UN Global Compact Launches CMO Think Lab to Drive Sustainable Growth

New York, United States of America

First-ever Chief Marketing Officer Think Lab to support Marketing’s role in driving Sustainable Growth

The UN Global Compact announced the launch of its inaugural Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Think Lab today. This innovative initiative aims to tackle the challenges and seize the opportunities facing global marketing leaders as they strive to foster sustainable growth.

Historically, the UN Global Compact has successfully partnered with Chief Executive Officers, Chief Sustainability Officers, and other C-suite executives within its participating companies to promote responsible and sustainable business practices. However, the role of CMOs has not been fully leveraged until now.

There is tremendous potential to amplify impact within the C-suite by engaging the CMO community. Mobilizing CMOs can enhance the role of marketing in advancing sustainability. Marketing professionals possess critical stakeholder value creation capabilities and wield significant influence, positioning them uniquely to develop and implement effective sustainability strategies.

In collaboration with the Institute for Real Growth (IRG), the UN Global Compact will bring together an esteemed group of CMOs to advise on the challenges, opportunities, and needs of global marketing leaders related to sustainability and to design a comprehensive roadmap. This roadmap will inform future programming that will empower CMOs with the knowledge and tools necessary to drive sustainable growth and positive impact.

“Chief Marketing Officers have a unique opportunity to drive momentum forward on sustainable development” said Sanda Ojiambo, Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director, UN Global Compact. “As business leaders, brand stewards, and communicators, they have unparallelled influence in shaping perceptions, creating value, and driving behavioral change. We are relying on their insight and expertise to work together through the CMO Think Lab to design a roadmap for sustainable, responsible business growth.”

Participation in the CMO Think Lab is by invitation only. However, the insights and strategies developed will ultimately benefit CMOs globally. The deliverables will be disseminated at global, regional, and local levels to help drive collective impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Through rigorous evaluation and iteration, the CMO Think Lab will scale up its learnings and develop future programs to increase CMO engagement across all sectors and regions.

For more information, visit UN Global Compact CMO Think Labs.

Notes to Editors

About the UN Global Compact

As a special initiative of the United Nations Secretary-General, the UN Global Compact is a call to companies worldwide to align their operations and strategies with Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Our ambition is to accelerate and scale the global collective impact of business by upholding the Ten Principles and delivering the Sustainable Development Goals through accountable companies and ecosystems that enable change. With more than 20,000 participating companies, 5 Regional Hubs, 62 Global Compact Country Networks covering 77 countries and 14 Country Managers establishing Networks in 20 other countries, the UN Global Compact is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative — one Global Compact uniting business for a better world.

About the Institute for Real Growth (IRG)
The Institute for Real Growth (IRG) helps business leaders worldwide drive more Humanized Growth by connecting them to peers, experts, and best practices. The IRG conducts research, delivers executive leadership programs, and offers advisory services to inspire and help implement Humanized Growth programs. The IRG operates as an independent not-for-profit supported by WPP, Meta, Google, and TCS, among others.

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