team

Dr Pauline Ferguson Dr Kristina Auxtova

Course Co-Organiser & Lecturer Course Co-Organiser & Lecturer
Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

Teaching Administrator: Miss Lauren Dunn

Email: [email protected]
Course overview

The field of marketing is commonly perceived as the antithesis of sustainability given its
association with fostering consumerism and unsustainable economic growth. With a focus on
the climate change and environmental sustainability, this course encourages students to:
1) engage with these criticisms of marketing,
2) explore the challenges facing marketers who hope to achieve net zero, and
3) form a critically informed understanding of potentially responsible marketing-led solutions.
In doing so, the course aims to encourage students to develop their own, well-informed
understanding of becoming a sustainable marketer.
Why does studying marketing & climate change matter?

Student demand and potential of influence:

89% students say they agree their place of study should actively incorporate & promote sustainable
development (NUS Sustainability Skills Survey 2022-23)
“3% of people attend university but they take up 80% of the leadership positions” (Chuck Hopkins, UNESCO Chair)

Employers’ demand for increased education around sustainability:

▪ Change Agents UK & EAUC (2020) Future graduate skills: a scoping study
▪ A New Era of Sustainability – UN Global Compact-Accenture CEO Study 2010
▪ BSP Group PLC (2011) The Sustainable Generation: The Sky Future Leaders Study

Businesses are placing more and more importance on sustainability, e.g.

▪ UN Global Compact – world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative (25,493 participants)
▪ UEBS is a member of UN Principles for Responsible Management Education (800+ signatories)
▪ B Corp certification - leaders in the global movement for an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy
Good strides towards a better marketing field

▪ Sustainability is one of the top trends affecting marketing and recruitment for marketing jobs.

▪ Specialist sustainability roles are growing in the marketing job landscape, e.g. this job ad

▪ Environmental & sustainability consultancy services are experiencing strong growth (of 7.4% in 2021)
and are expected to grow to around £2.7 billion by 2025. “By 2025 this sector will need to recruit an
additional 7,200 E&S specialists […]. Multinational companies are recognising the talent and skills
available within the UK and are ramping up recruitment programmes to bolster their sustainability
consulting capabilities.” (Environmental Analyst 2022)

▪ European companies plan to increase spending on sustainable marketing – 46% by 10% or more, 27%
by 5%. (Statista, 2022)

▪ Ad Net Zero – the UK ad industry’s initiative (100+ advertisers, agencies, commercial media owners &
production companies as members)- “The Advertising Association (AA), in partnership with the IPA and ISBA,
has launched Ad Net Zero, an industry-wide initiative to help UK advertising respond to the climate crisis caused by
CO2 emissions. Ad Net Zero’s mission is for immediate, collective industry action to help achieve real net zero carbon
emissions from the development, production and media placement of advertising by the end of 2030.” (AA 2020)
Course aims and objectives

On completion of this course, you will be able to:

1. Demonstrate critical knowledge and understanding of climate-related issues and

challenges in marketing.

2. Apply relevant concepts and theoretical frameworks to critically evaluate a range of real-life
(ir)responsible and (un)sustainable marketing problems and practices.

3. Critically analyse the roles that marketers, consumers, and policymakers can play in
promoting and advancing sustainable practices.

4. Develop skills necessary to act as sustainable marketers.

5. Develop communication skills.

Course structure

Section Week Week’s Topic Workshops

I. Context & theoretical Course introduction

W1
foundations Marketing in the climate crisis & Framing sustainable marketing

W2 Circular Economy and Marketing Practice Part 1 Podcasting Workshop

II. Contemporary marketing
practices, questions, and Circular Economy and Marketing Practice Part 2
W3 Assignment Q&A
challenges in the context of Guest Speaker
climate change
W4 Sustainable Consumption and Marketing Communications

III. The future of Sustainability

W5 The future of sustainable marketing practice
Marketing Practice

image by gratuit
Course assessment

Individual Podcast Episode (100%)

This individual assignment will involve researching and planning, as well as writing the script and
recording of a podcast episode (8 minutes) discussing a topic related to marketing for net zero.

Detailed instructions are available on Learn and will be discussed in next week’s workshop.

Make sure you attend the

workshops scheduled in
support of the assessment!!
Skills development

Skill Graduate Competency

Reflection & Contemplation (crucial as C2 Effective Emotional Intelligence
action interruption towards sustainability) C8 Personal & Professional Competence
Skills required to act for sustainability, e.g. C4 Ethical, Responsible & Sustainable Business Behaviour
motivating others to follow your lead C3 Authentic Leadership
Communication & presentation skills, e.g. C5 Appropriate communications
audio presentation, adapting
communication to audiences
Digital literacy skills, e.g. software use for C5 Appropriate communications
audio production & editing C6 Understand & Make Effective Use of Data & Information
Group interaction through class discussion C1 Meaningful Interpersonal Interaction
Creativity, e.g. creative assignment outputs C7 Creative and Entrepreneurial Practice
Research & critical thinking skills C6 Understand & Make Effective Use of Data & Information
C9 Academic Excellence
C10 Intellectual Curiosity
Environment for Learning

Remember the diversity within the room and that this diversity can take a number of different
forms when it comes to how people interact and importantly how they learn. There are
challenges, but richness, value, and learning to be had within diversity (Ramsden, 2008).

Looking to each play our part in creating an enriching and safe space for learning .

The importance of discussion and critical thinking: Critical thinking | The University of Edinburgh

Support each other Respect each other Questioning & In person

with no criticism. and keep an open Discussion
mind.
Environment for Learning

Get involved – it is rewarding for the whole class if everyone takes part.

Try not to be afraid of being ‘wrong’. This is okay. We are all learning!

‘an understanding of the value of creativity, curiosity, and even failure’.

Teaching and Learning | The University of Edinburgh

Interactive Collaborative Learning by Reflection Give it your all ☺ It is

& Group Work doing what you put into it!
Eco-anxiety & self-care

Eco-anxiety is a term used to describe the fear, loss, sadness, anger and panic we
feel as we learn about – or see first hand – the impacts of climate change, habitat
destruction, biodiversity loss, and environmental pollution.

If you feel like you are struggling with this:

▪ Read Blog post: How to cope with eco-anxiety (Sarah Ford-Hutchinson, UoE) which shares coping strategies
and further information on who you can reach out to.

▪ Read Wired: Stop Telling Kids They’ll Die From Climate Change for a more optimistic message challenging the
doomsday scenarios

▪ Talk to us – we’re all in this together! This course aims to create a sense of hope and agency, not to add to
the fears.

This course aims to pay attention to not only the relevant knowledge (head), but also the skills to act sustainably
(hands) and the emotions involved in sustainability education (heart). It builds in opportunities to discuss, to
reflect on and to contemplate one’s own emotional responses and to drive collective action.

For some academic reading on the topic: Skilling, P., Hurd, F., Lips-Wiersma, M., & McGhee, P. (2022). Navigating hope and despair in sustainability education: A
reflexive roadmap for being with eco-anxiety in the classroom. Management Learning.
Head-Hands-Heart typology: Orr DW (1992) Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Course readings

Key textbooks (available as e-books via Resource List)

Relevant journals

- Journal of Macromarketing
- Journal of Cleaner Production
- Journal of Business Ethics
- Journal of Fashion Marketing &
Management
- Journal of Public Policy & Marketing
- Journal of Social Marketing
- European Journal of Marketing
- Journal of Marketing Management
- Journal of Consumer Behaviour

Chapters from these textbooks will be indicated for each week.

The chapters will be complemented with contemporary journal articles, other readings, etc.
Further reading and listening

TRADE PRESS AND MEDIA

Marketing Week Business Green

The Drum Sustainability Magazine
Campaign The Guardian

PODCASTS

Can Marketing Save the Planet

Introduction to Can Marketing Save the Planet

Business & Environment Podcast - Harvard Business School

EnvironMental Podcast – Dandelion Branding

Introduction to Sustainability: Online course

This online course explains what sustainability is, why it matters and suggests actions you can take to
live, study and work in a more sustainable way.

The course covers:

• what sustainability means at the University of Edinburgh

• what sustainability is and key issues facing the world today

• four major areas in which the University is working on sustainability, namely operations, learning and
teaching, research and partnerships

• finally, actions you can take to live, work and study more sustainably.

Time commitment: 1h – 1h30min

To find the course, click here and follow instructions for students: Introduction to sustainability
FEEDBACK, PLEASE!

This is (still) a new course and we welcome regular / immediate feedback on

what’s working, what’s not working so that we can adapt before it’s too late.
Speak to us, email us (both), mid-semester feedback, course evaluation (let us know earlier if
something is not working!)
News of the Week

Introducing your weekly challenge – What’s new in the world of marketing for net zero?

This media monitoring activity intends to keep you up to date with current developments and trends
in the marketing industry’s efforts to become more sustainable.

Marketing Week Business Green

The Drum Sustainability Magazine

Campaign The Guardian

Marketing’s role in the climate crisis & Framing sustainability marketing
Key Readings for Week 1
Emery (2012) Sustainable marketing
Chapter 1: Sustainable Marketing (essential)

Kemper, J. A., & Ballantine, P. W. (2019). What do we mean by sustainability marketing? Journal of
Marketing Management, 35(3–4), 277–309. (essential)
- A key text understanding three conceptualisations of sustainability marketing

Kotler, P. (2011). Reinventing marketing to manage the environmental imperative. Journal of

Marketing, 75(4), 132-135. (recommended)
- A useful introductory piece challenging the status quo in marketing practice

Martin, D. M., & Schouten, J. W. (2014). The answer is sustainable marketing, when the question is: What can
we do? Recherche et Applications En Marketing (English Edition), 29(3), 107–109. (recommended)

Further reading:
- Can Marketing Save the Planet Podcast? Episode 12: Climate Crisis - Challenge and opportunity.
Sustainability - a true disrupter of business - Mike Barry (20 min)
- A healthy economy should be designed to thrive, not grow | Kate Raworth – YouTube
- THE 17 GOALS | Sustainable Development (un.org)
Calculating your own FOOTPRINT

1. Analyse your carbon footprint footprint.wwf.org.uk

2. Discuss your result in small groups, particularly considering the impact your consumption has on the planet.

3. At home/ after class:

- Reflect on your results

- Select one emissions-reducing action and perform this action for 3 weeks. In week 4, we will discuss how
your action reduces emissions, and you will reflect on your experience - analysing the underlying factors
that made your chosen action challenging to perform.
The environmental crisis poses one of
the biggest threats to humankind
Source of images: pxfuel, DMCA
Legacies of the 20th century

The 20th century saw the expansion in our material wealth, the democratisation of
consumption, and the rise of the mass market

The paradigm that dominated in 20th century included:

• economic growth as a pre-requisite to improving the quality of life for humankind – necessary to generate
wealth through which challenges like poverty or environmental protection could be addressed

• Belief that the impact of use of resources, generation of waste, and pollution could be solved through
science and technology (Promethean view)

• Growth of the role of private enterprise and markets to meet society’s needs

In the 21st century, we find ourselves with a number of challenges:

• Population, poverty, ill-health, urbanisation, undernourishment, eroding cultural diversity,

• Resource depletion, ecosystem damage, water scarcity, climate change

Belz & Peattie 2012

The Dominant Social Paradigm (DSP)

▪ The collection of norms, beliefs, values, habits that form the most commonly held world view within a
culture.

▪ The DSP has governed the way people do things in the developed world since the Industrial Revolution.

▪ Continued, unlimited economic growth

▪ Continued production and consumption (without adding to pollution, water shortage & other costs)

▪ Natural resources seen as limitless & Earth’s carrying capacity for waste & pollution infinite

▪ Science & technology to compensate for shortfalls

▪ Increased efficiency

▪ 2–3 planet living?

Kotler (2011), Emery (2012)

World Ecological Footprint
How many Earths do we need?

Source: Global Footprint Network http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/world_footprint/

BBC, 2015
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-33133712
Earth Overshoot Day
Each year, Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when we have used all the biological
resources that the Earth can renew during the entire year.
Marketing is part of the problem
Source of images: Wikimedia Commons; Vintage ad American Meat Institute 1947; Keep Calm And Posters; Ford Media Center
Marketing’s role in embedding the DSP

▪ Encouraging (over-)consumption & the materialistic outlook

▪ Consumption as route to happiness & quality of life

▪ The rise of ‘The Self’

▪ Marketers’ belief that unlimited consumption is good and the planet’s resources are infinite

▪ Marketers strongly shape consumer “wants” - of things they don’t need or are not good for
them, for the society, or for the planet.

▪ Creating wants (turning supply & demand on its head; violating consumer autonomy)

▪ Creating irrational and trivial wants distorting the economy (society spending millions on cosmetics
industry but not guaranteeing minimal health care to poor children; spending money on travelling
& crashing into the moon but not caring for our own planet)

▪ Replacing environmental goods to increase profit margins (e.g. bottled water)

▪ Encouraging consumption of products that harm the environment (e.g. palm oil)

→ Marketing as a contributor to the unsustainable economic growth

“Questioning growth is deemed the act of lunatics, idealists
and revolutionaries. But question it we must”
Professor Tim Jackson, Director ESRC Research Group on Lifestyles, Values &
Environment

Jackson, T. (2009). Prosperity without growth: Economic for a Finite Planet.

Britain in 2010, Economic and Social Research Council, p.24
The Environmental Imperative

A set of environmental challenges compose an environmental imperative for society

1) climate change,
2) depletion of the ozone layer which protects the earth from ultraviolet radiation,
3) soil degradation and increased desertification,
4) increased air and water pollution,
5) reduction in the availability of fresh water, and
6) increasing depletion of physical and natural resources, such as oil, copper, timber and ocean fisheries.
Professor Walter Georgio Scott (2005) In Kotler (2011), p.132

Leading marketing scholar, Phillip Kotler, urges companies to make drastic change
• in their product development, manufacturing, financial, and marketing practices if sustainability is to be
achieved
• Focus not on doubling growth but zero or modest growth

→ This is the environmental imperative Kotler (2011)

Sustainable development

While there are many definitions, the most commonly accepted one is that from the United
Nations (UN) Brundtland Commission.

‘…a new era of economic growth that is forceful and at the same time socially
and environmentally sustainable; an economy is sustainable if it meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs’.

1987 Brundtland Report – Our Common Future by the World Commission on Environment and Development
Sustainability

Social

Comprise the Triple

Bottom Line
Environmental Economic
*A reminder that the
focus of this course is
(mainly) Environmental!
Should business have to
take responsibility?

Government

Triangle of
change

Business People

The triangle of change (Emery, 2012)

Another perspective on SDGs
Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Taking a stand - Respect human rights | Unilever
Additional Resources

2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Introductory video to all SDGs: The 17 Goals – this is where each of the goals is explained in detail.
On the website, click on the tiles for each goal to find out more.

A useful resource for businesses wishing to advance the SDGs can be found on the UN Global
Compact website: How Your Company Can Advance Each of the SDGs

SDG Tracker: Measuring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals - Our World in Data

Are the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals on track? | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
SDG Tracker: Measuring progress towards the
Sustainable Development Goals - Our World in Data
Doughnut Economics

Title: The Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries.

Credit: Kate Raworth and Christian Guthier. CC-BY-SA 4.0
Citation: Raworth, K. (2017), Doughnut Economics: seven ways to think
like a 21st century economist. London: Penguin Random House.
Corporate Social Responsibility

“CSR is a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental

concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with stakeholders
on a voluntary basis.”
European Commission Green Paper ‘Promoting a European Framework for
Corporate Social Responsibility’
(Belz and Peattie, 2012:32)

CSR generally refers to corporate policies for self-regulation, intended to

integrate triple bottom line concerns into the business plan
(Martin and Schouten, 2014: 42)
Triple Bottom Line (TBL)

The net economic, environmental and social impacts of an organisation.

Business practices that simultaneously benefit the business, society and the environment and achieve
a win-win-win situation and help firms become more sustainable. (Martin & Schouten, 2014:29)

Economic: Sales, Profits, Return on Investment, Taxes Paid, Monetary Flows, Jobs Created

Social: Labour practices, Health and injuries, Community impacts, Human rights and product safety

Environmental: Air and water quality, Energy usage, Waste produced

(Martin & Schouten, 2014)

Economic, Social, Governance (ESG)

Measuring and Reporting of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Data

Increasingly valuable for Investors (mitigate risk, identify growth)

(Amel-Zadeh and Serafeim, 2018)

• E: Climate Change, Waste, Net Zero, Water.

• S: Social Supply Chain, Employees, Community Investments

• G: Policies, Continuity, Leadership, Board Diversity, Renumeration.

Marketing can be part of the
solution.
Marketing as potential actor for
environmental sustainability

“… marketing plays a key role in

helping companies, as well as
consumers, operate in a more
sustainable manner.”
(Borin and Metcalf, 2010, p.141)

Borin, N. & Metcalf, L. (2010). Integrating sustainability into the marketing curriculum: Learning activities that facilitate sustainable marketing
practices. Journal of Marketing Education, 32 (2), 140-154
The evolution of Sustainability Marketing
 • Suggests that the intersection of the three perspectives of
Societal organisational goals, consumer goals and societal goals leads
to long-term marketing opportunities and success. It questions
marketing the satisfaction of individual consumer needs and wants as
always in the best interests of consumer welfare in society.

Social • The application of marketing principles, concepts and tools to

marketing problems of social change.

• Dealt mainly with the depletion of energy and nonenergy

Ecological natural resources and the pollution created as a byproduct of
production and consumption. Generally deals with marketing
marketing activities that cause environmental problems and that provide
remedies for environmental problems.

(Belz and Peattie, 2012: 23-27)

 Green •Focused on the target group of green consumers who would
marketing/ be willing to pay premium prices for more environmentally
friendly products. New instruments such as life-cycle assessment
Environmental allowed ecological considerations to be introduced into
marketing decisions.

marketing
•Acknowledges the necessity of regulatory alterations to the
market mechanism. Instead of avoiding regulations,
Sustainable sustainable marketing fosters corporate and collective
commitment to necessary alterations… in favour of sustainable

marketing development. Embraces the idea of sustainable development,

which requires a change in the behaviour of virtually everyone
including both producers and consumers. Emphasises the triple
bottom line of ecological, social and economic issues.

(Belz and Peattie, 2012: 23-27)

3Es of Marketing

Sustainable marketers attempt to broaden sustainable development to the practice of

marketing beyond simple economic development:

Ecological – marketing should not negatively impact upon the environment

Equitable – marketing should not allow or promote inequitable social practices

Economic – marketing should encourage long-term economic development as

opposed to short-term economic development.

(Baines, 2022:705)
Sustainability Marketing For EVER

Ecologically oriented, taking account of the ecological limits of the planet and
seeking to satisfy our needs without compromising the health of ecosystems and their
ability to continue delivering ecosystem services;

Viable, from technical feasibility and economic competitiveness perspectives;

Ethical, in promoting greater social justice and equity, or at the very least in terms of
avoiding making any existing patterns of injustice worse;

Relationship-based, which move away from viewing marketing in terms of economic

exchanges towards viewing it as the management of relationships between
businesses and their customers and other key stakeholders.
(Belz and Peattie, 2012:16).

(long term view – Belz and Peattie, 2012)

Marketing: Part of the Solution?

(1) marketing sustainably, i.e. designing and supporting

organizational cultures and processes such that all
marketing processes are environmentally and socially
benign; and
(2) marketing sustainability, i.e. advancing and supporting
a global culture of sustainable consumption as a
concept, a cultural value and a set of consumption
practices.

(Martin & Schouten 2014)

The Study of Sustainability Marketing

Macro-marketing

Developmental School of Macro-marketing / Critical School of Macro-marketing

Kemper and Ballantine, 2019

The Authors suggest that ‘although Sustainability in Marketing has gained some traction over the years,
we still remain uncertain about exactly what ‘sustainability marketing’ means’ (p.277)

Auxiliary Sustainability Marketing (ASM) which focusses on the production of sustainable products. EG
reducing planned obsolescence, environmental improvements throughout marketing mix.

Reformative Sustainability Marketing (RSM) which extends the auxiliary approach through the promotion
of sustainable lifestyles and behavioural changes. EG - Non-ownership, leasing, renting, sharing.

Transformative sustainable marketing (TSM) which further extends the auxiliary and reformative
approaches through the need for transformation of current institutions and norms, and critical reflection.
EG – Positive Collective Citizen Action, Consumer Culture.

(Kemper and Ballantine, 2019:277)

 Questions for now – or later?

Course co-organisers: [email protected] & [email protected]