Marketing must-reads: Spotlight on sustainability

We don’t need to tell you why sustainability is so important for marketers today, but finding reliable sources of credible information on the environmental crisis is a challenge felt by many. In this article, browse our latest recommendations covering everything you need to know about where marketing and sustainability coincide…   

Sustainable Marketing: How to Drive Profits with Purpose 

Sustainable transformation is coming, and marketers have a golden opportunity to be a part of this seismic shift in business practices. That’s the view of Gemma Butler, marketing director at CIM and co-author of Sustainable Marketing, alongside Michelle Carvill FCIM and Dr Geraint Evans.  

From three marketing experts with decades of experience between them, Sustainable Marketing delivers the new benchmark for responsible marketing. This book sets out the significance of taking sustainability seriously, with each chapter providing a comprehensive guide to implementing, driving and maintaining these practices in any organisation. A must-read for marketers and business leaders alike, this title gives a unique blend of academic research and practical case studies that will kickstart and inspire sustainable initiatives. 

Speaking about the impact of Sustainable Marketing, James Perry, co-founder of B Lab UK, said: “Marketeers have a critical role to play in solving the great challenges of our time. To understand how, they should read this book.” 

Corporate Responsibility in the Digital Age  

Published in 2020, this book shares the stark reality of a post-Covid world, where sustainable business practice is the only viable option for success. It is a roadmap to help organisations embed corporate responsibility and be fit for purpose in a digital era. This easily-digestible read guides marketers through the process of transforming their organisations, with continued reference to the importance of technology. The book covers key topics including values, stakeholder engagement, employees, supply chain, environment, community, customers and marketing, and reporting and transparency.  

Each chapter is guided by relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals and features real-world examples. By the final page, marketing and business leaders will understand the scope of the challenge involved in leading a truly socially and environmentally responsible organization, and, crucially, will grasp why such a course of action is not only desirable, but essential. Due to its recent publication date, Corporate Responsibility in the Digital Age delves into the implications of Covid-19, and the modern technological Fourth Industrial Revolution, providing a relevant and up-to-date look at sustainability today. 

Greener Marketing 

This timely book, which was a finalist at the 2021 Business Book Awards, is a sequel to John Grant's Green Marketing Manifesto (2007), the award-winning and bestselling definitive guide to green marketing (and not greenwashing).  

Amidst the events of 2020 and lingering impacts of Covid-19, climate change is back at the top of the public and political agenda. This book is packed with up-to-date learnings, case examples and trends, covering everything from eco labelling, transparency and the circular economy; to rebound effects, sustainable finance, blockchain and regenerative farming.  

The underlying principle of this title is that in order to drive sustainability, marketers firstly need to properly understand its many applications and implications. Furthermore, marketers need to understand what it means to their consumers and other significant audiences. The ultimate goal is to go beyond marketing that simply looks good, to marketing that does good. This book is intended to assist marketers, by means of clear and practical guidance, through a complex transition towards meaningful marketing that makes a positive creative impact on the climate crisis, and on improving human life in troubled times. Aimed both at big companies that are trying to be good, and good companies that are trying to be big. 

Sustainable Marketing Planning 

According to Neil Richardson, author of Sustainable Marketing Planning, there are two major challenges facing managers and leaders: first, how to adapt to global changes in markets, competition and supply, and second, how to grow a business while observing recognisably sustainable practices.  

This book provides practical insights, tools and frameworks to help professionals produce tactically and strategically appropriate marketing plans. Showing how to embed sustainability in these strategies and reflecting on the historical and current criticisms aimed at marketing, readers will be shown how to implement changes while being encouraged to reflect on why they are needed.  

Full of tools and frameworks to improve comprehension, including chapter-by-chapter learning outcomes, summaries, exercises, applied activities and mini case studies, it bridges the gap between theory and practice effectively and accessibly. PowerPoint lecture slides and multiple-choice questions are also provided for each chapter as electronic resources. 

For those who prefer to read digitally, this title is also available as an eBook. 

Greener Products: The Making and Marketing of Sustainable Brands 

Written by a renowned sustainability expert, Al Iannuzzi Jr., Greener Products: The Making and Marketing of Sustainable Brands, Second Edition, makes the case for why the people and the planet need products to be made in a different, more sustainable way. This book provides insights on how to raise the bar on product development and investigates the best practices for making and marketing sustainable brands.  

In this title, over 40 case studies are analysed and summarized for the reader to easily see what it is that makes leading companies successful. Analysis on marketing campaigns and greener product development spotlight the latest innovations from leading companies like Apple, Nike, Samsung Electronics, BASF, GE, Johnson & Johnson, Unilever, and Method. This second edition provides brand new content on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, eco-innovation and bringing sustainable products to market.

Discover more on driving sustainability within your business by visiting our Sustainable Transformation Hub. Visit now to keep up to date with the latest content and courses dedicated to driving sustainable business practices.  

Purchase these titles and more today via the CIM bookshop, where you can find all our latest recommendations for your reading list.