James McGowan is a sustainability advertising and marketing chief who has taken on a number of of excessive profile roles in his profession up to now, working with charities, companies, startups and multinational companies, in addition to learning for a grasp’s in sustainability. At the moment, he leads advertising and marketing at Maeving, a British firm that creates electrical bikes.

Earlier than Maeving, McGowan led advertising and marketing at Muddy Trowel, an organization that makes gardening extra accessible. Previous to that, he spent 4 years at Unilever — three of them as senior world advertising and marketing supervisor for its $3 billion Persil and Omo enterprise. 

I lately related with McGowan to study extra about his profession journey as a sustainability advertising and marketing professional. Right here he attracts from his wealth of expertise to share recommendation on the necessity to see sustainability extra holistically, leverage a information of sustainability as a differentiator inside advertising and marketing and the one piece of recommendation that helped him degree up his profession. 

Shannon Houde: James, when did you notice the clear crossover between a profession in advertising and marketing and sustainability? 

James McGowan: It was in 2013 after I was working for an company and I seen a variety of organizations had a web site that appeared to articulate sustainability fantastically, when the truth was that it was greenwashing. It dawned on me that nothing on this planet is ideal so why give a false narrative when your sustainability journey could possibly be your advertising and marketing marketing campaign. That spurred me to do a grasp’s in sustainability. And at that time, I used to be at a crossroads — ought to I be switching my profession right into a sustainable lead function, or proceed with advertising and marketing? 

On the time, Unilever was solely three years into its Sustainable Residing Plan and the sustainability sector was nonetheless rising. It was clear for me to stay with advertising and marketing as a result of that is the place my strengths are, however to more and more deliver my understanding of sustainability into that function. Now, every part appears to be about sustainability. There is no new innovation that may’t be launched from the advertising and marketing aspect that does not meet sure sustainability standards. 

Houde: Is it truthful to say that at the same time as a marketer you possibly can’t actually do your day job with out interested by sustainability? 

McGowan: I feel there’s a extra holistic aspect to sustainability. Lots of people bounce into the environmental aspect however there’s an enormous social influence to sustainability that folks overlook about. A number of the initiatives that we had been driving whereas I used to be at Unilever had been round stereotyping, for instance. I labored for the laundry model Persil and never that way back it will be quite common to search out solely a feminine in these ads. So, I take a fuller view on sustainability overlaying the social aspect and the environmental aspect. In the end, we have to serve folks. Till we begin serving folks, we will not actually generate the earnings, we have to then shield the planet so seeing sustainability via simply an environmental lens is sort of limiting. 

Houde: Talking of consumers, is the demand push or pull on sustainability do you assume? Are corporations pushing out the agenda or are they responding to shopper demand?  

McGowan: There’s a pull there. However take the instance of laundry once more. Eco might be essentially the most sustainable however technically it doesn’t clear as properly and it’s barely costlier. So the expertise is there, nevertheless it’s simply not reasonably priced, and we’ve acquired to create new markets for that. However there’s definitely a variety of pull. From say 2025 to 2030, you are going to see an enormous change in the way in which that we devour these merchandise, so I really feel very assured about huge companies having the ability to resolve these points. However there’s some work on cost-benefit that must be completed. 

[It’s the same on] infrastructure. We have seen tons of of 1000’s of kilos value of funding in waste assortment and recycling around the globe however there simply is not that infrastructure. And the query is; who’s going to pay for that? These items sadly do take time. And I feel that is a part of the function: resilience and endurance. 

A variety of it comes again to storytelling. I inherited a mission that had been tried 5 instances. So, how do you get a analysis and improvement group again on board a mission that is had so many knocks? 

Houde: How do you differentiate your self as a marketer and leverage that sustainability component? 

McGowan: I by no means skilled in advertising and marketing, however I’ve acquired a advertising and marketing profession with a sustainability grasp’s. So, I feel one of many key elements of my function is to have the ability to communicate to folks with the science and the technical expertise after which translate that again into the advertising and marketing piece. 

Usually there tends to be a little bit of a disconnect. Notably when entrepreneurs go and discuss to the science groups they don’t really feel listened to however, with my sustainability piece, I may truly entry the science and convey that again into the function. Inside huge organizations, it is the marketer’s job to attach the skin world to the people inside that group, and ensure that we’re getting everybody’s perspective into key choices.

I’ve had fairly an atypical profession. I arrange my very own enterprise, labored with subject material specialists and been at an company and a charity. And I feel – when making use of to Unilever for instance – that was fairly distinctive. 

Houde: What could be your one piece of recommendation to others trying to break into sustainability? 

McGowan: I feel it is very simple to get fully caught up within the world concern of sustainability and local weather change. I keep in mind being with some pals at a restaurant a few years in the past and we had been speaking concerning the plastic disaster. We requested the waiter to say of their subsequent group assembly the plastic straws they used and even via a dialogue like you can have a variety of influence with out actually having to do rather a lot. In the previous couple of years, I’ve definitely tried to deal with what I can do personally in addition to what I can do in my profession.

However apart from that, preserve hustling. There are wonderful jobs on the market. Even in case you begin small. Your subsequent transfer is about laying the foundations for the transfer after that. So do not try to resolve it . 

LinkedIn is only a improbable device too. I discovered each job via the platform and I constructed a community. It’s a unique type of nepotism. It is not your dad and mom or your uncle that can get you a job nevertheless it’s nonetheless the individuals who you realize and that’s what LinkedIn is for. 

Houde: And equally, what particular recommendation has actually helped you personally in shifting your profession to the following degree? 

McGowan: One of the precious workout routines I did was my very own values, what makes me tick after which translating the abilities and traits I’ve to determine what work I needed to do. Whenever you consider sustainability, it is extremely broad. There’s a lot to do and having a really clear function about what you need to obtain is basically essential. You have to discover one thing that you just care about, and that makes you tick, as a result of work needs to be enjoyable.