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Cases

Ohjelma
Bike Lease Finland

Bike Lease Finland

Leasing and maintenance of employee bicycles, digital services.

Ohjelma
Excelence Solutions

Excelence Solutions

Consulting and data analytics, expert services and consulting.

Ohjelma
Finnish Timber Oy

Finnish Timber Oy

Ecological log buildings and construction site processes, project business.

Ohjelma
Green Scape

Green Scape

Customized green wall services for B2B clients, service business.

Ohjelma
Marine Craft

Marine Craft

Customized motorboats, project delivery, manufacturing industry.

Ohjelma
Scandinavian Design

Scandinavian Design

Leasing and maintenance of company bicycles, digital services.

Task

Sustainability Themes in Marketing



In this task, the student examines how the case company communicates its sustainability in marketing and what themes are emphasized in the messages. They name examples from different channels, analyze their concreteness and credibility, and assess potential greenwashing risks. Finally, the student makes development suggestions on how the company could communicate its sustainability more openly and effectively. The task deepens the understanding of the content, quality, and impact of responsible marketing on customers.

Learning objectives

After completing the task, the student:
1. Can identify how the case company communicates its sustainability in marketing across different channels.
2. Can distinguish concrete sustainability actions from general image marketing.
3. Can assess the credibility of sustainability communication and identify potential greenwashing risks.
4. Can suggest ways in which the company can communicate its sustainability more clearly and transparently.

Step by step

  1. Sustainability themes in marketing

    Objective:
    The objective of the assignment is that the student is able to identify how the case company communicates its responsibility in marketing and assess the credibility, concreteness and transparency of that communication. The purpose is to learn to distinguish genuine responsibility actions from mere image marketing.

    Materials:

    • The case description of the selected case company from the learning material.

    • The assignment is based on the case description and well-grounded assumptions about what kinds of marketing channels and materials the company is likely to use (e.g. website texts, social media updates, brochures, advertisements), not on browsing real websites or campaigns.

    Assignment steps (instructions for the student):

    1. Briefly describe the case company and its responsibility priorities
      Write 5–8 sentences summarising:

      • what the case company does and in what kind of environment it operates

      • which areas of responsibility (environmental, social, economic) appear to be particularly important to it based on the case description.
        This serves as the background for examining the marketing communication.

    2. Identify responsibility themes in marketing
      Based on the case description, assume 3–5 ways or channels through which the company communicates its responsibility (e.g. social media post, slogan, brochure, in-store message, campaign).
      Briefly describe for each example:

      • in which channel the message appears

      • what the main responsibility theme of the message is (e.g. recycling, locality, employee wellbeing, transparent pricing).

    3. Differentiate between concrete actions and general impressions
      Make a comparison of two lists:

      • Concrete actions: messages in which the company describes clear activities (e.g. “10 percent of raw materials are organic”, “all deliveries are packed in recycled materials”).

      • Impression talk: messages that remain at a general level (e.g. “we care about the environment”, “people first”).
        Write a few sentences about how large a share of the case company’s responsibility communication appears to be concrete and how large a share is image-building.

    4. Evaluate the credibility of the messages
      Choose at least three examples in which the company communicates responsibility, and for each assess:

      • what makes the message credible (e.g. figures, comparisons, certificates, openness about limitations)

      • or what raises doubts (vagueness, exaggeration, missing facts).
        Write a short paragraph (3–5 sentences) for each example and end the paragraph with one sentence in which you assess on a scale “weak – moderate – strong” how credible you would consider the message from the customer’s perspective.

    5. Reflect on the risk of greenwashing and provide development suggestions
      Evaluate in about half a page to what extent there is a risk of greenwashing (exaggeration or one-sided presentation of responsibility) in the case company’s communication.
      Then provide 3–5 development suggestions through which the company could communicate its responsibility:

      • more concretely

      • more transparently (including challenges and unfinished aspects)

      • in a way that better resonates with the target group.

    6. Summarise the key findings
      Finally, write a summary of 5–7 sentences describing:

      • which responsibility themes stand out in the case company’s marketing

      • how credible the company’s responsibility communication appears as a whole

      • what would be the most important change through which marketing could strengthen the credibility of responsibility.

    Submission and evaluation:
    Submit a text of about 1–2 pages showing:

    • a short description of the case company and its responsibility priorities

    • examples of responsibility themes in marketing

    • the distinction between concrete actions and impression talk

    • an assessment of the credibility of the messages and the risk of greenwashing

    • development suggestions and a concise summary.

    Evaluation focuses on how well you:

    • identify and describe the case company’s responsibility themes in marketing

    • are able to assess the concreteness and credibility of the messages from the customer’s perspective

    • reflect on the risk of greenwashing in a balanced way and present practical development suggestions

    • write clearly, in a structured way and based on the case description.

    Recommended working time: approximately 45–60 minutes, individually or in pairs.

Tasks by audience and theme

University of applied sciences

Polytechnics and higher education studies.

68 tasks