Consumer Behavior Change Marketing & Communications

Marketing Is from Mars, Sustainability Is from Venus

Bridging the gap between marketing and sustainability can future-proof your brand and deliver better growth.

By Thomas Kolster | Published 3 weeks ago | About a 4 minute read

The advertising industry ignored sustainability. At first. Back in 2012, when my first book Goodvertising (Thames & Hudson) came out, I wanted to celebrate the power of creativity that could truly make a difference. Yet most of the advertising industry treated me like the weirdo at the party preaching sobriety at 2 a.m.

Who opened their doors instead? The sustainability crowd. They didn’t roll their eyes; they were happy someone wanted to put ideas and energy behind their work. In return, they taught me valuable lessons for which I am still thankful. It was like learning a new vocabulary and a new skillset: materiality, science-based targets, Scope 3 emissions. It was a whole universe that marketing had conveniently decided didn’t exist, or perhaps just didn’t care about.

It was the first time I saw, with my own eyes, that marketing and sustainability live on different planets. One is all fireworks and fast results; the other is systems change, patience, and proof. The tragedy? They rarely speak. Both are rowing like hell, just in opposite directions.

One Brand, but Rowing Like Hell in Opposite Directions

Marketing and sustainability may share a brand, but they don’t share a brain. In an era of collapsing trust and rising climate pressure, that separation isn’t just silly, it’s dangerous. It jeopardizes brand value.

Look no further than how Tesla’s brand value has plummeted because of a politically outspoken CEO. Or consider the recent [Brand Finance Sustainability Perceptions Index 2025] (https://brandirectory.com/reports/sustainability-perceptions-index). According to the Index, Turkish Airlines is a highly valuable and beloved brand, yet they have tens of millions of euros at risk bcause their sustainability performance doesn’t match their claims. Do you know your brand's sustainability performance? If your brand can’t back up its promises with verifiable action, the trust deficit will come knocking.

Let’s Be Honest: Both Sides Are Tired

Talk to any Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) these days and you’ll hear frustration. Consumers don’t just buy products anymore: they interrogate them. The average CMO has become a corporate acrobat, expected to perform growth miracles while avoiding accusations of bullshit.

Then, talk to a Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), and you’ll hear another kind of exhaustion. They desperately need leadership to support the internal transformation and someone to translate sustainability into something people actually care about. In an uncertain market, most brands shy away from big branding efforts. Fearing a “sustainability backlash,” they ditch any sustainability efforts and turn all focus on chasing sales.

This is a treacherous strategy that often stifles a brand’s ability to innovate. The growth examples are there. Take Holie, a fast-growing Dutch breakfast cereal brand with a simple promise: great-tasting cereal, zero sugar. They’ve recently entered the UK, where they’re experiencing double-digit growth while teasing the big brands for their sugar addiction.

When marketing and sustainability work together, it’s a killer combo. The Brand Finance survey states clearly that sustainability is a powerful demand driver. In sectors like automotive, discretionary, FMCG, professional services, and luxury, sustainability drives between 10% and 23% of demand.

Time for CMO and CSO “Couple’s Therapy”

The path forward begins like any couple’s therapy: with honest conversations. CMOs and CSOs must spend more time together rather than operating in silos. Secondly, they must acknowledge each other’s differing worldviews and find common ground. The world of marketing is emotional and simple, whereas the world of sustainability is rational and complex. It’s no wonder they often collide.

However, there are great examples of interplanetary bridge-building. Take the Ugly Fruits and Vegetables campaign from the French supermarket chain Intermarché. They took produce that would normally be discarded for not meeting aesthetic standards and celebrated their “ugliness.” One headline for an “ugly carrot” read: “In a soup who cares?” It was a wonderful piece of communication. They made people feel something for a carrot, while taking a complex issue, food waste, and making it emotional and simple.

Future-ready brands won’t be the loudest or the greenest; they’ll be the ones where marketing and sustainability operate not as rivals or reluctant roommates, but as co-architects of value. After a decade in this space, watching marketing stumble and sustainability sigh in despair, my hope is simple: let’s stop pretending these two worlds are incompatible. They are not oil and water, they are oxygen and fire. The old silos are failing. The future belongs to the leaders who can bridge them.

For more great insights on how to unlock the impact potential of CMO/CSO collaboration, don't miss this upcoming SB webinar, moderated by Thomas Kolster: The Wow Spot: Where Sustainability + Marketing Turn to Magic