Addressing systemic barriers with systems thinking

The power of small steps – “I would say... keep pushing on to be a force for good as a marketer.”

In this episode, the second in our “CMO mini-series” we go on a bit of dive deep with Gerald Breatnach, a seasoned insights professional with a passion for sustainability - which led him to complete a Masters in Sustainability Leadership at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.

We’ve wanted to catch up with Gerald ever since he joined us at our COM2 (Conference of the Marketer) event to share findings from his work and dissertation around the role of the CMO and sustainability.

Gerald begins by acknowledging the stark gap between sustainability theory and marketing practice. Whilst it’s true that many CMOs feel the pressure of the climate crisis, they are often constrained by short-term commercial targets – on the commercial reality he explains, “it comes back to the fact that businesses are not charities. Ultimately, you miss your profit number, your share price gets hammered, your CEO gets fired. That's still the brutal reality of it.". However as Gerald’s research reveals, the leaders making real progress are those operating within a purpose-driven corporate culture, integrating sustainability into the core of their marketing strategy, and beginning to tackle complex systemic challenges.

We explore the tensions and trade-offs for CMOs, an area that keeps coming up, however, the tremendous opportunities facing today's marketing leaders far outweighs the tensions over the long term and whilst we acknowledge these, Gerald, like us remains optimistic about marketing's critical role in shaping a better future, as he puts it, "Marketers do have critical skills that are going to be needed in spades."

This conversation is all about the practical human challenges and opportunities that come with embedding purpose into the core of an organisation and thinking in systems.

Tune in as we talk to Gerald about…

• The single biggest factor enabling CMOs to drive change is a purpose-driven CEO and board who establish environmental and social goals alongside commercial ones, allowing for longer-term strategic thinking.

• The need to integrate not separate sustainability into the core marketing strategy and metrics.

• How successful CMOs treat sustainability as a functional pillar, not an optional add-on.

• The need to embrace systems thinking: Marketers are hitting understanding and influencing the complex systems we operate within, from supply chains to consumer habits.

• Building internal bridges with marketing working closely with sustainability teams.

For more information about Gerald , tune in via LinkedIn.

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

More to come in this series… and it’s great to be back!

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