Embracing ESG

Help us prepare marketers to meet the challenge

This summer, I drove across Canada to visit Jasper National Park. The forecast for the entire trip was “smoke, with a chance of more smoke”. While the trip was nice and the scenery beautiful, I thought about climate change the entire time.

There is no question that consumers’ expectations for action on climate change, along with other societal issues, are rising. As Jeff Greenspoon, one of our board members, noted at our CMAimpact event last week, 20% of consumers say that how companies treat the environment is the top issue when making a brand decision.

Similarly, younger generations of employees want to work at purpose-driven companies.

Gone are the days when organizations could address concerns about their Environmental, Social and Governance goals (ESG) through rankings and ratings, and through activities that ran parallel to and largely outside of business operations. Today, organizations are expected to integrate and align their ESG values with business objectives.

Our challenge as marketers is to be part of the strategic team that helps our organizations develop long-term integrated business solutions that benefit society and deliver business results. How a brand’s behaviour conveys the organization’s commitments, is increasingly important. As the voice of consumers in the C-suite, marketers have a key role to play in developing the ESG strategy.

There is a lot for the CMA to do on this topic, in line with our mission to embolden marketers to make a positive impact on business success, and we need all the best hands on deck. I’m inviting senior marketing leaders who are active in this area to join our new ESG Committee which will start in the next couple of months. If you are interested, please reach out to Lucy Collin, our Vice-President, Member Experience.

Boldly,