Process
How your channels, partners and data practices deliver value in responsible ways.
Your brand is only as responsible as your supply chain. Marketing must ensure that the partners who produce content, media, and products share the organization's values.
Slave-Free Chocolate
Tony's entire brand is built on the transparency of its supply chain. They market the process of eliminating slavery from cocoa production. Their marketing *is* their supply chain story, proving that process can be a powerful differentiator.
TAcademic Theory & Context
Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM)
The management of material, information, and capital flows as well as cooperation among companies along the supply chain while taking goals from all three dimensions of sustainable development (economic, environmental, and social) into account.
Key Goal
To move from ad-hoc, reactive marketing to strategic, proactive responsibility in this area.
Practical Application Guide
Marketing Executive
Tactical Execution & Vendor Management
6 Questions to Ask
- Do I know the sustainability credentials of this supplier?
- Have I asked for a breakdown of the materials used?
- Am I ordering the right amount to avoid waste?
- Can we use a local supplier to reduce transport emissions?
- Have I checked if the supplier pays a living wage?
- Is the packaging recyclable or reusable?
6 Practical Achievements
- Source a new supplier with a sustainability certification.
- Reduce the print run of a brochure by 20% through better targeting.
- Switch to a green web hosting provider for a microsite.
- Organize a 'supplier day' to discuss sustainability goals.
- Create a 'preferred supplier list' based on ethical criteria.
- Calculate the carbon footprint of a specific campaign.
Marketing Manager
Strategic Planning & Procurement Policy
6 Strategic Questions
- Is sustainability a weighted criteria in our RFPs?
- Do we have long-term contracts that allow suppliers to invest in sustainability?
- Are we mapping our supply chain beyond Tier 1?
- Do we have a code of conduct for all marketing partners?
- Are we collaborating with competitors to improve industry standards?
- Is our procurement team aligned with our marketing values?
6 Leadership Achievements
- Rewrite the procurement policy to mandate ethical standards.
- Launch a 'supplier innovation challenge' to solve a sustainability problem.
- Achieve B Corp certification (or similar) for the department.
- Eliminate single-use plastics from all marketing events.
- Publish a transparent list of all Tier 1 suppliers.
- Lead a cross-industry coalition on sustainable media buying.