Study: 4 reasons why CMOs don't know where to start with sustainability

Consumers look to brands to take the lead in sustainability issues. Slightly more than a third of APAC shoppers (32%) said it is up to businesses to behave sustainably, Kantar's latest Sustainability Sector Index 2022 in APAC found. There are also more advancements in the sustainability space, with electric vehicles and home energy improvements, for example.

However, the sustainability journey might be easier said than done for brands because CMOs in firms that want to be more sustainable don't know where to start, Forrester said, and here are four reasons why.

1. C-suite is not unified in the urgency of action

While climate change is on CEOs' agendas, there are large disparities between geographies and sectors, as well as differing depths of understanding on how sustainability is currently impacting the business, Forrester said, quoting Jean-Baptiste Bouzige, cofounder and CEO of data science company Ekimetrics. Only 37% of CEOs in Asia see sustainability/climate change as a top factor for businss disruption. This was lower than the global average of 48%.
According to Forrester, the lack of C-suite agreement on the urgency of action for sustainability shows that the efforts of several companies in this area are tactical grassroots actions by motiavated employees. Forrester surveyed 153 B2C CMOs as part of its B2C Marketing CMO Pulse Survey 2022.

2. Marketers wary due to greenwashing fears

While the majority of B2C CMOs (76%) want to showcase more green initiatives, they are also afraid of greenwashing. In fact, many of the CMOs Forrester interviewed believe their role to be limited as they do not own the departments that have the greatest impact on sustainability. These include product, supply chain, manufacturing, operations, and finance.

Also, 64% of B2C CMOs said that while their companies have started on their sustainability transformation journey, it is not yet impacting the marketing department. Also, Forrester found that tactical initiatives to decrease the carbon impact of the marketing function itself would likely impact the marketing department.

At the same time, marketers still need to be educated on the complex science surrounding the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s findings. The reason being, several marketers Forrester interviewed had no understanding about the basic concept of scope three carbon emissions.

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3. Green consumer polarisation a justification for inaction

Brands find it difficult to quickly predict how fast gren consumers will demand sustainable brands and they often use this reason not to act. According to Forrester, while several consumers care about this planet, there is still a huge gap between their beliefs and their continued prioritisation of price, product quality and convenience.

Forrester's Consumer Europe Survey 2022 found that 40% of European adults onlines are prepared to pay premium for greener products. However, that number will drastically decrease in practice, especially as inflation hits.

This finding also corroborates with Kantar's recent study in APAC which found that the rising cost of living is preventing 67% of APAC consumers from acting on their intentions of being sustainable. APAC shoppers also want more affordable price points to change sustainable intention into action, as 66% of APAC shoppers say products that are "better for the environment and society" are more expensive.

4. Consumers wary of companies living up to green commitments

Forrester found that only 28% of US and 30% of European adults online trust when companies pledge to reduce climate change. Aside from causing reputational damage, Forrester said consumers are also more likely to stop recommending products, criticise the brand, and seek alternatives if brands are found to have misled consumers about their environmental or sustainability initiatives.

Similarly, Kantar found that 84% of APAC respondents have seen misleading information about sustainable actions taken by companies. Also, 59% of them are concerned that the brands involved in ESG are doing so for commercial reasons.

HSBC recently came under the spotlight when its series of ads got banned by the UK's Advertising Standards Authority for being misleading in its green credentials. The ads appeared in the lead-up to the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) and two posters were seen on bus stops in Bristol and London last October.

Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz was also criticised for greenwashing in its ads a few months ago, resulting in the brand distancing itself from the ads and explaining that the images were localised social media content rather than a global campaign.

Meet Asia’s top PR and communication leaders in-person. PR Asia sets the stage for the future of purpose-driven contemporary PR. Join us on 9 November as we gather Asia’s top PR and communication practitioners in-person in Malaysia. Deep dive into the next necessary steps for PR as we head towards 2023. Only at #PRAsia.

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