Credit Suisse, Essity and Heineken sign up to WFA’s Planet Pledge

Credit Suisse, Essity and Heineken have signed up to the World Federation of Advertisers’ Planet Pledge, a commitment to using the power of marketing as a force for positive change both internally and with the consumers who buy their products and services.

The scheme now covers 25 multinationals, including Bayer, Danone, Diageo, Ikea, L’Oréal, Mastercard, Mondelez, PepsiCo, Pernod Ricard, Sanofi and Unilever representing an estimated $43bn in global ad spend.

At the same time, two more national advertiser associations – RVD (Turkey) and OWM (Germany) – have joined forces with the WFA to promote the pledge to local advertisers and create a global network of local champions, who do not need to be WFA members. This means 31 countries, representing a combined global ad spend of $197 bn, are now covered by the scheme.

The Pledge is designed to highlight new actions that marketing leaders can initiate and champion, thereby playing a distinct role in support of the transition to net zero. It was launched at WFA’s Global Marketer Week in 2021 and encourages CMOs to take action in four key areas:

1. Commit to being a champion for the global Race to Zero campaign both internally within their organisations and to encouraging their marketing supply chain to do the same;
2. Scale the capability of marketing organisations to lead for climate action by providing tools and guidance for their marketers and agencies;
3. Harness the power of their marketing communications to drive more sustainable consumer behaviours; and
4. Reinforce a trustworthy marketing environment, where sustainability claims can be easily substantiated so that consumers can trust the marketing messages they are presented with as they seek to align their own consumption with their values.

The WFA is also working with the International Council for Advertising Self-regulation and the European Advertising Standards Alliance with a view to developing industry guidance that will preserve trust in the evolving language of environmental claims in a way that enables consumers to make sustainable choices with confidence. WFA plans to have an initial draft of this guidance document ready in time for its Global Marketer Week which is due to take place in Athens in the first week of April.

Progress will be reported annually by the WFA and the first report is also scheduled to be ready for the Athens event.

“The marketing industry has an important role to play in the transition to net zero, helping to make sustainable choices simple for all consumers and driving change internally. We are delighted to announce these new sign-ups to the WFA Planet Pledge, meaning we have more marketing spend and market coverage behind the initiative. This building momentum is vital to ensure that marketing can play a meaningful role in addressing the most important crisis of our times,” said Stephan Loerke, CEO of the WFA.

“At Credit Suisse, we believe the financial industry has a key role to play in ensuring that we protect and enhance the future of our planet. As such, we recognize our share of responsibility in combating climate change by supporting the transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient global economy. Embracing sustainability in our marketing is just one part of our public commitment to lead the bank and our clients into a sustainable future,” said Roman Reichelt, Chief Marketing Officer, Credit Suisse

“At Essity we are strongly committed to creating a more sustainable and circular society in hygiene and health. Our commitment is reflected in our motto “Breaking barriers to well-being”, which we passionately implement in brand building with taboo-breaking brands initiatives. In marketing, our teams put courage, one of our company´s beliefs & behaviors, in daily practice to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, accelerate the Race to Zero with innovative products, and breaking gender, age, body and racial taboos, together with our consumers, customers and providers. We are proud to be part of the Plan!” said Gael de Talhouet, Vice President Brand Building, Essity.