Sustainable Marketing Study: Europe Does It for Profit, UK Because It Feels Right
Published on: 09 Sep 2022 | Author: Jorge Uceda
Digital & Marketing Strategy Reports
In this Marketing Report:
- Sustainable Marketing: UK Companies Think It’s the Right Thing to Do
- Fair Salaries Is the #1 Sustainable Marketing Investment for Companies
- Who Are the Big Spenders?
- Return on Investment for Sustainable Marketing
- Conclusion: There Are Opportunities for Sustainable Marketing
- Methodology
Sustainable business is a hot topic. What is less popular, perhaps, is the concept of sustainable marketing, understood as the promotion of environmental and socially responsible products, practices, and brand values.
If your company is spending a bit more on its marketing because they know it has a positive impact in your community, then you are doing sustainable marketing.
As marketing experts, the Sortlist data team deep dived into the ways companies invest in their marketing to have a positive impact on sustainability topics. Here’s how they do it.
2 years ago
Time period when British brands started having a sustainability marketing strategy
10,000€
Most British brands invested less than this amount for these sustainable strategies in 2021
5-10%
Amount by which most sustainable marketing budgets will increase in the next years
Sustainable Marketing: UK Companies Think It’s the Right Thing to Do
Reasons Why Companies Invest in Sustainability
Results go to show that brands put profit above everything else, including ethics.
The United Kingdom is the only market where the majority of companies (20%) responded that they invested in it because it was the right thing to do.
How Long Have Companies Had a Sustainability Marketing Strategy?
The majority of brands, including British ones, also claim that their sustainability marketing strategy started two years ago (21%). Only a very small 5% has always been sustainable.
How Many Brand Campaigns Deal With Sustainability?
When asked what percentage of their campaigns dealt with sustainability, 24.17% of companies revealed that number to be between 5 and 10%.
British campaigns rank as more sustainable than the rest of the markets (29.17%), higher even than the global average.
Fair Salaries Is the #1 Sustainable Marketing Investment for Companies
Work Equality Is Placed Above Diversity and Climate Change
The data is clear across markets: the top investment for companies is fair salaries and fair working conditions for their employees. It comes in a higher position than diversity and green energy.
The United Kingdom is the market that would invest least in green energy.
Who Are the Big Spenders?
The Bigger the Company, the Bigger the Investment in Sustainability
Most of the companies with a sustainability marketing strategy have more than 250 employees, with British companies being the biggest of all.
This indicates that it is still a business decision mostly taken by bigger companies.
A High Revenue Is a Sign of Sustainability Investments
Most of those companies have a revenue of more than 50 million euros.
More Money and Time Are Being Spent on Sustainability Campaigns
As it turns out, companies claim that their sustainable campaigns are more expensive than normal marketing campaigns, but still view them as worth it. 35% say they spend more money on these campaigns…
More Money and Time Are Being Spent on Sustainability Campaigns
… and 39% say they spend more time.
British companies are the only ones to reveal they spend the same budget on these sustainable campaigns.
In 2021, big companies spent between €10,000 and €50,000 in their marketing strategy for sustainability
According to the data at Sortlist, last year 19% of companies spent between €5,000 and €10,000 in their marketing budget, and 15% between €10,000 and €50,000.
Despite their size, more British businesses spent less than €10,000 last year than businesses in the other markets surveyed.
How Will Budgets Change?
On average, most companies claim they will increase their sustainable marketing budget by 5 or 10% in the next few years.
The majority of British companies will continue to invest in these strategies.
Return on Investment for Sustainable Marketing
Sustainable Looks Good on Brands
Unanimously, all companies report a positive impact on brand image (24.13%), followed by a boost in customer loyalty (20.13%).
Expectations Are High for Sustainable Marketing
90% of companies surveyed think that including sustainability topics in their marketing strategy is worth the return on investment.
Conclusion: There Are Opportunities for Sustainable Marketing
As we saw, British companies are investing in sustainable marketing mostly because they feel it’s the right thing to do.
What’s more, companies in general are turning their sustainable marketing efforts towards fair salaries for their employees.
This is the case of bigger brands, who clearly see a positive return of investment for their sustainable marketing strategy and place their trust on it without hesitation. It makes sense, then, that they plan on increasing the budget dedicated to those efforts in the following years.
Methodology
The study was conducted between July 18th and July 22nd, 2022, among 1,000 companies in 5 countries: the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, Spain, and France. In the study, we asked companies about their investment in sustainable marketing strategies and their expected ROI. The responses are anonymous.
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