EARTH DAY: Brands Making a Difference to the Planet… Learn their Stories!

To commemorate Earth Day on April 22 and as part of The Internationalist’s Marketing Makes a World of Difference™ initiative, The Internationalist is sharing case studies from around the world to highlight how brands have made a difference to the planet. 

Earth Day began in 1970 in the United States, sparking the modern environmental movement. Since then, Earth Day has evolved into the largest civic event on Earth, activating billions of people across 192 countries to safeguard the planet for a cleaner future. It’s no longer a day; it’s a movement.

From Clean Tech to the Circular Economy, from Regenerative Agriculture to Foodprints for the Future, and from The Great Global Cleanup to The Canopy Project, we are surrounded by new considerations.  

All case studies have won various Internationalist Awards or have been cited as part of our Marketing Makes a World of Difference™ initiative. 

ORANGE – Phone2Gold

Orange, the French multinational telecommunications company, is environmentally committed and aims to build a more responsible digital world.  As an Official Sponsor of Rugby World Cup France 2023, Orange saw a way to increase mobile phone recycling. They created Phone2Gold, the first recycling program that transforms old smartphones into official Rugby World Cup Medals.

Award Winner: Havas Play France

WATCH PHONES BECOME GOLD! SEE THE VIDEO.

WWF – Bee Radio

Wild bees are essential to the environment and human survival. But their humming is becoming increasingly silent: For decades, entire populations of wild bees have been disappearing due to pesticides, land sealing, and climate change. The WWF protects wild bees and makes their voices heard through new funding initiatives. 

Award Winner: MEDIAPLUS Germany

HEAR THE BUZZ! WATCH THE VIDEO.

REWE – The Switch

For generations, Germans have planned their weekly shopping with the help of offer flyers that often end up in the trash. Now, grocery retailer REWE is switching off this essential advertising, promotion, and communication channel to save more than 70,000 tons of paper, CO2, and the annual energy consumption of a small town. No other advertising channel has a comparable ecological footprint.

Award Winner: OMD Germany

LEARN MORE

ClimatePartner – GreenGRP

GreenGRP is an open-source initiative that enables brands and media outlets to produce and publish carbon-neutral campaigns. By bringing together various media stakeholders and partnering with ClimatePartner, GreenGRP is a platform for the media and advertising industry to offset the carbon emissions their campaigns produce through a simple, transparent, and user-friendly system. Any brand, agency, or media house can achieve a fully certified climate-neutral campaign in just a few clicks.

Award Winner: MEDIAPLUS Germany

SEE THE VIDEO.

Growney – The Rise

Growney is a German market leader in the digital investment field, offering services for sustainable investing. 

To confront the effects of climate change in a unique manner, Growney fabricated an offer that sounded attractive but also massively unscrupulous. “THE RISE” is the first “fake” real estate company to allow people to profit from rising sea levels.  It sparked the intended outrage, followed by their Stop the Rise initiative or “Do Something Against the Sea Level Rise. Invest in a Sustainable Future.”

Award Winner: MEDIAPLUS Germany

LEARN THE STORY OF THE RISE.

The Internationalist created the concept of MARKETING MAKES A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE™ in 2012— before the word “purpose” became part of marketing vernacular. This is now one of marketing’s most significant callings. Making a world of difference occurs through a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics of “purposeful marketing” strategies, while demonstrating the importance of the marketing function within an organization.