5 charts for marketers on sustainability

Some 47% of Gen Zers favor brands and companies that support sustainability, according to March 2023 data from ISCS and Big Village. Here’s a closer look at how brands and marketers are focusing on sustainability in 2024.

1. Businesses should take a public stance on climate change

That’s according to 55% of US adults. Climate change is the No. 1 issue businesses should take a public stance on, according to May 2023 data from Gallup and Bentley University.

2. But sustainability isn’t a priority for most marketers

Just 18% of senior marketers worldwide considered sustainability a top 10 priority in 2023, according to an October 2023 MediaLink report. Even so, sustainability has more than doubled as an area of focus for marketers, up 10 percentage points from 8% in 2022.

3. Marketers are shifting their focus toward sustainability

Some 64% of marketing professionals expect social impact and environmental sustainability to become a more important area of focus in the next two years, according to July 2023 data from Ecoconsultancy. That puts sustainability above customer acquisition and brand purpose. The shift toward eco-friendliness is wise, as 78% of consumers consider sustainability very or somewhat important to them when buying a new product, per Blue Yonder.

4. Marketers are tying between 11% and 20% of their budgets to sustainability

Most (56%) North American marketers are allocating between 11% and 40% of their budgets to promoting business sustainability efforts, according to August 2023 data from Dentsu. But 32% of marketers are putting 10% or less of their budget toward sustainability efforts.

5. One in five are focused on ad supply chain sustainability

Some 22% of US media brands and agencies will be more focused on ad supply chain sustainability this year, per the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). Players like Microsoft Advertising are offering the ability to block ads from being served on sites with high carbon emissions and new ad tech companies are focused on helping advertisers cut emissions. Ad supply chain sustainability is important, because inefficiencies create not just environmental waste, but waste in ad spend as well.

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