**NEW COURSE COMING SOON** Sustainable Marketing Foundations
Marketing sits at the heart of the socio-economic system as a driver of economic outcomes and influencer of sustainability narrative. As such, it will play a critical role in rewiring the economy and rewriting the stories held by it.
This presents huge opportunity to reimagine the marketing function and industry in service of sustainable change.
Launching in late Spring 2025, to help marketers and marketing teams begin their journey of change, is our self-paced online course, Sustainable Marketing Foundations. The course will introduce marketers to the information they’ll need to navigate the sustainability transformation – and thrive.
Your learning journey will begin with gaining an introductory understanding of the sustainability crisis and marketing’s role in sustainability: its impacts and opportunities through the lenses of economics, social and environmental science, governance, and ethics. You will go on to explore marketing’s leadership role as meaning maker and its capacity to influence change across the socio-economic system. Examining marketing’s footprint, marketing’s brainprint and the issue of greenwashing, you will gain clarity on their challenges, opportunities and actionable solutions. Finally, you will consider how to put new thinking into practice, while being invited to consider your personal purpose and professional opportunity to contribute to the transformation ahead.
While this course is foundational, it is designed to be both practical and reflective, to inspire new thinking and innovation, replace confusion with clarity and to facilitate actionable outcomes.
The course will bring benefits to you, your brand and business. The critical and in-demand skills that individuals and teams will develop will support growth and career development, and help navigate and influence change. You, your business, brand or clients will gain value from remaining relevant, innovative, well-governed and positively contributing to the future that is being shaped today.
Who the course is for
The knowledge and skills this course develops will benefit marketers and marketing teams who wish to be at the forefront of marketing’s sustainability transformation. It is ideal for:
- All marketing sector professionals (at all levels, whether they be working in brand, client, agency, publisher, or technology sides of the marketing sector ecosystem)
- Business leaders and business owners
- Small and large organisations across all industries and geographies
What you’ll learn
The course will progress your knowledge and skills through 6 modules:
Module 1: Production, consumption and marketing
You will be introduced to the sustainability crisis, the role of the economy, sustainable production, consumption and behaviours, and systems thinking.
Module 2: The ambition of sustainable marketing
You will explore marketing’s history, ecosystem and role in sustainability before unpacking the ambition of sustainable and purpose-driven marketing and how new systems emerge.
Module 3: Analyse marketing footprint, brainprint and greenwashing
You will explore key concepts surrounding sustainable marketing, which will involve an introduction to marketing’s footprint, marketing’s brainprint, and the challenge of greenwashing.
Module 4: Change your influence for good
You will further explore marketing’s leadership role as a meaning maker in society and better understand the depth of its influence in driving social change. You’ll dig deeper into the role of narratives, technology, and creativity in this.
Module 5: Build strategies & communications
You will gain a practical understanding of how purpose, scientific evidence, levers of change, and measurements can be used to build new marketing strategy, and how greenwashing regulation should be understood and actively used in your day-to-day work.
Module 6: Plan for action
Finally, you will reflect on your personal purpose and role, review the key takeaways from each module, and consider what this means for you going forward, leaving with a pledge and plan for action.
How you will learn
The course will comprise 6-8 hours of learning content, delivered by experts from industry and academia, through videos, case studies, graphics, notes and exercises. Knowledge checks and reflections will be used throughout the course.
- You will be able to complete it in your own time and will achieve a digital badge from the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership upon successful completion.
- You will then have access for 12 months, to help you apply the learning seamlessly - when you need it most.
Introducing the course lead
"We’re living in a unique moment in human history, in a crisis of disharmony and disconnect that we call unsustainability. To rewire the economy, and rewrite the stories held by it, we need to rethink the marketing that’s underpinning it and consider how it could be a critical agent of change.
My work is focused on the impact to be had at the intersection of business and society where marketing, brand and creative work influence our social norms, beliefs and behaviours, and the narratives that shape our systems and realities.
My background is in digital and sustainability strategy, education, marketing and transformation which has seen me work in agency, corporate, academia, and consultancy positions, and co-found a sustainability start-up that assessed marketing and labelling claims, aggregated sustainable products, and published content on lifestyles, behaviour change, and our connection with the world."
Charlie Thompson
Course Lead and Subject Matter Expert
Associate Director, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
