Carlsberg Group pledges to use its marketing to drive climate action

Carlsberg Group has signed the World Federation of Advertiser’s (WFA) Planet Pledge – a global commitment to making marketing teams a force for positive change both internally and by inspiring consumers to act.

The Group has joined corporate leaders like IKEA, PepsiCo, Tesco, and Unilever, along with 22 national advertiser associations, in signing the Pledge to find a clear role for marketing as a positive force for environmental change.

Carlsberg Group has set clear commitments to become a more sustainable business through its Together Towards ZERO program, becoming the first brewer to set science-based targets to the more ambitious level of the Paris Climate Agreement, the company said. Since 2015, it has cut relative emissions from its breweries by 39%, introduced innovations such as Snap Pack to cut plastic packaging waste, and recently announced that it is delivering to customers in Switzerland through its largest fleet of electric trucks.

The pledge builds on this, committing marketing leaders to take action to engage consumers and the supply chain, with a focus on four key areas:

• Commit to being a champion for the global Race to Zero campaign, both internally and throughout their marketing supply chain

• Scale the capability of marketing organizations to lead for climate action by providing the tools and guidance for marketers and agencies

• Harness the power of their marketing communications to drive more sustainable consumer behaviors

• 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 consumption with their values.

Robbie Millar, vice president - Global Marketing at Carlsberg Group, said, “The Planet Pledge targets are ambitious and very much in line with our own. They recognize that success will require getting our consumers, customers and suppliers on board. In doing so, I truly believe in the power of effective marketing communication as a way of winning the hearts and minds of beer lovers everywhere and encouraging them to be more sustainable in their behavior. By signing the pledge, we confirm our commitment to promoting sustainability through our actions globally.”

Over the past year, marketeers across the Carlsberg Group have already started using the brands to engage consumers on sustainability, including:

• In the UK, the Carlsberg brand has partnered with the conservation organization, WWF, to restore seagrass around the UK coastline, bringing sustainability to the forefront of the brand to share the message that a small action can have a significant impact on our planet.

• In Denmark, another partnership with WWF via the Tuborg brand set out to investigate Danes’ plastic habits and provide them with the advice and tips to use plastic more sustainably.

• In Poland, we ran a campaign, “we cherish water,” to raise awareness and understanding of the importance of water as a finite resource through the local brand KASZTELAN.

• In Switzerland, we’ve launched Uszit – a new brand focused on protecting forests, with a donation for every can sold to support forest conservation projects.

• Through the local brand Huda in Vietnam, the team focuses on improving access to fresh water for the people living in Central Vietnam. Since launching the campaign in 2019, it’s provided clean water for 20,000 people across five provinces.

Simon Boas Hoffmeyer, senior director of Sustainability, Carlsberg Group, commented, “We are facing a climate crisis, and brand owners like ourselves carry a great responsibility: to go beyond making our operations sustainable and use our brands to inspire millions of consumers to make more sustainable choices. This is a vital year for climate action, and this pledge is an important step to engaging many more people to act for the future of our planet.”