When it comes to sustainability, Europe is ahead of the US on many fronts. Marketing seems to be one of them. I am always on the lookout for fellow marketers who are giving serious thought to sustainability, and my research often points back to Europe.

One example is this guide on sustainable marketing produced and published recently by CSR Europe. The focus of this first guide is on how to minimize environmental impacts through the influence of marketing. A subsequent booklet will be produced that looks at marketing’s role relative to social issues such as human rights, equality and diversity.

The first guide offers a sustainable marketing toolkit that its authors say “has been created to show you how you can integrate the principles of sustainable marketing into your day job quickly and simply.” There are indeed some useful suggestions and tools, but I’m not so sure about the quick and simple part, as I’ll get into in a moment.

The toolkit contains an example of a decision tree a marketer might use when evaluating the marketing of a particular item. Here are some of the questions that would help you assess the potential environmental impacts of the item:

1. Is this item useful or desirable?
2. Would you want and/or value this item?
3. Is it durable? Will it last for a long time?
4. Is it made from recycled materials or sourced from sustainable sources?
5. Have you included information on the item to tell the customer what it is made from or how to dispose of it after use?
6. Do you know where your product was made and how it was transported?
7. Has packaging been minimized?
8. Is the packaging reusable or easily recyclable?
9. Is the item itself reusable, refillable or recyclable?

I’m certain most marketers don’t want to ask questions like these because so few products today stand up to this level of scrutiny. But if all businesses were to face these questions head on and attempt to answer in the affirmative, imagine the revolutionary effects on the global economy. We might be looking at a world in which businesses would only make and promote products that are:

1. useful, long-lasting and reusable or recyclable
2. made from sustainable sources
3. transported short distances and/or using renewable fuels
4. clear in how they should be disposed of after use

Sounds nearly ideal. And a long ways off. Here’s where the toolkit’s promise of helping you integrate sustainability into your marketing “quickly and simply” may be a stretch. The authors don’t delve into what to do when faced with an employer or client that answers “no” to all or most of the questions above. And we know that most businesses would. This creates a not-so-simple dilemma for the marketer: Can I or do I want to use my influence to move my employer or client toward sustainable business practices? If not, do I just continue my role in supporting “business as usual”? Or do I part ways with my employer or client?

Every marketer has to answer these tough questions for him or herself. But as CSR Europe’s guide makes plain:

We only have one planet and the Earth’s resources are finite…The further we stretch these scarce resources, the more uncomfortable life will become for those in the developed world and the harder it will become for those in some developing countries to survive at all. In short, the situation is unsustainable.