Marketers must close gap between intent and action on sustainability | WARC | The Feed

Marketers must close gap between intent and action on sustainability

Nine in 10 marketers think sustainability agendas need to be more ambitious, and while many (41%) say they have a sustainability story they are proud to communicate, others (39%) are still only taking the first steps on this journey. 

That’s according to Sustainable Marketing 2030*, a report from the World Federation of Advertisers, which identifies a widespread ambition to transform the status quo, but which also suggests that change isn’t happening quickly enough.

Why it matters

Marketing is lagging other business areas in addressing sustainability issues, but sustainable transformation is still seen as a responsibility and an opportunity for the industry. Marketing has the budget and authority to better activate sustainability within the strategic agenda when compared to sustainability departments or other functions in isolation. 

Key findings 

• More brands now have sustainability as a KPI in their marketing dashboards – up from 26% in 2021 to 43% in 2023. 
• Marketers are beginning to appreciate the scale of the challenge: capability gaps were cited by 35% versus 20% in 2021.
• Specific challenges include lack of internal resources (35%), knowledge and skills gap (35%), organisational mindset (32% said that sustainable solutions are perceived as costly), the lack of a P&L policy that protects the planet (35%), and a lack of transparency in measurement (30%). 
• Innovation is seen as the top opportunity to drive transition (57%) followed by new business models (55%) and educating consumers at scale (54%). 

Key quote

“Marketers are finally starting to grasp the scale of the sustainability challenge, particularly the climate crisis. We have reached the point where the status quo is no longer an option. Radical transformation is essential” – Stephan Loerke, CEO of WFA. 

*Sustainable Marketing 2030 is based on quantitative and qualitative research with 18 in-depth vision interviews with Global CMOs and 10 interviews with sustainability experts as well as responses from 938 senior client-side marketers across 48 countries worldwide.

Sourced from WFA