“Saving our planet is now a communications challenge.” — Sir David
Attenborough
Carlsberg Group has signed the World Federation of Advertisers’ (WFA)
Planet Pledge – a
global commitment to making marketing teams a force for positive change both
internally and by inspiring consumers to act.
Carlsberg — which brews, markets and distributes hundreds of global beer brands
— joins 16 other corporate giants including
Bayer,
Coca-Cola, General Mills,
IKEA,
L’Oréal,
Mastercard,
Nestlé,
PepsiCo, Pernod
Ricard
and Unilever, along with 18
national advertiser associations in signing the Pledge with the aim to find a
clear role for marketing as a positive force for environmental change.
Along with collaboratives such as SB’s Brands for
Good initiative,
which is also leveraging brand marketing efforts to make responsible consumption
more attractive and attainable at scale, the WFA’s Planet Pledge aims to change
marketing from a driver of
consumption
into a catalyst for more sustainable thinking and behavior. Carlsberg Group has
set clear commitments to become a more sustainable business through its
Together Towards
ZERO
program. Since 2015, it has cut relative emissions from its breweries by 39
percent, with science-based targets for zero emissions from its
breweries
by 2030; it has also introduced innovations such as the Snap
Pack
to cut plastic packaging waste, and recently began delivering to customers in
Switzerland through the country’s largest fleet of electric trucks.
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The pledge builds on this ongoing work, committing the company’s marketing team
to take action to engage consumers and the supply chain, with a focus on four
key areas:
-
Commit to being a champion for the global Race to Zero
campaign,
both internally and throughout their marketing supply chain
-
Scale the capability of marketing organizations to lead for climate
action
by providing the tools and guidance for marketers and agencies
-
Harness the power of their marketing communications to drive more
sustainable consumer
behaviors
-
Reinforce a trustworthy marketing environment, where sustainability claims
can be easily
substantiated
so that consumers can trust the marketing messages they are presented with
as they seek to align their own consumption with their values.
“The Planet Pledge targets are ambitious and very much in line with our own.
They recognize that success will require getting our consumers, customers and
suppliers on
board,”
said Robbie Millar, VP Global Marketing at Carlsberg Group. “In doing so, I
truly believe in the power of effective marketing communication as a way of
winning the hearts and minds of beer lovers everywhere and encouraging them to
be more sustainable in their behavior. By signing the pledge, we confirm our
commitment to promoting sustainability through our actions globally.”
Over the past year, marketeers across the Carlsberg Group have already started
using the brands to engage consumers on sustainability, including:
-
In the UK, the Carlsberg brand has partnered with WWF to restore
seagrass
around the UK coastline, bringing sustainability to the forefront of the
brand to share the message that a small action can have a big impact for our
planet.
-
In Denmark, another partnership with WWF via the Tuborg brand set
out to investigate Danes’ plastic habits and provide them with the advice
and tips to use plastic more sustainably.
-
In Poland, the “we cherish water” campaign raised awareness and
understanding of the importance of water as a finite resource through the
local KASZTELAN brand.
-
In Switzerland, the new Uszit brand focuses on protecting forests, with a
donation for every can sold going to support forest conservation projects.
-
In Vietnam, through the local brand Huda, the team is focused on
improving access to fresh water for the people living in Central Vietnam.
Since launching the campaign in 2019, it’s provided clean water for 20,000
people across five provinces.
Simon Boas Hoffmeyer, Senior Director Sustainability at Carlsberg Group,
commented: “We are facing a climate crisis; and brand owners like ourselves
carry a great responsibility: to go beyond making our own operations
sustainable, and use our brands to inspire millions of consumers to make more
sustainable
choices.
This is a vital year for climate action; and this pledge is an important step to
engaging many more people to act for the future of our planet.”
Learn more about the WFA’s Planet Pledge at WFAplanetpledge.org.
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Sustainable Brands Staff
Published Sep 9, 2021 2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST