Sarah Cragg, the former Asia Pacific head of impact and advocacy at ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s, has been appointed to run a new sustainability practice for marketing agency MullenLowe.
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She takes on the role of practice lead, MullenLowe Sustainability, which is part of marketing group MullenLowe. She will be based in Singapore, and report into the group’s PR arm, MullenLowe salt.
The new unit will offer services including industry and competitor assessment, sustainability report writing, internal and external communications and partnership brokering.
It launches two months after rival marketing agency Grey launched a dedicated sustainability practice, at a time when businesses are keen to communicate their sustainability credentials amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
MullenLowe salt has worked with a range of companies to support their sustainability activity, including Ben & Jerry’s owner Unilever, Syngenta, PepsiCo, Asia Pacific Breweries, UN Global Compact Network Singapore, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and Kaer.
Cragg told Eco-Business: “In most industries, we have the technological solutions we need to solve climate change but the problem is changing systems, behaviours and mindsets to bring about the widespread change we need – and while communications alone cannot make this happen, it can be a powerful means of instigating or accelerating this change.”
She added that her agency is not afraid to ask the difficult questions of a potential client or challenge their motivations. “We have no interest in helping companies to greenwash,” she said.
“As a B Corporation and as passionate sustainability advocates, we’re only interested in working with brands and businesses who genuinely want to become better, not just appear better.”
Cragg takes on the role after more than four years as Ben & Jerry’s head of impact and advocacy for Asia Pacific and new markets. The job involved working with brand managers to identify topical local issues and forging partnerships with local civic society groups to develop social and environmental campaigns.
Cragg is also the current chair of the sustainability and responsibility committee at the British Chamber of Commerce in Singapore.
