Sustainable marketing is becoming increasingly important for brands, and that’s why sustainability must be at the heart of any successful marketing strategy in 2023. Companies are being judged more and more on their efforts to go green, so it’s important they consider this. At present, 36% of UK consumers are often choosing brands with good sustainability credentials. This article also goes on to explain that a further 44% regularly choose products and brands which use recycled or compostable packaging.

What is sustainability marketing?

Sustainability marketing is a process that focuses on green initiatives to achieve desired business objectives. It encompasses both social and environmental sustainability, aiming to create long-term value while reducing the negative impact of the product or service on the environment.

When done right, it can help businesses differentiate themselves from their competitors whilst making a positive impact on the world. In addition, it can help brands to build deeper relationships with customers whose values align with theirs.

What are the benefits of sustainable marketing?

There are numerous benefits of sustainability marketing. It can help brands:

  • Increase their customer base and improve their brand awareness.
  • Make them more desirable whilst keeping customers coming back.
  • Stand out in a crowded market as it can be difficult to catch customers’ attention.

There are many other benefits that sustainable marketing can provide, research shows that it is becoming more and more important as it’s what customers are now looking for, with 81 percent of shoppers wanting businesses to be environmentally conscious in their advertising and messaging.

How to implement this into your marketing strategy.

To successfully implement this into your marketing strategy, it is important to know the key elements of sustainability marketing. First and foremost, you need to identify what sustainability means for your brand and how it can be communicated effectively to drive the desired results.

We would suggest starting small. As an example, packaging and labelling are two things that many companies perform which could be improved, and these are responsible for a large part of their environmental impact. One example we have as a marketing agency is every website we host through our provider Krystal, we plant a tree, and we can track our progress to see how many trees we have planted!

Finally, sustainability marketing should be an ongoing process. As sustainability continues to become increasingly important to consumers, it needs to be a constant ongoing task to improve on this, no matter how big or small the tasks are. Whether its going paperless in the office, encouraging eco-friendly commuting with biking initiatives or carpooling, every little helps!

Examples of Sustainable Marketing

We have seen some great and some not so great sustainable marketing initiatives over the years, so we thought we would share three of our favourite examples that have created a good impact.

Lush – Bring it Back

In 2021, Lush created a recycling scheme where every lush bottle that was returned got the customer a 50p discount off their order. This is on top of the already great work they do, such as offering a free face mask to customers returning five empty products in-store.

Ikea – People & Planet

Ikea has created a scheme called “People & Planet”. This strategy supports eco-friendly activities and solar energy. On this page they show a variety of different articles and initiatives that have been created, and they are a company that is always looking to improve on their sustainability.

The Body Shop Sustainable Commitments

The Body Shop has pledged that its whole product collection would be Vegan Society-certified by 2023 and is working towards using 100% renewable energy. The Body Shop are known for their green initiatives and has a whole page dedicated to their sustainability efforts.

What do we do?

At Disruptor Media, we pride ourselves on being a sustainable marketing agency with a proven track record of developing and delivering authentic, hard-hitting strategies for the likes of the United Nations, Bright Green Plastics and Yorwaste, to name a few, that not only give our clients the competitive edge but actually make a difference.

Working with a sustainable marketing agency can help you create an authentic sustainability story for your brand, one that resonates with your target audience. A sustainability-minded agency like us here at Disruptor will be able to assist you with your goals.

Want to learn more? Get in touch now.