Balancing strategy and authenticity

In this episode of Can Marketing Save the Planet, we are joined by Fiona Ball, Group Director of Bigger Picture and Sustainability at Sky. She shares an unparalleled, 20-year insider’s view of how a major media company can authentically embed sustainability into its core, from operations to storytelling, and use its unique platform to educate and inspire millions.

Fiona’s work at Sky isn’t a recent endeavour, it’s a deep-rooted journey. Beginning in 2005 with measuring their direct impact, they became the first carbon-neutral media company by 2006. This foundation of getting their “house in order” approach has been what Fiona describes as the “critical license to operate”, enabling ambitious, audience-facing campaigns like the six-year Sky Rainforest Rescue partnership with WWF and the transformative Sky Ocean Rescue initiative, which spurred them on to eliminate single-use plastic from their products and packaging by 2020.

A key to their credibility is structural integration. Sustainability planning now runs parallel to financial and commercial planning, with those all-important detailed life-cycle assessments for products enabling future-proofed design decisions. As Fiona notes, “this isn’t just ethical, it’s smart business resilience, we're future proofing it, and it has a good positive story. Consumers do want to buy products that aren't high energy users and don't have a negative impact on the environment."

Sky is a power storyteller. And Fiona takes us through examples of how they have weaved sustainability into narratives across genres, from using characters in the comedy Brassic to highlighting green productions,  embedding climate activism in dramas like Temple, and creating children’s content with characters like Obki. The strategy is constant, multi-channel, and tailored: "We don't have a one thing fits all approach, we talk to people's passion points. Somebody will be passionate about family, fashion, sport, whatever. We talk through those personal lenses."

Looking ahead, Fiona sees collaboration as the next chapter, with Sky deepening its work by opening its sustainably built studios to others and fostering sector-wide partnerships to fast-track progress, ensuring the narrative of hope and solutions never stops.

Tune in as we talk to Fiona about:

🌎 How a 20-year timeline of authentic action has built the credibility needed for influential public campaigns.

🌎 Why integrating sustainability data with commercial financial planning is essential for future-proofing products and business resilience.

🌎 The art of mainstream storytelling to keep the message constant and engaging.

🌎 The critical shift from working in isolation to leading through collaboration.

🌎 Using Sky’s platform and resources to elevate the entire media sector.

For more information:

Visit https://www.skygroup.sky/impact

Connect with Fiona via LinkedIn

Enjoy - and if you love the podcast, share with your friends, family and colleagues.

Plenty more to come in 2026…

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About us…

We help Marketers save the planet. 🌍

Join the Marketers and organisations who have signed our manifesto, engage with our newsletter and training and, work with us to communicate sustainability more effectively. Sign our Sustainable Marketer Manifesto, and join us on our mission. Get in touch to chat.

You’ll find the Podcast on all the usual pod platforms - and also on The Global Player. If you love it, do share it and spread the word. Talking about climate change and the role we play is one of the most important things we can do. So join the conversation. We’re all in this together.

Our podcasts are recorded purely via online conferencing platforms, we apologise for any minor sound quality issues.