World Consumer Rights Day takes place on 15 March, and the theme for 2025 is ‘a just transition to sustainable lifestyles’. This year the focus is on how it's essential that sustainable and healthy choices for consumers are made more available, accessible, and affordable. With this in mind, host Sena invited her colleague William Stubbings to join her in studio, to discuss the pivotal role of marketing in promoting sustainability to consumers.
They interview Marina Madale, Executive: Sustainability and Shared Value at MTN, and discuss the role that brands play in making sustainability accessible, inclusive and affordable for consumers, and how to effectively communicate a sustainability message. Marina shares insights on MTN’s sustainability strategy and the need for brands to be transparent and accountable. They address the important topic of greenwashing and how it undermines consumer trust, and how brands must authentically reflect societal values and commitments in their actions. They also talk about how brands should double down on sustainability efforts as so many organisations in the US and globally, are backsliding on their climate and DEI agreements.
This podcast is produced by Laura Rapson
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction to sustainability in marketing
03:00 - Introduction to Marina and how she got into this space
04:00 - The role of marketing in sustainable living
06:00 - How brands can help consumers live more sustainably
09:00 - MTN's sustainability strategy and initiatives
15:04 - How to effectively communicate sustainability benefits to consumers
20:25 - Affordability and accessibility of sustainable products
24:20 - Governance in sustainability practices
27:15 - How to make sense of global companies backsliding on climate and DEI agreements
34:53 - Why sustainability needs to be embedded into business strategy
41:40 - Sneak peek at Kantar’s 2025 Sustainability Sector Index