Skip to 0 minutes and 10 seconds Maria, in a nutshell, what is this course about? So this course is about exploring the answers to two questions, what is sustainable marketing and why does it matter? How do sustainable companies operate and what role can consumers play? It takes as its starting point, corporate social responsibility, or the idea that business has a duty to perform in a way that doesn’t harm our planet, people, or wildlife. The course then focuses in on sustainability and aspects of the climate emergency. We look at a wide variety of case studies of what sustainability minded companies do. And then we bring all of this down to the level of the individual consumer in terms of responsible consumption.
Skip to 0 minutes and 55 seconds Nick, what do you see as real highlights on the course? I think there’s loads of highlights but what I’m going to try and do is narrow it down to two really. I think firstly, we’re looking at the combination of say bite size lectures, where we’re delivering key aspects of fundamental theory. But we are also putting that in terms of case study material, showcasing real company practice, and that’s pretty powerful. And again, the nice thing from that point of view is it’s available week on week, which is quite apparent. I think the second thing is, we work really hard at making the course impactful. So every week provides the bigger picture, to say plastic pollution.
Skip to 1 minute and 34 seconds But then that’s unpacked and brought down to a level that is meaningful for each individual. For instance in terms of shopping behaviour, it might be in terms of also clothing, and so buying food as well. So that there’s a number of things but those are the two main highlights from myself at the moment. So, Maria, from your point of view, if you had to pick your favourite bits of the course, what would they be? I’m very excited about the content generally on the course, as I see it will bring real value to learners in terms of gaining insight, into the sustainability practices of real businesses, as expressed in the words of key individuals actually working with those organisations.
Skip to 2 minutes and 17 seconds It’s really hard for me to pick, but saying that I really enjoyed the conversation that I had with Anna Brightman, co-founder of sustainable skincare brand UpCircle. It was inspirational to hear how they use waste products from other industries as key ingredients in their skincare. So for instance, coffee grounds from coffee shops. And then speaking to Christiane Dolva, Head of Sustainability for Swedish outdoor brand Fjallraven, about their vision of leaving base camp in better condition than we found it. That was equally interesting. And I learnt a lot from Professor Karl Williams, from our University, the University of Central Lancashire in terms of plastics pollution, and the meaning of the concept of a carbon footprint. Nick, why should learners join the course?
Skip to 3 minutes and 14 seconds I think it’s because not a day goes by without references in the media to global warming, carbon emissions, as we mentioned a few times in our talk, plastics pollution. I think the whole course represents urgent issues that are relevant to us. But relevant in terms of us as a consumer, but also it’s helped us encouraging more consumption in our day jobs. So, this course really does address the real sort of pressing issues out there that can be a bit more prevalent in the world nowadays. I think secondly, the opportunity to learn alongside people from different corners of the planet is very compelling.
Skip to 3 minutes and 55 seconds We’re looking forward to tapping into some of those discussions and we don’t really know where that’s going to take us. So that’s really exciting as well. And I think finally from our point of view, why should learners join the course? Well, I think it’s given them the ability therefore to sort of apply their knowledge, and hopefully that they gain on their course to their everyday lives. And suddenly they realise that they are able to make individual contributions, to dealing with the climate emergency that quite clearly is very much on the horizon if not already here.
