AXA and Philips add their weight to WFA’s Planet Pledge

WFA has announced two new signatories to its flagship sustainability programme, Planet Pledge, and a new learning hub to enable members to further educate teams on the positive climate impact that marketing can have.

AXA and Philips join 26 major multinationals in the programme, which now covers almost $50bn in spend by individual organisations as well as 33 markets, where national advertiser organisations have signed up to create local champions, covering a total of $224b in spend.

Alongside announcing the new members, WFA has also launched the Planet Pledge Learning Hub, a unique learning tool designed to enhance the role marketing teams can play in delivering more sustainable businesses.

Developed in conjunction with WFA strategic partner, Oxford, and CrossKnowledge, the hub provides 10 learning modules covering key issues ranging from identifying opportunities and changing behaviour through to achieving circularity and reducing carbon emissions.

This is designed to deliver against a Pledge commitment to extend knowledge among member companies, explaining how the marketing function can be part of the solution to the climate crisis by pushing for both internal change and encouraging consumers to make the right choices.

The launch follows the publication of WFA’s Guidance on Environmental Claims, which shows how global best practice can be followed to avoid brands making claims that cannot be justified, and is part of the organisation’s ongoing commitment to ensuring marketing plays its part in tackling the climate crisis.

CMOs of Planet Pledge companies have made a strong commitment to playing their part in a low-carbon future 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.

“We’re thrilled to welcome AXA and Philips to Planet Pledge. The more brands that join, the more of an impact marketing can make. It is  estimated that 80% of the targeted cuts in global carbon emissions will have to be delivered through consumer behaviour change by 2030. Marketing will have a critical role to play in nudging consumers towards making the right choices to help us get to net zero. It couldn’t be more critical.” said Stephan Loerke, WFA CEO.

“The response to the climate emergency is key for insurers, as climate has been identified as the most important risk to tackle in the future. In line with our purpose "Act for human progress by protecting what matters", AXA has been accelerating our commitments and actions over the last 5 years. We are proud today to join our peers in the WFA Planet Pledge, to reinforce our commitment to sustainability and learn from others,” said Jérôme Amouyal, Global Media and Insights Director, AXA.

“As an organization dedicated to improving people’s lives, what we do today affects someone’s life tomorrow. We are conscious of our responsibility towards society and of the need to embed sustainability even deeper in the way we do business. Philips is proud to sign the WFA Planet Pledge and to make our end-to-end activities more meaningful, reliable and transparent. Only when we connect authentically with our consumers & customers, can we truly continue to drive positive change for people and our planet,” said Lorraine Barber-Miller, Chief Marketing and E-Commerce Officer at Philips.