BIKE HEI student programme · André Pitié

Creative Sustainable Marketing

Build useful offers. Create credible campaigns. Test what works.

Open-access course · Based on the BIKE-HEI session of 26 October 2026 · Updated 1 November 2026

Browse the nine chapters, field guide and resources
The course at a glance · nine chapters and an impact-ecosystem field guide. Select to enlarge.

A convincing campaign connects a real need, a useful benefit, a credible promise and a measurable action.

CHAPTER 01

What sustainable marketing means

What are we making useful, for whom, and with what consequences?

Three questions to apply across the marketing mix.

Key learnings

  • Sustainability affects the whole offer, not only its advertising.
  • Consider customer value, business viability and wider effects together.
  • A mission needs operational choices and evidence.
  • Activities, outcomes and impact are different.

Marketing connects an offer with people who can use it. It helps decide what to provide, how to price it, how people obtain it and how to explain its value. Sustainable marketing also asks what those decisions do to people and the environment over time.

A repair service can create value by getting equipment working again. Its marketing must explain which items it accepts, how much repair costs and what happens if repair fails. A beautiful campaign cannot compensate for a service that people cannot afford or use.

01Useful

Does it solve a real problem?

02Credible

Can we support the promise?

03Viable

Can we keep delivering it responsibly?

The marketing mix still helps

The 4Ps organise decisions about Product, Price, Place and Promotion. The 7Ps add People, Process and Physical evidence. These frameworks can be used together. Apply a sustainability question to each decision.

The 7Ps through a sustainability lens
DecisionQuestion to ask
ProductIs the offer useful, durable, repairable or reusable? What harms remain?
PriceIs it affordable for the audience and sufficient to cover responsible delivery?
PlaceCan people access it? Consider transport, distribution and returns.
PromotionDoes the audience understand the benefit and the limits of the claim?
PeopleHow are customers, workers, suppliers and communities treated?
ProcessDoes the experience make repair, reuse or responsible use practical?
Physical evidenceWhat visible signals and records help people assess a promise?

Physical evidence includes a repair record, a clear service environment or a test report. A signal can build trust without proving every environmental claim. Its relevance and quality still need checking.

From the teaching slides · Slide 36

Keep three questions in view

The offer, the experience and the impact

Select an image to enlarge it. Use “Actual size” in the viewer to inspect small text.

The frameworks add questions to the same decision. The 4Ps remain useful; the service and sustainability lenses help us examine delivery, trust and consequences. Try applying all three to the repair-service example.

Other examples you may remember from the session

Oatly and Veja raised questions about brand perception. H&M and Mango prompted discussion of clothing collection and fast fashion. Moncler and Interface raised questions about the scope of company and product claims. T-Mobile prompted a useful question about whether existing customers know what a company does.

These names are starting points for investigation, not a list of approved sustainable brands. For any example, ask what has been demonstrated, what comes from the company’s own account and what remains unknown. A product-rating tool such as Yuka can also prompt questions; check what its score measures before drawing a wider conclusion.

Marketing also shapes what feels normal

The Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership describes four responsibilities: the physical effects marketing influences, truthful information, business strategy and its influence on beliefs and social norms. The last is called brainprint. A campaign can make repairing a jacket feel normal, desirable and easy. That influence creates responsibility for the behaviour it encourages. [1]

Clarification

The 4Ps are not obsolete. The 7Ps extend the questions we ask, especially about services. Financial viability also matters in a social enterprise or university service: funding, costs and capacity must support continued delivery.

Added practice

A university publishes five repair videos. It receives 100 enquiries and confirms 30 successful repairs. Which are activities, which are outcomes, and what wider impact remains unknown?

Compare with a possible answer

Publishing the videos is an activity. Enquiries and successful repairs are observed responses or outcomes. Avoided replacement, waste or emissions require further evidence, including what would otherwise have happened and how long repaired items stay useful.

From the teaching slides · Slide 41

Nine principles to carry into every marketing decision

Use these principles as a recurring check. They connect the offer, the message, the digital experience and the results.

  1. Start with real needs.

    Listen before proposing. Help people solve a problem without creating pressure to buy what they do not need.

  2. Improve the offer.

    Work on the product, service and business model. Communication alone cannot make an offer sustainable.

  3. Make it understandable.

    Use clear words, stories and concrete examples. Keep the important limits visible.

  4. Support claims with evidence.

    Say what improved, compared with what, and what remains imperfect.

  5. Make responsible use easier.

    Make repair, reuse, sharing and informed choices practical and attractive.

  6. Respect people online.

    Protect privacy. Avoid manipulative interfaces, false urgency and excessive messaging.

  7. Include different audiences.

    Consider language, disability, culture and affordability. Make the next action accessible.

  8. Use digital resources thoughtfully.

    Choose channels deliberately. Build efficient pages and reuse useful content. Digital activity has a footprint too.

  9. Measure meaningful results.

    Connect customer value and business performance with separate evidence of social and environmental outcomes.

Original teaching slide 41 · Key principles of creative and sustainable marketing in a digital context.

Select the original slide to enlarge it. The readable version above preserves its nine principles.

Remember: useful offer → clear promise → responsible experience → evidence of results. Revisit the claim check, customer journey and measurement questions as you develop a campaign.

CHAPTER 02

Understanding the audience

What do people actually do, and what makes the better choice difficult?

Values and practical conditions shape a choice.

Key learnings

  • The user and the person paying may be different.
  • Ask about actual behaviour as well as intentions.
  • Price, convenience and reliability can outweigh a positive attitude.
  • Treat a customer story as a clue to investigate.

People can care about the environment and still choose the cheapest or easiest option. That is useful information about the decision they face. Start by understanding the situation before writing a persuasive message.

From the teaching slides · Report shown on slide 23

A research chart behind the affordability discussion

L’Agence BIO and L’ObSoCo · report excerpts shown in class

Select an image to enlarge it. Use “Actual size” in the viewer to inspect small text.

Read it in English. The chart compares reported weekly organic-food consumption across demographic and income groups in France. It describes differences to investigate, rather than explaining why every individual makes a choice.

Survey-date clarification. The 2026 report uses fieldwork from 22 October to 3 November 2025 among 6,127 adults aged 18–75 in mainland France. Earlier-year comparisons are separate observations. Do not mix their dates or sample sizes. [10]

Apply it. What would you ask before translating an apparent income difference into a campaign for students in another country?

From the class · paraphrased and anonymised

The discussion included people who appreciated sustainability programmes while also buying fast fashion. Another recurring concern was the price of alternatives on a student budget.

What this teaches us. Avoid dividing people into “sustainable” and “unsustainable” customers. Investigate the needs and constraints behind a particular choice.

Separate the roles

With children’s clothing, the child uses the garment. A parent or gift buyer pays. With university equipment, students may use it while a department chooses and a funder pays. Each person needs a different reason to support the decision.

One offer can have several audiences
RoleUseful question
UserWill it work for me? Is it comfortable, reliable and easy to use?
BuyerIs the benefit worth the price, effort and risk?
Funder or institutionDoes it meet our objectives, budget and accountability needs?
Affected peopleWho gains, who carries the cost, and whose voice is missing?

Listen for a concrete situation

“Students care about sustainability” is too broad to guide a campaign. “A student has a broken laptop and cannot risk paying for an unsuccessful repair” points toward an offer: a clear diagnosis, a stated fee and an explanation of what happens next. This is a hypothesis until checked with people in that situation.

Ask: “Tell me about the last time this happened.” Follow with: “What did you do?”, “What did it cost?” and “What stopped you choosing another option?” Ask whether someone actually bought a brand they admire. Admiration, purchase and repeat use describe different behaviours.

From the class · paraphrased and anonymised

Class contributions described passing on usable clothing and electronics rather than automatically replacing them.

What this teaches us. The benefit may be continuity, usefulness, affordability or giving an object another life. The campaign does not have to begin with an environmental slogan.

Added practice

Write one audience sentence for a campus repair service. Include a situation and a barrier. Avoid describing everyone on campus as one audience.

Compare with a possible answer

“Students with a broken desk lamp who would consider repair but do not know whether their model is accepted.” Next, speak to a few people in that situation and check whether acceptance is really the main barrier. A few conversations reveal possibilities; they do not establish population-wide demand.

CHAPTER 03

Building a persuasive value proposition

Why would this audience choose this offer now?

Connect the benefit with evidence for the promise.

Key learnings

  • Connect a specific problem with a concrete benefit.
  • Features explain the offer; benefits explain its usefulness.
  • Connect the promise to relevant evidence.
  • Give one clear next action.

A value proposition explains why an offer is useful to a particular audience. Sustainability can strengthen that proposition when it connects to a relevant benefit and a credible way of delivering it.

A simple writing frame

For this audience in this situation, our offer helps achieve this useful result. We support that promise with this evidence. The next step is this action.

Petit Pli and a problem built into the product

Brand from the class · analysis expanded for revision

Brand source · Petit Pli

See the mechanism

Pleats contracted
Pleats expanded

Two stills from the same animation on Petit Pli’s About page. Images © Petit Pli; reviewed 31 October 2026.

Look closely. What does the visible mechanism help you understand? What would you still need to know about fit, durability, price and actual use?

A class contribution introduced Petit Pli’s clothing that expands as children grow. The company describes engineered pleats that open and contract. Its product story makes the mechanism visible. The audience can understand a benefit before learning any environmental terminology. [4]

A customer benefit and an environmental claim need different support
ElementWhat the example makes us examine
AudienceParents and gift buyers, as well as the child wearing the garment.
ProblemClothing can become too small while it is still usable.
FeatureAn expandable garment structure.
Benefit to investigateKeeping a garment useful through more stages of growth.
Evidence still neededActual fit, durability, use patterns, price per use and lifecycle comparisons.

A demonstration supports the claim that a garment expands. It does not by itself establish how many purchases every family avoids or the overall environmental savings. Product ranges use different materials; do not generalise one description to every item.

From the teaching slides · Slide 13

Show the mechanism behind the promise

ASIMOV · the repairability promise
ASIMOV · the components behind the promise

Select an image to enlarge it. Use “Actual size” in the viewer to inspect small text.

The contrast is useful: one image makes a promise, while the other shows the parts behind it. This is a communication example, not independent verification of the product’s performance or environmental effects.

Ask next. Which parts can be replaced, by whom, at what cost, and for how long will parts and instructions be available?

Make the argument complete

Use promise, proof and action. For a repair offer: “Find out whether your lamp can be repaired” is the promise. An accepted-item list and a transparent diagnosis process support it. “Check your item” is a practical next action. The next action should be possible at the destination page.

Brand values become useful when they guide decisions. A brand that values durability should make care instructions, repairs and spare parts easy to find. Those choices need resources and operational support.

Clarification

A local origin can support community or economic goals. It does not automatically prove lower environmental impact. A mission, an award or a material description also needs to be connected to the particular claim being made.

Added practice

Turn the feature “replaceable battery” into a benefit and a proof request.

Compare with a possible answer

Possible benefit: “Replace the battery instead of replacing the whole device.” Check whether compatible batteries are available, their price, the replacement process and any safety requirements. Do not add a lifetime or savings figure without evidence.

CHAPTER 04

Creativity and storytelling

What useful idea can make the offer easier to notice and understand?

Looking ahead: test, measure and learn from the final exercise.

Key learnings

  • Start with an audience insight.
  • Generate several ideas before selecting one.
  • Make the story concrete and the offer clear.
  • Choose tools deliberately. Verify the output and decide.

Creativity can change a headline, a format, an experience or the offer itself. An attractive picture is one possibility. A clearer service process or an unexpected partnership may solve a more important marketing problem.

ListenFind a situation worth solving.
ExploreProduce several different directions.
ChooseUse the objective and evidence.
VerifyCheck meaning and test a valid hypothesis.

Give ideas time to develop. Use writing, discussion, pencil and paper, design software or AI where appropriate. AI is optional. A first plausible output is a starting point. Ask what audience insight it uses, what it assumes and what you would change after feedback. A polished result alone tells us little about the research behind it.

From the class · paraphrased and anonymised

One contribution argued that seeing people with a similar everyday situation could make a campaign easier to relate to. Another described discovering a brand through a lesson rather than an advertisement.

What this teaches us. A useful creative idea can come from the messenger or the context, as well as from visual style. Treat these observations as hypotheses to test with the intended audience.

From the teaching slides · Slides 19 and 21

Make the everyday use and the explanation visible

An everyday situation
A material and its stated origin
A simple ingredient explanation

Select an image to enlarge it. Use “Actual size” in the viewer to inspect small text.

These are different posts used in class, not results from a tested campaign sequence. Notice the move between a situation, a material and a product explanation. The visual and the words work together.

Try it. Which line explains a customer benefit? Which describes a feature? Which makes a claim that needs supporting evidence?

Build a short story

Use situation, difficulty, useful change and action. Show a real object or moment. For a lamp repair story: a student needs light to study, the lamp stops working, the service explains whether it accepts the item, and the student checks eligibility. Do not invent a successful repair or a testimonial.

Adapt the idea to the medium. A caption needs a clear opening. A carousel can reveal the process step by step. A short video can demonstrate a mechanism. Each version still needs readable text, a meaningful offer and a next action.

From the class · paraphrased and anonymised

A contribution connected good storytelling with understanding the product itself.

What this teaches us. Before choosing a story, explain how the offer works and what you can verify. Storytelling cannot replace product understanding.

From the teaching slides · Slide 22

What changes when a person tells the story?

A public creator example from the session

Select an image to enlarge it. Use “Actual size” in the viewer to inspect small text.

The first-person reaction and familiar format connect to the class discussion about seeing “people like me”. They are possible reasons for relevance, not proof that the audience trusts the post or that it produces sales.

Inspect the context. Who is speaking, to which audience, with what relationship to the brand? What would you need to know about disclosure, evidence and results?

A real campaign to question

Case mentioned in class · analysis added for revision

Patagonia placed its “Don’t Buy This Jacket” advertisement in the New York Times on Black Friday in 2011. Its own account connects the message to buying less and keeping products useful. The contradiction between a retailer’s sales and reduced consumption creates the creative tension. [5]

Analyse the mechanism: a surprising instruction earns attention; the brand explains its position; practical behaviour must support the message. The company’s account explains intent. It does not, on its own, establish an incremental sales effect or a net environmental benefit. Ask whether the campaign changed purchases, use or repair, and over what period.

Added practice

Generate three openings for the same repair offer: one about a daily difficulty, one giving the object a voice and one explaining the process. Then choose using audience relevance and truthfulness.

Compare with a possible answer

“Your desk lamp stopped. Your revision did not.” / “I’m not finished yet.” / “Check the item list. Book a diagnosis. Decide what happens next.” These are invented teaching examples. Each needs a clear offer after the opening. Do not promise a repair before assessing the item.

CHAPTER 05

Credible sustainability communication

What will the audience believe, and can we support that meaning?

Define the meaning and boundary of a claim.

Key learnings

  • State exactly what the claim covers.
  • Use relevant evidence and fair comparisons.
  • Check what images imply as well as what words say.
  • Separate measured results, ambitions and unknowns.

A claim can mislead through missing information, an unfair comparison or an image that suggests more than the evidence supports. “Contains recycled material” needs a stated scope. Which part, what proportion and how was it checked? A company-wide statement needs company-wide evidence.

A practical claim check

  1. Meaning. What is an ordinary reader likely to believe?
  2. Scope. Which product, component, activity, place and period?
  3. Evidence. What supports the claim, and how was it obtained?
  4. Comparison. Compared with which alternative or baseline?
  5. Limits. What important effects or uncertainties remain?

This checklist supports critical thinking. The UK Competition and Markets Authority’s guidance similarly stresses clarity, substantiation, fair comparisons, relevant omissions and lifecycle effects. It is UK guidance, not a substitute for EU or national law. [2]

From the teaching slides · Slide 5

A percentage is only useful with its boundary

Everlane · the reporting screenshot used in class

Select an image to enlarge it. Use “Actual size” in the viewer to inspect small text.

The three percentages refer to different populations and measures. An annual-hiring figure, a wage-compliance figure and audit coverage do not describe the same thing. The image reproduces the company’s reporting, rather than independently confirming its results.

Apply the claim check. Identify the denominator, period and coverage of one number. What precise claim could it support, and what broader claim would exceed that evidence?

Compare three fictional, unbranded directions

Added teaching reconstruction · based on the three creative directions discussed in class

These original schematic teaching boards explore charging convenience, an appealing city and practical parking benefits. They use a generic electric vehicle, invented copy and no manufacturer identity. They are new learning aids, not the original learner advertisements. The broad claims in B and C are deliberately marked for critique.

Separate creative appeal from claim credibility
ConceptWhat is usefulWhat needs checking
AThe vehicle and charging point make the use situation concrete.Is charging convenient for this audience? Check access, time, cost and the next action.
BThe city setting creates an appealing vision.“SUSTAINABLE CHOICE” is broad. Do the trees and shared space suggest benefits that have not been demonstrated?
CSpace and parking suggest practical benefits.Check the dimensions and audience need. “ZERO EMISSIONS” also requires a boundary: what about electricity, manufacture and other lifecycle effects?

A revision direction, subject to product verification: replace broad claims with a precise feature or a defined use-phase statement. For a fully electric vehicle, “No exhaust emissions while driving” is narrower than “zero emissions”. It still does not mean zero lifecycle impact or no pollution of any kind. Verify the vehicle and context before publication.

Clarification

In the recorded class vote on the original learner concepts, the green-city direction received four votes and the charging direction two. Those originals are not reproduced here. The vote describes a preference among six participants, not a vote on these new teaching boards, market performance or a sustainability benefit. Treat a preferred direction as a hypothesis.

From exploration to testing: these boards change several elements together. They help compare creative directions. To isolate one change in a later test, keep the offer, audience, conditions and success measure comparable.

From the class and slide 12 · expanded and corrected

EU regulation: promises, products and the information behind them

Regulation shapes what businesses design, disclose and communicate. A creative campaign must fit the product and the rules that apply to it. Three questions help: What may we claim? What must the product do? What information must accompany it?

Important correction to the original slide and spoken explanation

The product-group years on slide 12 mainly describe indicative adoption of ESPR rules. They are not a schedule saying every product must already carry a passport in those years. Batteries have a separate legal timetable. Read the corrected table below before reusing the original slide.

1. Environmental claims: communicate a precise, supportable meaning

Directive (EU) 2024/825 strengthens consumer protection. Member States had to transpose it by 27 March 2026 and apply the measures from 27 September 2026. For a real campaign, check the relevant national implementing rules. [3] [11]

The amended EU rules prohibit, among other practices:

  • Generic environmental claims without recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to the claim.
  • Sustainability labels that are not based on a certification scheme or established by public authorities.
  • Claims about an entire product or business when the evidence concerns only one aspect or activity.
  • Claims that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive greenhouse-gas impact when based on offsetting.

Clear, prominent specification on the same medium can make a claim specific. It must still be truthful and supported. The separate Green Claims proposal is listed as pending on the Commission page checked for this edition. Do not confuse it with the adopted directive above. [3] [12]

2. ESPR: sustainability starts with product decisions

The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, entered into force on 18 July 2024. It establishes a framework for requirements such as durability, repairability and resource efficiency. Detailed obligations depend on product-specific or horizontal rules. Its broad reach includes products placed on the EU market, with legal exclusions. It does not impose every requirement on every product immediately. [13] [14]

Marketing implication: involve product, operations and compliance colleagues early. A repair promise is more convincing when parts, instructions and service really exist. A launch message cannot create those capabilities afterwards.

3. Digital Product Passport: connect the product with usable information

A DPP is a structured digital record linked to a product through a data carrier such as a QR code. The relevant rules determine the information, access rights and level of identification: model, batch or individual item. Depending on those rules, information may concern materials, substances, repair or environmental characteristics. Some data may be public; other data may have restricted access. [15]

ProductIdentify the correct model or item.
RecordAccess the relevant, maintained information.
DecisionCheck, compare, repair or recover materials.

A QR code is a route to information, not a sustainability certificate. A passport does not automatically prove that a product is environmentally preferable. Check the meaning, scope and quality of the data. [15]

Corrected reading of the timeline · checked 31 October 2026
Instrument or product groupDate or indicative yearWhat the date means
Consumer green-transition measures27 September 2026Application of national measures under Directive 2024/825. [11]
Iron and steel2026Indicative adoption years for ESPR measures in the Commission’s plan. These are not universal passport compliance dates. Check the final act and its transition period. [15]
Energy-related products2026–2029
Textiles, tyres and aluminium2027
Furniture2028
Mattresses2029
Specified battery categories18 February 2027Battery-passport requirement under the separate Batteries Regulation: light means of transport batteries, electric-vehicle batteries and industrial batteries over 2 kWh. [16]

ESPR delegated acts normally allow at least 18 months between entry into force and application, with exceptions possible under the regulation. An adoption year, an act’s entry into force and the date businesses must comply are different milestones. [13]

Original teaching slide 12 · The rollout line is retained as a course reference, with an explicit correction above and below.

How to read this original slide: its explanation introduces the passport. Its last line needs the corrected distinction above. In particular, do not repeat “batteries: 2026” as a battery-passport deadline.

4. Repair: turn a promise into a service

The EU Repair of Goods Directive, (EU) 2024/1799, had a national transposition and application date of 31 July 2026. The manufacturer’s repair obligation concerns goods covered by the listed EU repairability requirements, subject to the directive’s conditions. It is not an unlimited right to repair every product. [17]

For customers, legal information becomes useful when it answers practical questions: Can this item be repaired? By whom? At what cost? How long will it take? What evidence can I inspect? Traceability may become a baseline in regulated categories. Brands can still distinguish themselves through helpful information, accessible repair and a better ownership experience.

Added practice · 8 minutes

Audit a product page before publishing it

A hypothetical lamp brand writes: “Our green lamp has a QR passport, so it is sustainable and meets all future EU rules.”

  1. Underline the claims that exceed the evidence.
  2. List the product-specific legal and technical information you would need.
  3. Replace the headline with a useful, verifiable statement and a clear next action.
Compare with a possible answer

The QR code alone proves neither sustainability nor compliance with unspecified future rules. Check the product category, applicable acts and dates, required data and evidence for each environmental claim. If verified, a narrower message could be: “Find this model’s materials information and repair instructions. Check compatible replacement parts.” Do not call the record a legally compliant DPP without verifying the requirements that apply.

This section explains concepts for learning. The linked primary texts and relevant national measures govern an actual product or campaign.

From the teaching slides · Slide 19

Use the original post as a claim-audit exercise

KAIGUM · broad and specific wording together

Select an image to enlarge it. Use “Actual size” in the viewer to inspect small text.

“Eco-friendly” is broad, while “plastic-free” raises a more specific scope question. Does it refer to the gum, the packaging or both? The screenshot shows the claim being analysed; inclusion here does not endorse it.

Added practice. Explain what an ordinary viewer might understand, then list the evidence and qualifications needed before reusing the message.

Added practice

Rewrite: “Our campaign saved the planet: 80 repaired items.” Use these invented facts: 80 repairs recorded; 60 items confirmed still in use after four weeks; outcomes for 20 unknown; no environmental assessment.

Compare with a possible answer

“The pilot recorded 80 repaired items. At the four-week follow-up, 60 were confirmed still in use; outcomes for 20 were unverified. Avoided waste and emissions have not been assessed.” Do not add a monthly rate, a carbon saving or avoided purchases without further evidence.

CHAPTER 06

Digital channels and the customer journey

Where can we reach the audience and help them complete a useful action?

Match each touchpoint to a useful next action.

Key learnings

  • Choose channels from audience behaviour and the objective.
  • Give each channel a clear role.
  • Keep the offer consistent across the journey.
  • Reduce barriers and respect privacy and accessibility.

A platform is not a strategy. Search can reach someone already looking for a solution. Social content can demonstrate a problem or introduce an offer. Email can help an existing customer act. A university, repair community or other partner can reach a relevant group with useful context.

From the class · paraphrased and anonymised

A participant discovered Tony’s Chocolonely through a marketing class and later bought it in a shop. Another followed Framework’s email newsletter. A mobile-network customer only discovered a sustainability initiative while researching for the session.

What this teaches us. Education, email and existing-customer communication can matter alongside social advertising. One account is not enough to rank all channels, but it gives a specific route to investigate.

A journey for a campus repair service

Discover

A course page or campus partner introduces the service.

Understand

The page states accepted items, price and limits.

Act

The student books an accessible appointment.

Use and return

A clear update, care advice and follow-up support continued use.

A booking drop may come from a confusing form, unsuitable opening hours or an unclear fee. More impressions do not solve those problems. Check the advertisement, destination page and actual service as one experience.

From the teaching slides · Slides 15 and 18

Different accounts can do different jobs

Team Repair · practice and community
DW Environment · reporting and explanation
Ellen MacArthur Foundation · education and a shared framework

Select an image to enlarge it. Use “Actual size” in the viewer to inspect small text.

These accounts illustrate different roles: helping people try an activity, explaining an issue and developing a shared way of thinking.

Follower and engagement counts are historical interface details. They do not establish audience fit, credibility, campaign conversion or impact. Choose a route by the audience and the action you need, then measure it.

Framework and ownership after the sale

Participant example · extended case study

A participant mentioned owning a Framework laptop and following the company’s email newsletter. Framework is a computer company. This case extends that brief classroom example by examining its public product and support resources.

Brand source · Framework

From a product promise to practical support

The product and a repair tool
Parts are part of the offer

Official images from Framework’s website, © Framework Computer. These are current website images checked on 31 October 2026, not screenshots from the session.

Follow the journey. Imagine an owner clicking from a newsletter to a repair guide and then to a compatible part. At which step could price, availability, skill or uncertainty stop the repair? What would you measure after the click?

Framework connects repairable and upgradeable products with parts and repair guides. Those resources make its ownership promise more practical. The company also publishes sustainability information and a commissioned lifecycle report. These are different types of evidence; a guide demonstrates a process, while environmental conclusions depend on the report’s method and scope. [6]

Campaign concept to test: show an owner checking a repair guide, finding the right part and keeping a device useful. The audience may value control and continuity. Assess actual completion of repairs and continued use. A page visit or newsletter subscription is an earlier step.

Make participation possible

Use descriptive links, readable text and image alternatives. Caption meaningful video speech. Explain fees and conditions before asking for a commitment. Collect only information needed for the service, and avoid pressure tactics or unnecessary tracking. Accessibility and privacy are part of the customer experience. [8]

Added practice

For students uncertain whether a lamp is accepted, choose a main channel, a supporting channel and the destination action. Explain why.

Compare with a possible answer

One possible route: a campus newsletter links to a concise accepted-item page. A partner in student accommodation reinforces the message. The first action is “Check accepted items”, followed by booking. Test whether this reduces unsuitable bookings. A different audience may require a different route.

FIELD GUIDE · CONNECTING THE COURSE WITH THE WORLD AROUND YOU

Impact ecosystems: from meeting people to making change

Who could help a useful idea become a working solution in your city?

From the class ChangeNOW and the Berlin × Paris conversation appeared in the session and slides. Added self-study Climate House, COP negotiations and the local ecosystem exercise extend that discussion. They are not presented as material covered live.

Key learnings

  • Start with a shared problem, then find the people needed to solve it.
  • Events create encounters. Local communities can sustain the work between them.
  • Policy, funding, skills and customer adoption play different roles.
  • Measure what relationships enable, not only how many people attend.

Sustainable marketing also happens between organisations. A startup may have a useful technology but lack a pilot site. A city may know the need but lack a delivery partner. A university may bring skills; an investor may bring finance. Marketing helps people understand the problem, find one another and agree on a useful next step.

ChangeNOW: organise around solutions, not only brands

ChangeNOW is an international impact summit in Paris. Its 2026 edition took place at the Grand Palais from 30 March to 1 April. The programme brings solutions, talks and meeting formats together across environmental and social themes. The venue describes an event connecting entrepreneurs, investors, decision-makers, associations and citizens. [18]

ChangeNOW at the Grand Palais

ChangeNOW at the Grand Palais · Photo © Vincent Macher, reproduced from the venue’s 2026 event page, which identifies it as an earlier edition.

Select the photograph to enlarge it.

Look at the setting: demonstrations, conversations and shared space can help make an unfamiliar solution tangible. A large audience is an opportunity to learn and connect. It does not, by itself, demonstrate environmental impact.

From the BIKE-HEI session · paraphrased

The discussion moved beyond promoting one brand. It asked how people working on sustainability can connect, find support and act together. The invitation was to explore ChangeNOW and its solutions, whether online or through a future visit.

From the teaching slides · Slide 24

Berlin × Paris Climate & Impact Night · 19 February 2026. Santiago Lefebvre, left, and Darius Moeini, right. Photo reproduced from teaching slide 24.

Read alongside slide 25: the Berlin × Paris discussion transcript shared in the slides records Santiago Lefebvre’s perspective on deliberately building an impact ecosystem.

Three ideas from Santiago Lefebvre’s discussion

  1. Start with the problem. Define the need before deciding which organisation, technology or campaign should be at the centre. For a student project: whose problem are we addressing, and who already understands it?
  2. Build with generosity. Share useful knowledge and make relevant introductions. Ask what you can contribute, alongside what you need. Collaboration needs reciprocity and clear expectations.
  3. Think in systems. Look at the conditions behind a problem: incentives, infrastructure, habits and rules. A persuasive message cannot fix a missing repair network by itself.

Lefebvre’s model connects rebels, talent and investors: people who challenge the status quo, people who can build, and people who can resource the work. This is a useful lens from the interview, not proof that every funded venture produces positive impact. Communities, users and public institutions also matter. [27]

ChangeNOW’s investor programme illustrates the connecting role through matchmaking and thematic pitches. For an early venture, a useful objective might be to find a pilot partner or understand an investor’s evidence requirements. “Become more visible” is too vague to guide preparation. [19]

Climate House Paris: keep the conversation going locally

Added self-study · not discussed during the live course

Climate House is a Paris hub for the ecological transition, with coworking, events and a community of people and organisations working on it. Its physical location is 39 rue du Caire, 75002 Paris. Its official Luma organiser page provides a route to its events. Check each listing for language, access conditions and registration. [20] [21]

A summit concentrates attention for a few days. A local place can support repeated contact: meeting a collaborator, testing an idea, sharing a skill and returning with results. The learning opportunity is the continuity between encounters. Membership or attendance alone does not establish a project’s impact.

A useful way to explore

Choose one current Climate House event or public resource. Identify the problem it addresses, the people involved and one question you would bring. If you cannot attend, investigate the speakers’ organisations or look for a comparable community near you.

Prepare a two-way introduction: “I am working on ___. I can contribute ___. I am looking for ___.”

Know which part of the ecosystem you need

Different actors solve different coordination problems
Actor or placeWhat it can help withWhat to check
Impact eventDiscover solutions, compare approaches, meet possible partners.Audience fit, access, cost and a realistic follow-up plan.
Local hub or communityRepeated contact, shared space, knowledge and introductions.Who participates and how newcomers can contribute.
IncubatorDevelop an early idea, investigate needs and build foundations.Stage, sector, eligibility, fees and intellectual-property terms.
AcceleratorStructured support to test or develop a venture over a defined period.Programme focus, time commitment, selection and financial terms.
Investor or funderFinance and sometimes expertise or access to partners.Grants, loans or equity; expectations, evidence and time horizon.
University, city or civil-society organisationResearch, skills, local knowledge, public needs and possible pilot settings.Decision rights, permissions, procurement and who is affected.
Users and affected communitiesDefine real needs, reveal barriers and evaluate the lived experience.Representation, accessibility, consent and whether benefits reach them.

These categories overlap. A hub may run an accelerator; a university may provide incubation; an investor may also mentor. Their names are starting points. Check what they actually offer and whether it fits your project.

COP: the international policy layer

Added self-study · not discussed during the live course

The climate COP is the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Governments negotiate collective climate action. It is a different institution from an impact summit or a local community event. Other actors contribute through observer participation, side events and wider public debate. COP31 is scheduled for 9–20 November 2026 in Antalya, Türkiye. [22]

The Paris Agreement, adopted at COP21 in 2015, seeks to hold warming well below 2°C and pursue efforts towards 1.5°C. Countries submit climate plans called nationally determined contributions (NDCs) on a five-year cycle. Transparency and the global stocktake help assess collective progress. [23]

Why it matters for marketing: climate policy can change customer needs, infrastructure, investment priorities and the evidence expected of a brand. Follow negotiations, then distinguish an announcement from an agreed decision, a national measure and an implemented result. A COP pledge is not a product certification or evidence that your campaign reduced emissions.

INTERNATIONALCOP negotiations

Shape collective policy direction.

CROSS-SECTORImpact summits

Connect solutions, talent and resources.

LOCALHubs and partnerships

Support repeated work in a specific place.

Find the ecosystem in your own city

Paris is one example. Start from the problem and place where you can act. Search in local languages as well as English. Ask your university’s entrepreneurship or knowledge-transfer team, local associations and the municipality who is already working on the issue.

Added practice · 20–30 minutes · individual or small group

Map five useful connections around one local problem

Use your campaign from chapter 9, or choose a local need such as repair access, food waste or affordable low-carbon mobility.

  1. Define the need. One city, one audience and one specific problem. Include the people affected.
  2. Find five real actors. Include a community, a delivery or pilot partner, a knowledge partner, a support organisation and a possible funder.
  3. Verify each one. Record an official source, relevant offer, access conditions and one uncertainty. Do not assume the nearest organisation is the best fit.
  4. Design one collaboration. State what you contribute, what you ask for and a small next step. Explain how the relationship helps the audience.
  5. Choose a result. Distinguish a meeting from a pilot, and a pilot from a demonstrated social or environmental benefit.
Copy this template into your project notes
Actor and sourceWhy this fit?Give / askNext step and evidence
One verified organisationRelevant need, skill or resourceOur contribution / our requestA feasible action; how we will know it happened
Compare with an illustrative direction

For a campus repair project, a student association could explain the barriers, a repair workshop could test the service, a university lab could advise on safety, an incubator could help develop the model, and a funder could support a limited pilot. These are roles to investigate, not confirmed partners.

First measure qualified conversations and agreed next actions. Then measure completed repairs and continued use. Assess avoided replacement, waste or emissions separately, with a baseline and a suitable method. A photograph of a busy event cannot answer those questions.

A strong ecosystem makes the next useful action easier. The goal is not to collect contacts. It is to connect needs, capabilities and evidence.

CHAPTER 07

Measuring meaningful results

Which result would change our decision, and what does it actually prove?

Track campaign performance and wider consequences separately.

Key learnings

  • Choose the objective before choosing the metric.
  • Follow attention through to a completed useful action.
  • Compare rates, costs and absolute results.
  • Commercial results and wider impact need separate evidence.

An impression means an advertisement was displayed. A click shows a response. A booking is an intention to attend. Attendance and successful delivery are further steps. Choose a main metric that fits the decision rather than selecting the largest number available.

Always name the denominator
MeasureCalculationWhat it helps us ask
Click-through rateClicks ÷ impressions × 100Does this message prompt a response?
Click-to-booking rateBookings ÷ clicks × 100Do visitors find a relevant, understandable offer?
Cost per completed actionAdvertising spend ÷ completed actionsHow much advertising cost accompanies a useful action?
ROASAttributed revenue ÷ advertising spendHow much attributed revenue is reported for each euro of advertising?

ROAS is a revenue ratio. It does not subtract all costs and is not profit. Attribution assigns credit under a chosen model; it does not automatically prove the campaign caused every reported sale. When the denominator is zero, a rate or unit cost may be undefined. Say so.

A fictional mobility campaign: the calculation material

Course preparation dataset · invented figures for learning, not observed campaign results

A worked comparison from the course calculation sheet
MeasureABC
Impressions1,000,0001,000,0001,000,000
Advertising spend€5,000€5,000€5,000
Clicks20,00040,00010,000
Test drives in the model1,0004,000800
Cost per modelled test drive€5.00€1.25€6.25
Sales in the scenario10408

For A, 20,000 ÷ 1,000,000 gives a 2% click-through rate. €5,000 ÷ 1,000 modelled test drives gives €5 per test drive. B performs better on every displayed response and efficiency measure. That makes the arithmetic useful, while leaving little decision trade-off. It does not prove these creatives would achieve those results in the market.

The sheet labels this stage “test drives”. For a real campaign, specify whether you mean a request, a booking or a completed visit. These are different events.

Keep a second line of measurement

Commercial performance asks whether the campaign generates useful customer actions at an acceptable cost. Sustainability assessment asks what changes for people and the environment. For repairs, track successful repairs, continued use, replacement decisions and the resources used for repair. Then assess what would likely have happened without the service.

Business growth and lower total impact do not automatically move together. More efficient advertising can still increase total production and consumption. Check absolute effects and the baseline, not only a lower impact per item.

From the teaching slides · Slide 40

Keep the two lines of measurement visible

Commercial performance and wider consequences

Select an image to enlarge it. Use “Actual size” in the viewer to inspect small text.

Use the slide as a checklist beside your campaign brief. A completed booking or a sale belongs on the performance line. A change in continued use, working conditions or environmental effects needs its own relevant evidence.

Added practice

A repair campaign attracts 200 clicks and 20 bookings. Twelve people attend. Which rate tells us about the landing page, and which result should we investigate next?

Compare with a possible answer

Click-to-booking rate is 20 ÷ 200 = 10%. Attendance is 12 ÷ 20 = 60% of bookings. Investigate the eight missed appointments and whether the twelve attended visits led to useful repairs. None of these numbers establishes environmental savings.

CHAPTER 08

Testing and improving

What can this comparison teach us, and what should we change next?

Interpret the trade-off before repeating a campaign.

Key learnings

  • Start with a hypothesis and one main success measure.
  • Keep conditions comparable when testing a change.
  • Small or biased samples limit conclusions.
  • Choose whether to continue, revise, stop or investigate.

A useful hypothesis connects a change to a reason. For example: “Explaining accepted items before booking will reduce unsuitable appointments.” Decide how you will measure that change, what else must remain acceptable and when you will review the result.

To isolate the effect of wording, keep the audience, offer, layout, timing and measurement consistent where practical, and randomly assign versions when possible. If the image, headline and audience all change, the comparison may still guide a business decision, but it cannot identify the headline’s individual effect.

A counterexample with a real decision

Added practice · invented reports, not a randomised experiment

Two hypothetical campaigns for refurbished laptop collections
ReportAB
Impressions10,00010,000
Clicks600400
Bookings90100
Completed collections6075
Advertising spend€300€400

Both reports describe the same kind of offer. A has more clicks and a lower cost per completed collection. B has more completed collections. The right next step depends on the objective, available budget, capacity and uncertainty. Neither report establishes environmental savings.

Try the decision lab

Change B’s advertising cost while keeping its recorded outcomes fixed. This is a cost sensitivity exercise, not a forecast of how extra spending changes demand.

Enter a number from 0 to 1,000,000. A remains at €300.
A cost per collection
€5.00
B cost per collection
€5.33
Completed collections
A 60 · B 75

A has the lower cost per collection. B has more completed collections. The reports do not isolate why.

Work through the decision without the interactive lab

A: click-through rate = 6%; cost per completed collection = €300 ÷ 60 = €5.00. B: click-through rate = 4%; cost per completed collection = €400 ÷ 75 ≈ €5.33.

At €375 spend, B’s cost per collection would equal A’s €5, assuming B still produced 75 collections. That assumption is part of this calculation, not an observed spending response. To choose the next campaign, check costs, the value of extra collections, available stock and whether results are reliable enough to repeat.

Performance is one condition for approval

A message must be credible before it enters a performance test. Use additional checks for complaints, accessibility, unsuitable bookings, customer experience and relevant social or environmental consequences. An increase in clicks does not justify a misleading promise.

Clarification

Marketing uses both creative judgement and systematic investigation. Uncertainty is a reason to state a hypothesis and collect better evidence. It does not mean that all choices are guesses or that a small class vote proves a market result.

Added practice

A headline gets more clicks but produces no more completed repairs. Name two explanations and propose a next investigation.

Compare with a possible answer

The headline may attract people whose items are ineligible, or the booking process may be difficult. Other explanations include small samples or different traffic sources. Inspect eligibility and the journey, then test a specific change under comparable conditions. Do not immediately declare either headline the winner.

CHAPTER 09

Build and defend a campaign

Can you connect audience, benefit, creativity, proof, channel and measurement?

Six decisions to connect, explain and improve.

Key learnings

  • Make the whole campaign consistent.
  • Explain the reasoning behind each choice.
  • Use feedback to make a specific revision.
  • Name what you know and what you still need to verify.

The aim is a coherent proposal that someone else can question and improve. Work alone or with a small group. You do not need design software or an AI tool. A written brief and a rough sketch are enough.

A contribution worth developing

From the class · paraphrased and anonymised

A class contribution proposed explaining a repair programme in everyday language to the people who use the equipment.

What this teaches us. An existing operational service can become the subject of useful content. Show how to access it, what it can do and where its limits are. Continued use is a more relevant outcome than an attractive repair image alone.

A classroom idea: make bringing a reusable cup an everyday habit

From the class · anonymous summary in words

A participant sketched a campaign encouraging people to bring a reusable cup. The idea connected a familiar daily action with more responsible consumption.

Develop the idea: which venue accepts the cup, what should the customer do, how is it cleaned, and what behaviour are we trying to change? A simple concept becomes useful when people understand the action and can repeat it.

Do not assume a reusable cup automatically has a lower impact in every situation. Its material, repeated use, washing, transport and the disposable option being replaced matter. The useful action is repeated real use, not simply distributing more cups.

Further analysis added for practice

A common brief for every group

Choose a repair, reuse or refurbished-product offer. You may use a fictional campus service or an organisation you know. Clearly label invented facts. Use only evidence you have, and record the gaps.

  1. Define the audience and benefit. Name the situation, user, buyer and main barrier.
  2. Draft two creative directions. Write two short captions or sketch two concepts. Keep the offer consistent.
  3. Audit one claim. State its scope, support, limitations and necessary revision.
  4. Choose a journey and measures. Name one main channel, a next action, a main performance metric and a longer-term outcome to investigate.
  5. Get feedback and revise. Ask what is unclear, unsupported or difficult to act on. Record one change and its reason.

Present your reasoning in about 60 seconds. Then invite another person to question a claim or a measurement choice. A useful objection leads to a specific improvement.

Your campaign brief

Use these fields or copy the headings elsewhere. Entries stay in this open page. They are not uploaded or saved automatically. Download your brief before closing or reloading.

How to assess the proposal

Use the same criteria before and after feedback
CriterionEvidence in a strong response
Audience and valueA specific situation, a believable barrier and a useful benefit.
Creative relevanceAn idea connected to that audience, with a clear offer and action.
Claim credibilityRelevant evidence, stated scope and visible limits.
Digital journeyA reason for the channel choice and a workable route to action.
Measurement and consequencesA meaningful metric, an uncertainty and a longer-term outcome to investigate.
RevisionA specific improvement justified by feedback.

For a simple peer review, mark each criterion as clear, needs work or not yet shown. Explain the mark with one observation. These are practice criteria, not an official programme grading scale.

Added practice

Before you finish, answer individually: Which claim did you change? Which metric could change your decision? What would you need before claiming a wider impact?

Compare with a possible answer

A strong answer names a specific revision, a metric with its denominator and an evidence gap. For example: “I replaced ‘zero impact’ with a record of items still in use. I will compare cost per completed repair. Before claiming avoided emissions, I need evidence about replacement decisions and the impacts of the repair.”

Connection to the programme brief

Original BIKE-HEI course title: Creative Sustainable Marketing in the Digital Age · 26 October 2026.

The nine chapters make the existing course topics easier to revisit. They retain the brief’s focus on creative and sustainable marketing, digital tools, branding and engagement, real examples and practical application. The expanded EU policy section and the ecosystem field guide connect these topics with regulation, collaboration and local action. The official course structure and quiz topics are unchanged.

The five existing quiz topics remain the reference
Existing quiz topicWhere to reviseWhat you should be able to explain
Sustainable marketingChapters 1–3 and 7; ecosystem field guideHow an offer can serve customers while accounting for business, social and environmental consequences.
Creativity in digital marketingChapters 3–4 and 9How an audience insight becomes a creative idea, a story and a suitable digital format.
Data-driven campaign optimizationChapters 7–8How to calculate and interpret a useful metric, compare results and choose a next test.
Credible sustainability communication and avoiding greenwashingChapters 5, 7 and 9; EU regulation sectionHow to examine scope, evidence, imagery, comparisons and uncertainty.
Practical group exercisesPractice throughout; chapter 9; local ecosystem mappingHow to build a proposal, defend decisions and improve it after feedback.
How the companion supports the four requested learning outcomes
Requested learning outcomeLearning routeEvidence you can produce
Foundational sustainable marketing understanding1, 2, 3, 5A short analysis of an offer using the marketing mix and a qualified claim.
Combine creativity and data in strategy4, 7, 8Two creative directions and a decision justified by a suitable measure.
Design concepts aligned with sustainability goals and brand values3, 4, 5, 6, 9A campaign brief with a useful offer, operational support and an evidence check.
Evaluate campaigns with a long-term impact perspective1, 7, 8, 9A distinction between campaign results and wider outcomes, with a baseline and an evidence gap.

Interactive input is extended through short practice tasks and the decision lab. The group activity combines ideation, messaging and storytelling. Petit Pli, Framework and Patagonia provide real examples to analyse; the learner concepts provide material to question and revise. The campaign brief can be applied to a startup, social enterprise, university service or established company.

Additional learning route: the nine principles consolidate sustainable marketing; EU regulation and DPP deepen claim credibility and product transparency; the local ecosystem exercise adds practical collaboration and a longer-term view of impact. ChangeNOW is grounded in the class. Climate House, COP and local mapping are new self-study extensions.

Five prompts for revision

Answer in your own words before reopening the chapters. These are additional retrieval prompts aligned with the existing quiz topics.

  1. What changes when sustainability becomes part of marketing strategy rather than only a message?
  2. How can a creative idea help a specific audience understand and act on an offer?
  3. Why might the campaign with the highest click-through rate be the weaker choice?
  4. How could an accurate-sounding claim still create a misleading impression?
  5. What makes group feedback useful for improving a campaign?
Check the reasoning your answers should contain

1. Include the offer, price, distribution, experience and longer-term consequences. 2. Connect audience insight, clarity, differentiation and a next action. 3. Consider completed actions, costs, audience quality and the objective. 4. Examine scope, omitted limits, comparisons and imagery. 5. Identify a specific revision and explain why it improves the proposal.

From the teaching slides · revision aids

The course in nine short reminders

Try the five revision prompts first. Then use this summary to check your answer and choose a chapter to revisit.

  1. 1. Sustainable marketing

    • Create useful customer value.
    • Consider social and environmental effects.
    • Keep delivery financially viable.
    • Think beyond the next sale.
  2. 2. Understanding the audience

    • Know who uses the offer.
    • Know who pays.
    • Understand needs and barriers.
    • Listen and check your assumptions.
  3. 3. The value proposition

    • Start with a specific problem.
    • Explain the useful benefit.
    • Give a reason to trust the promise.
    • Offer one clear next step.
  4. 4. Creativity and storytelling

    • Earn attention with a relevant idea.
    • Tell a simple, concrete story.
    • Connect the story to the offer.
    • Adapt it to the digital format.
  5. 5. Credible sustainability claims

    • State a precise claim.
    • Support it with evidence.
    • Make a fair comparison.
    • Explain limits and uncertainty.
  6. 6. Digital channels

    • Go where the audience is.
    • Give each channel a purpose.
    • Keep the offer consistent.
    • Make the next action easy.
  7. 7. Measuring results

    • Choose a clear objective.
    • Track useful actions beyond clicks.
    • Compare results with costs.
    • Assess wider outcomes separately.
  8. 8. Testing and improving

    • Start with a testable idea.
    • Compare under similar conditions.
    • Allow for uncertainty.
    • Decide what to keep or change.
  9. 9. Putting it into practice

    • Build a coherent campaign.
    • Explain your choices.
    • Ask for feedback.
    • Revise and explain why.
Reopen the two original recap slides

The shorter slide follows the nine chapters. The fuller slide treats creativity and storytelling separately; both sit together in chapter 4 here. These are two views of the same learning route.

The fuller set of key learnings

Original fuller recap supplied from the teaching slides. Creativity and storytelling are combined in chapter 4 of this companion.

The nine-part summary

Original nine-part summary supplied from the teaching slides.

Select a slide to enlarge it. The text summary above remains readable on a small screen.

A plain-language glossary

Value proposition
Why a particular offer is useful to a particular audience.
Audience insight
An explanation of a need or behaviour that can guide a decision. It must be checked, not merely invented.
Call to action
The next step you ask someone to take.
Customer journey
The steps through which someone discovers, evaluates, uses and returns to an offer.
Greenwashing
Communication that gives a misleading impression about environmental performance.
Lifecycle
The stages from materials and production through use, reuse and end of life.
Baseline
The reference point used to judge a change.
Counterfactual
What would probably have happened without the action or service.
Conversion
A defined action, such as booking or completing a repair. Always say which action.
A/B test
A comparison of versions. Random allocation and comparable conditions help identify the effect of the change.
Impact
Wider effects on people or the environment. A reported activity is not automatically evidence of those effects.
Trade-off
A choice where improving one result may worsen another.
ESPR
The EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation. It establishes a framework for product requirements; detailed obligations depend on relevant rules.
Digital Product Passport (DPP)
Structured product information linked through a data carrier. Applicable rules define its contents and access. It is not an automatic sustainability certification.
Impact ecosystem
People and organisations whose relationships help address social or environmental problems through knowledge, skills, finance and implementation.
Incubator / accelerator
Support for developing a venture. Incubators often help early ideas; accelerators often provide a time-bounded programme. Check each organisation’s actual offer.
COP / NDC
COP is the Conference of the Parties to a convention; here, the UN climate convention. NDC means nationally determined contribution, a country’s climate plan under the Paris Agreement.

Sources and further reading

Start with the Cambridge article for the wider role of marketing, the claims guidance for a practical audit and one company case to analyse. The first edition’s sources were checked on 30 October 2026; the slide visuals and survey chart were reviewed for this update on 31 October 2026. Public pages may change; a brand source reports its own claims and intentions. The policy and ecosystem sources added in this edition were checked on 31 October 2026. For a quick extension, read the DPP FAQ, explore ChangeNOW and Climate House, then map five actors in your own city.

  1. What is sustainable marketing?

    Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership · Charlie Thompson · updated 22 December 2025. Read for the four responsibilities and the distinction between promoting sustainability and changing marketing practice.

  2. Environmental claims on goods and services

    UK Competition and Markets Authority · accessible guidance and examples. Useful for claim analysis; jurisdiction is the UK.

  3. Directive EU 2024/825

    EUR-Lex · primary EU legal text. Consult the operative provisions and relevant national implementation for a specific use.

  4. Petit Pli product story

    Company source · explains the expandable-clothing mechanism. A brand’s own account is useful evidence of its positioning and product claims, not independent proof of every impact.

  5. Don’t Buy This Jacket

    Patagonia · original campaign account dated 25 November 2011, with later editorial notes. Analyse the creative idea and its consumption paradox.

  6. Framework sustainability and repair

    Company source · links to product information, a commissioned lifecycle report and repair resources. Check the methods and scope before reusing environmental conclusions.

  7. Digital Product Passport

    European Commission · product-group rules and indicative timeline. Adoption of rules, transition and mandatory compliance are different stages.

  8. Writing for web accessibility

    W3C Web Accessibility Initiative · practical guidance on headings, meaningful links, image alternatives and clear instructions.

  9. André Pitié learning studio

    Public teaching hub · further courses and materials. Some course content requires sign-in. This companion stands on its own.

  10. Baromètre des produits biologiques en France 2026

    L’Agence BIO and L’ObSoCo · original report shown on slide 23. The screenshot reproduces report excerpts shown on slide 23. The English caption explains the survey period and limits. It is a French survey, not an EU-wide estimate.

  11. Consumer empowerment for the green transition

    European Commission · Directive 2024/825 transposition and application dates. Read alongside source 3 and the relevant national measures.

  12. Green Claims proposal

    European Commission · listed as pending when checked for this edition. This proposal is separate from Directive 2024/825.

  13. Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (EU) 2024/1781

    EUR-Lex · primary legal text. See the framework, delegated-act provisions and Digital Product Passport requirements.

  14. Implementing the ESPR

    European Commission · entry into force, working plan and phased implementation.

  15. Digital Product Passport: official FAQs

    European Commission · product-specific contents and access, indicative adoption years and the distinction from compliance dates.

  16. Batteries Regulation (EU) 2023/1542

    EUR-Lex · Article 77: battery passports from 18 February 2027 for the specified categories. This is a separate timetable from the ESPR working plan.

  17. Directive on repair of goods

    European Commission · Directive 2024/1799, its scope and national application date. Consult the linked legal text for conditions.

  18. ChangeNOW 2026 at the Grand Palais

    Official venue page · 30 March–1 April 2026, programme and participants. The photograph reproduced here is labelled as an earlier edition. Photo © Vincent Macher.

  19. ChangeNOW investor experience

    Organiser source · describes matchmaking and thematic pitches. Promotional descriptions are not independent proof of investment or environmental results.

  20. Climate House Paris

    Organisation source · ecological-transition hub, coworking, events and community at 39 rue du Caire, Paris. Introduced here as additional self-study.

  21. Climate House: official Luma organiser page

    Use for current event discovery. Check each listing’s date, language, eligibility and registration conditions.

  22. UN Climate Change Conference: COP31

    UNFCCC · conference scheduled for 9–20 November 2026 in Antalya, Türkiye. Dates are stated as known on 31 October 2026.

  23. The Paris Agreement

    UNFCCC · temperature goals, national climate plans, transparency and the global stocktake.

  24. Impact Hub Berlin ecosystems

    Organisation source · a starting point for investigating communities, current events and support programmes. Check present availability.

  25. Triathlon: entrepreneurship, innovation and transfer

    Saarland University · local starting point for students and researchers exploring entrepreneurship and transfer.

  26. ClimAccelerator

    Climate KIC · climate-venture support through a network of programmes and partners. Eligibility and terms vary.

  27. Berlin × Paris Climate & Impact Night: source transcript

    19 February 2026 · discussion with Santiago Lefebvre and Darius Moeini, linked from teaching slide 25. The case paraphrases the ecosystem-building discussion and attributes its ideas to the speaker.

Editorial note

This companion draws on the course briefing, the supplied session transcript, the teaching slides, the shared learner-slide snapshot and the prepared calculation material. The transcript ends during a discussion of the creative tools used. This edition therefore does not reconstruct a missing spoken conclusion or treat prepared material as proof that every activity occurred live.

Classroom insights are paraphrased without individual attributions or profiles. The original branded vehicle concepts are replaced by new, unbranded schematic boards for critical analysis. The reusable-cup contribution is summarised anonymously in words; the student drawing is not reproduced or remade. Further explanations, corrected distinctions and new activities are presented as learning material for this edition.

The structure follows the nine-part learning map in the teaching slides. It also uses the public learning studio’s emphasis on practical decisions and application.

Slide-image sources: teaching slides 5, 12, 13, 15, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 36, 40, 41 and 48; report excerpts from the source shown on slide 23. Brand and organisation names identify the public sources. Student names and profiles are excluded.

About the images. Chapter openings combine teaching diagrams with original vector frameworks. Chapters 4, 5, 7 and 9 use independently written vector diagrams of general marketing decisions. The diagrams distinguish classroom contributions, illustrative measurement plans and added practice. Diagram 04 brings a lesson from the final exercise forward in the learning sequence. Brand-source images are captioned separately. The vehicle concept boards are original vector schematics, clearly labelled as fictional learning aids.

Creative Sustainable Marketing · BIKE HEI · André Pitié
Open-access learning edition · 1 November 2026

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