Sustainable Futures

At least 14 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans every year, causing the destruction of eco-systems whilst also releasing more toxic chemicals and micro-plastics into the environment. And Kantar’s Sustainability Sector Index identifies water pollution as one of the top sustainability concerns globally – the number 1 in Asia: it is an environmental challenge very much top of consumers' minds.  In our latest Sustainable Futures episode our host, Jonathan Hall, interviews Will Pearson, CEO and Co-Founder of Ocean Bottle, an award-winning reusable water bottle start-up that removes plastic waste from the ocean. Will describes how his start-up uses a new, innovative business model centred around the Ocean Bottle, an insulated flask with a positive environmental footprint. Each purchase removes 1000 plastic bottles from the ocean, giving consumers the power to tackle ocean pollution.  Ocean Bottle has made transformational change to ocean habitats by removing over 1 billion plastic bottles from the Ocean so far! We hear about the challenges of establishing a successful start-up, Ocean Bottle’s journey to success and the future expansion that will allow them to take their positive impact to the next level.

Why are consumers’ sustainability perceptions of the fashion industry so low? How can brands implement impactful sustainable change to close consumers’ value-action gap? Listen to our new Sustainable Futures episode where Jonathan Hall talks to Andrew Saxton, Business Unit Director, and Olivia Kelly, Fashion Client Manager from our Worldpanel division, to uncover the complex relationship the fashion world has with sustainability.   Brands are genuinely trying to make change, but they are on a journey and in many cases, they are held back by consumer perceptions of the sector. Of all the biggest fashion retailers in the market, Kantar panel data found that M&S was the only brand with a net positive consumer perception. Furthermore, consumers believe that the harmful impacts of the fashion industry are out of their control as 65% of shoppers state that it is up to brands to take responsibility for their environmental impact. Learn how effective communication coupled with new innovations will increase brand satisfaction in this space, allowing consumers to protect the environment in style.   

Listen to the final instalment in the Sustainable Futures Sustainable Marketing 2030 series: the fifth lever of change is Radical Innovation, which marketers voted the most important lever in the Circular Marketing & Growth Framework. In this episode our host Jonathan Hall interviews Neda Hashemi from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Emily Simons, Innovation Lead in Kantar’s global Sustainable Transformation Practice. Radical Innovation has the potential to unlock business and brand strategies that reshape how we create, make, and deliver value commercially, to people and the planet. Rethinking how marketers engage earlier in the value chain to implement circularity will help both normalise sustainable consumption behaviours and protect the brand owner from charges of greenwashing. Kantar and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation play key roles in this space by designing for circularly, connecting change makers and creating interventions that deliver measurable impact.  

In this new episode of Sustainable Futures, Jonathan Hall is joined by Rupert Pearce - co-founder of Rewired Earth - and Jack Young from Kantar’s Sustainable Transformation Practice for the third instalment in our mini-series based around Kantar’s Sustainable Marketing 2030 study in collaboration with WFA. Learn about the critical importance of redefining value beyond solely profit to include people and planet, and why this is a central lever for change in the Circular Marketing framework that lies at the heart of Sustainable Marketing 2030. And hear about Rewired Earth’s vision to rewire the financial markets as a force for good – and the journey it has been on to help make this happen. Delve into topics around this subject area such as the tipping point in the population’s sustainable behaviour, new business models that can meet consumer demands and what you can do personally to address social and environmental challenges.

Join us for the latest Sustainable Futures episode in our Sustainable Marketing 2030 mini-series – this time on Transformative Relationships. Listen to our host Jonathan Hall interviewboth Michelle McEvoy, Initiative Lead at Planet Pledge at the World Federation ofAdvertisers, and Charlie Thompson, Director of Commercial Strategy at the CambridgeInstitute of Sustainability Leadership. This episode focuses on the transformativerelationships lever within SM2030’s circular marketing framework: outlining the importance ofembracing opportunities for industry-wide collaboration to benefit both business and theplanet.  Fostering a new collaborative mindset acknowledges the need to come together to tacklecomplex challenges such as climate change that cannot be solved in silos. Building newrelationships with and beyond the immediate value chain can enable brands to take a moreholistic approach to sustainable marketing that considers long-term social and environmentalimpacts.   Links referenced in the recording: Defining and Categorising Partnerships:  United Nations 2030 Agenda Partnership AgendaEllen Macarthur Foundation report WFA Planet PledgeDownload Kantar’s Sustainable Marketing 2030 reportCISL’s Leadership for a Sustainable Future FrameworkCISL’s definition of sustainable marketing:CISL’s Sustainable Marketing, Media & Creative online course:Characterising Marketing Paradigms for Sustainable Marketing Management by Dr Victoria Hurth:Jon Alexander book on citizens

Join us for the next instalment in the Sustainable Futures ‘Sustainable Marketing 2030’ podcast mini-series. For this episode, our host Jonathan Hall talks with Poppy Mason-Watts, chief growth and impact officer at WaterBear as well as WaterBear’s chief executive Sam Sutaria, and Özlem Şentürk, senior partner at Kantar’s Sustainable Transformation Practice. This episode focuses on the Creativity into Action lever within SM2030’s circular marketing framework which explores how to communicate sustainability messages effectively to drive impact. WaterBear has built a collaborative (free) media network focused on driving systemic change through empowering small filmmakers to tell stories about the challenges faced by society and the planet. The episode emphasises that brands need to bridge the gap between consumers and brands by crafting messages that normalise sustainable lifestyles. This is the lynchpin that puts the levers within the SM2030 framework into action to inspire transformation.

In the next episode of Sustainable Futures’ mini-series ‘Sustainable Marketing 2030’ listen to Jonathan Hall, managing partner of Kantar’s Sustainable Transformation Practice interview CEO Alessandro Armillota and UK country manager Gaia Arzilli from AWorld, a gamified stakeholder engagement platform that encourages sustainable living. The theme of this episode ties in with Sustainability First, the first pillar of Kantar’s 5 levers for change in the Sustainable Marketing 2030 report. This lever emphasises the importance of brands making sustainability a priority and outlines how brands can take steps to understand their impact on the planet. AWorld provides a gamified, AI-driven platform that educates, motivates and rewards individuals and groups for adopting sustainable practises.  This approach, infused with optimism, aims to bridge the gap between values and actions. It's a tool that companies can leverage competitively to meet ESG objectives and contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through small, consistent actions.Kantar website copyListen to Jonathan Hall, managing partner of the Sustainable Transformation Practice interview CEO Alessandro Armillota and country manager Gaia Arzilli from AWorld. AWorld is more than just a platform; it's a movement towards sustainable living, blending education, motivation, and rewards to foster eco-conscious habits. The platform provides detailed, data-driven insights, aligned with SDGs and ESG metrics, to enhance corporate regulatory compliance. This discussion relates to the first pillar of Kantar’s 5 levers for change in the Sustainable Marketing 2030 report ‘Sustainability First’ which outlines how brands can prioritise sustainability by taking steps such as carbon reporting. Learn how AWorld's positive nudges can close the gap between intentions and real actions, promoting a competitive yet cooperative environment within organisations to reduce carbon footprints and support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. 

Join us for our new podcast mini-series where we explore Kantar’s Sustainable Marketing 2030 (SM2030) initiative in partnership with the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA). In this episode you will listen to Jonathan Hall, managing partner of Kantar’s Sustainable Transformation Practice (STP), Özlem Şentürk, senior partner within Kantar’s STP and Michelle McEvoy, Initiative lead at Planet Pledge at the WFA. Michelle gives and overview of the WFA and its goal to help marketers facilitate business growth for the benefit of society and the planet. You will then get an insight into the purpose and the structure of the SM2030 report. By gathering data from 938 client-side marketers across 48 countries the report gives a fundamental assessment of where sustainable marketing is now and how it can make business more impactful and profitable. The episode gives an overview of how shifting to more sustainable marketing involves a range of risks and opportunities. We then give you a brief introduction to the levers of change, that re-imagine a new framework to ensure that sustainable marketing can fuel sustainable business transformation.  

Get stuck into the most recent episode of Kantar’s Sustainable Futures podcast to hear all about The Earthshot Prize, recently held in Singapore this year on the 7th of November. Listen to Stephen Lavery, Senior Impact and Insights Manager at The Earthshot Prize be interviewed by Jonathan Hall, Mark Fisher and Trezelene Chan from Kantar’s Sustainable Transformation Practice. Learn about the origins and objectives of The Earthshot Prize and its progress towards overcoming environmental challenges. Hear about how Kantar partnered with The Earthshot Prize to help the not-for-profit grow its audience by targeting specific types of people who think differently about climate change. You will also gain insights into this year’s Earthshot Prize which was held in Asia for the first time. See how this new initiative is creating new opportunities for environmentally friendly projects that are accelerating sustainable development.