Product Marketing Managers

Overview

Who is this guide for?

If you’re a product marketer and you’re asking yourself, “How can I make my job more environmentally friendly when my work involves constant content creation, printed sales materials, and frequent travel for launches and events?” … then this Climate Action Guide is for you.

Product marketers shape how companies position their offerings and go to market. Your decisions about messaging, materials, and launch strategies have both direct environmental impact and influence over how sustainability is prioritized across the organization. As a product marketer, you bridge customer needs with product development, making you uniquely positioned to champion sustainability. With over 40,000 product marketing professionals in the US and growing demand for sustainable products, there is significant opportunity to drive both environmental and business impact.

How can a Product Marketing Manager take climate action

1. Champion sustainable product positioning: Integrate sustainability benefits into core messaging and value propositions
2. Green your go-to-market materials: Transition to digital-first sales enablement
3. Build sustainability into customer success stories: Develop case studies highlighting environmental outcomes
4. Design eco-conscious launch strategies: Plan launches with minimal environmental impact
5. Influence product development: Feed sustainability market trends back to product teams

Taking climate action benefits everyone

• Product marketers and team: Learn new skills and market trends, reduce material costs, improve competitive differentiation
• Employers: Save money on printing and events, improve brand reputation, unlock new market opportunities
• Community and environment:
  • Reduce paper and material waste
  • Support sustainable product innovation
  • Influence industry standards

Action 1: Champion sustainable product positioning

Buyers increasingly make decisions based on ESG goals. Identifying and promoting how your products help customers reduce environmental impact creates competitive advantage.

Step-by-step

1. Audit current value propositions: Review existing messaging and identify any efficiency, waste reduction, or environmental benefits
2. Research customer sustainability priorities: Survey customers and prospects about their environmental goals and challenges
3. Quantify environmental benefits: Work with product teams to calculate specific metrics like energy savings, waste reduction, or carbon impact
4. Integrate into core messaging: Make sustainability benefits prominent in sales decks, website copy, and competitive positioning

Action 2: Green your go-to-market materials

The average company spends $3,000+ annually per employee on printed materials. Digital transformation reduces costs and emissions while often improving sales effectiveness.

Step-by-step

1. Inventory current printed materials: Calculate annual spending and usage of brochures, sales sheets, and trade show materials
2. Create digital alternatives: Develop interactive sales decks, QR codes for brochures, and tablet-optimized materials
3. Implement sustainable printing practices: When printing is necessary, use recycled materials and carbon-neutral printing services
4. Train sales teams: Ensure sales reps are comfortable with digital tools and understand the business benefits

Related action: Digitize customer onboarding and training materials

Action 3: Build sustainability into customer success stories

Peer validation is the most trusted form of marketing. Sustainability case studies influence both direct sales and brand reputation while providing social proof for environmental benefits.

Step-by-step

1. Identify sustainability-focused customers: Review customer base for companies with strong ESG commitments or environmental results
2. Interview for environmental outcomes: Ask customers about efficiency gains, waste reduction, or carbon savings achieved through your product
3. Create compelling narratives: Develop case studies that highlight both business and environmental impact
4. Promote across channels: Use sustainability case studies in sales materials, website, and thought leadership content

Action 4: Design eco-conscious launch strategies

Product launches set the tone for market perception. Leading with sustainability values attracts conscious consumers and partners while reducing operational impact.

Step-by-step

1. Plan digital-first launches: Prioritize digital channels over physical promotional items and events
2. Choose sustainable launch partners: Work with vendors committed to renewable energy and sustainable practices
3. Select green venues: For necessary in-person events, choose venues with sustainability certifications
4. Measure launch carbon footprint: Track environmental impact alongside traditional launch metrics

Action 5: Influence product development through market insights

Product marketers are uniquely positioned to translate market demand for sustainability into product features that drive both revenue and environmental benefit.

Step-by-step

1. Research competitor sustainability features: Analyze how competitors position environmental benefits and identify gaps
2. Survey market demand: Include sustainability questions in regular customer research and win/loss analysis
3. Build business cases: Present ROI analysis for green product enhancements to R&D and product management teams
4. Track sustainability feature performance: Monitor how sustainability-focused features impact sales cycles and deal sizes

Bonus: Find allies in other departments and groups

Sustainable marketing is increasingly important to organizations. The general public and B2B buyers are concerned about climate change, and companies are under pressure to demonstrate environmental responsibility.

Potential allies

• The sustainability or CSR department
• Sales teams looking for competitive differentiation
• Product development teams interested in market trends
• Executive leadership focused on brand reputation
• Customer success teams tracking satisfaction metrics

Contributors: Shruti Chander