ali birston's blog

As a marketing student passionate about sustainability, I could not have been more thrilled to dive into a course combining these two passions during my last term at UBC. Although initially I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, I can honestly say that my perspectives have been positively expanding since our very first lecture. It was in that lecture that we discussed the meaning and goals of both sustainability and marketing separately and then how and if they could successfully intersect. While I had always been aware of marketing sustainable products, I had never fully thought about marketing “sustainability” as a concept to change people’s behaviour. Right away, this was eye-opening as I realized that there are so many different ways that myself as a future marketer could create impact rather than just fuel consumption.

My knowledge, thoughts, and perspectives have continued to evolve throughout the term and now that we’re nearing the final couple of classes, here are some of my biggest takeaways:

1. Don’t just be skeptical, be informed. Like a lot of people out there, I used to be a skeptic when it came to “green” claims and when I saw corporations that I didn’t trust trying to become “sustainable”.  It is clear that sustainability is definitely a trend, however, it is one that I don’t think is going anywhere. Companies are now realizing this and rather than just jumping on the bandwagon they are sticking around for the ride. While my skepticism has not disappeared completely, I now know how much information there is out there on green alternatives and how much there is still left to absorb. There is no excuse for making poor choices. It may take a little more effort, a little more research, and often a couple more dollars, but to sustain our earth it is all worth it.
2. We love instant gratification. But is it worth sacrificing our well-being and success in the long run? This is a question that as a business student I ask myself a lot. I believe that it is too often seen as a trade-off, however, I now challenge myself to think if it really has to be. I personally love living in the now and reaping the benefits, however, this course has certainly reinforced my belief in considering the future implications of present day decisions to ensure that we even have an environment to sustain our economy 100 years down the road.
3. Businesses are trying to do good, but we as consumers must encourage and support them. Working directly with a company that has whole-heartedly embraced sustainability for our final project has shifted my perspectives to allow me to see how many businesses truly are driven to do good in the world. However, more importantly, they can only do good so long as we as consumers support them and as marketers we choose to work for mission driven companies that are pushing sustainability forward. We need to start putting our money where our values are in everyday decisions in order to show companies that sustainability really is the way of the future.

All in all, I could not be more thankful to have taken this course, not necessarily because it drastically changed my beliefs, but rather because it reinforced what I already knew to be true. Sustainability is more than just a fad, it’s the only way we’re going to ensure our long-term success as businesses, humans, ecosystems, and as a global community.