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Can Marketing Save the Planet?Author: canmarketingsavetheplanet
Can Marketing Save the Planet? Its a big question, and one our podcast sets out to explore with marketers, senior leaders, CMOs and sustainability consultants and experts. Our purpose is to drive education, share best practice, inspire and empower listeners to ask questions and importantly start taking action. Sitting at the heart of brand, communications, stakeholders and product development, marketers have a significant role to play when it comes to promoting and driving sustainability. As marketers and business leaders developing and marketing products and services, we need to recognise that were part of the problem. In an age of growing authenticity and consumer demands for more transparency, it is more important than ever for brands to communicate their responsible and sustainable practices, to stand up for causes theyre passionate about and importantly, follow through on the promises they may. In our view, theres no one better placed to effect change, align with and influence customers and drive hope for a better, more sustainable future, than an 'educated and aware', responsible marketer. For more info visit: www.canmarketingsavetheplanet.com Language: en Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Episode 109: ‘Navigating the role of a Responsible CMO’ - 3-Part Mini Series’, Part 2 - Gerald Breatnach
Episode 114
Thursday, 2 October, 2025
The power of small steps – “I would say... keep pushing on to be a force for good as a marketer.” In this episode, the second in our “CMO mini-series” we go on a bit of dive deep with Gerald Breatnach, a seasoned insights professional with a passion for sustainability - which led him to complete a Masters in Sustainability Leadership at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. We’ve wanted to catch up with Gerald ever since he joined us at our COM2 (Conference of the Marketer) event to share findings from his work and dissertation around the role of the CMO and sustainability. Gerald begins by acknowledging the stark gap between sustainability theory and marketing practice. Whilst it’s true that many CMOs feel the pressure of the climate crisis, they are often constrained by short-term commercial targets – on the commercial reality he explains, “it comes back to the fact that businesses are not charities. Ultimately, you miss your profit number, your share price gets hammered, your CEO gets fired. That's still the brutal reality of it.". However as Gerald’s research reveals, the leaders making real progress are those operating within a purpose-driven corporate culture, integrating sustainability into the core of their marketing strategy, and beginning to tackle complex systemic challenges. We explore the tensions and trade-offs for CMOs, an area that keeps coming up, however, the tremendous opportunities facing today's marketing leaders far outweighs the tensions over the long term and whilst we acknowledge these, Gerald, like us remains optimistic about marketing's critical role in shaping a better future, as he puts it, "Marketers do have critical skills that are going to be needed in spades." This conversation is all about the practical human challenges and opportunities that come with embedding purpose into the core of an organisation and thinking in systems. Tune in as we talk to Gerald about… The single biggest factor enabling CMOs to drive change is a purpose-driven CEO and board who establish environmental and social goals alongside commercial ones, allowing for longer-term strategic thinking. The need to integrate not separate sustainability into the core marketing strategy and metrics. How successful CMOs treat sustainability as a functional pillar, not an optional add-on. The need to embrace systems thinking: Marketers are hitting understanding and influencing the complex systems we operate within, from supply chains to consumer habits. Building internal bridges with marketing working closely with sustainability teams. For more information about Gerald , tune in via LinkedIn. Enjoy - and if you love the podcast, share with your friends, family and colleagues. More to come in this series… and it’s great to be back! ________________________________________________________________________ About us… We help Marketers save the planet. 🌍 Join the Marketers and organisations who have signed our manifesto, engage with our newsletter and training and, work with us to communicate sustainability more effectively. Sign our Sustainable Marketer Manifesto, and join us on our mission. Get in touch to chat. You’ll find the Podcast on all the usual pod platforms - and also on The Global Player. If you love it, do share it and spread the word. Talking about climate change and the role we play is one of the most important things we can do. So join the conversation. We’re all in this together. Our podcasts are recorded purely via online conferencing platforms, we apologise for any minor sound quality issues.
