In the Serviceplan Group’s international study “CMO Barometer”, in which over 450 chief marketing officers were surveyed, we could see it clearly: While sustainability was still the most important marketing trend for 85 percent in 2023 and thus in first place, the topic fell to fourth place (78 percent) in 2024 with the mainstreaming of AI (83 percent). Even if the gap between the two was only 5 percent, this shows the radicalness with which rapid AI is pushing everything else into second place.
This is completely understandable, because AI is disrupting our daily work in marketing. This is not just about achieving new advertising production efficiencies. It also applies to market research, where AI-generated consumers can already be asked about everything, or in the product and innovation sector, where AI is drastically shortening long-term innovation cycles.
Double transformation: exhausting but important
However, I would like to advocate thinking about AI and sustainability together and using them for each other. Not only do these two transformations accelerate each other, but together they will determine whether we remain in the game at all as entrepreneurs.
Let’s embrace the “Twin Transformation” because, although it is exhausting, it is important that it happens together.
Four suggestions as to why this is so:
1. Many companies have ambitious sustainability goals in accordance with the new European legislation. However, there is often no concrete, measurable plan for how these can be achieved. AI can provide support here, based on initial data collection, and calculate concrete scenarios for achieving the goals based on the status quo.
2. AI supports the concrete implementation of the sustainability path. First and foremost, it can help to consistently digitize many processes. Studies say that this can save up to 25 percent of current emissions.
3. AI will help us to use energy in a more decentralized and efficient way. This is not yet ready for rollout, but will soon be possible if electricity providers and AI developers continue to work together. Then we will only use energy in the exact second we need it.
4. Sustainable transformation needs new products, new circular models, new supply chains, new suppliers. Without AI, it will not be possible to set up and calculate the complex new scenarios required and to weigh up the best alternative.
No decarbonization without AI
In summary: Without AI, there will be no decarbonization. And, as a recent IBM study shows, companies that consistently tackle both together achieve better results in a sustainable transformation.
Stefanie Kuhnhen is Chief Strategic Officer and Partner at Serviceplan. The columnist is a brand strategist with a passion for the future and sustainable corporate management.
