At this year’s Cannes Lions Festival, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) unveiled a new initiative poised to shift how brands think about growth and purpose — particularly in emerging markets like Africa. The CMO Blueprint for Sustainable Growth, launched by the UNGC’s CMO Think Lab, offers a detailed roadmap for chief marketing officers (CMOs) to embed sustainability into business strategy, brand identity, and long-term innovation.
Framed as both a call to action and a practical guide, the Blueprint aims to help marketing leaders become central agents in their company’s sustainability transition. UNGC CEO Sanda Ojiambo, a Kenyan herself, emphasized the urgency of this shift. “It reflects the collective insight and ambition of marketing leaders around the world who are ready to lead businesses toward a more just, inclusive and resilient future,” she said during the launch.
The framework is built around five strategic pillars: growth strategy, brand building, innovation, communications and media, and partnerships. It is supported by an online knowledge hub that showcases global tools, benchmarks, and case studies — designed to help marketers integrate environmental and social priorities into the very fabric of their operations.
What does this mean for Africa?
Across the continent, marketing teams have increasingly been pulled into conversations about ESG, climate finance, and inclusive branding, yet many operate in silos, lacking a cohesive strategy. As sustainable finance begins to flow into Africa — with over $24 billion directed toward ESG-aligned investments last year, brands that can effectively communicate their impact stand to benefit. The CMO Blueprint offers a pathway to do just that.
In South Africa, for instance, Nedbank, one of the Blueprint’s launch partners — is already showcasing how local institutions can lead on brand-led sustainability. Meanwhile, marketing leaders in Nigeria and Kenya are exploring how sustainability narratives can attract Gen Z consumers and international partners who prioritize impact. However, these efforts remain fragmented, and accountability is often weak.
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The Blueprint encourages marketers to go beyond green campaigns and surface-level messaging. Instead, it urges them to become architects of long-term resilience — aligning their communications with measurable ESG outcomes and working alongside operations, finance, and product teams.
Simon Cook, CEO of the Cannes Lions Festival, called marketing’s influence “a powerful tool for reshaping business around values that matter,” noting that sustainability can no longer sit at the margins of branding decisions.
For Africa’s marketing professionals, this launch comes at a time of both great risk and opportunity. The continent’s young, digitally connected population is demanding more transparency from brands. At the same time, foreign investors are scrutinizing African companies through an ESG lens. The blueprint may offer a much-needed compass for navigating this complex landscape.
Its success, however, will depend on adoption. As the global marketing community engages with the Blueprint this week in Cannes, African CMOs now face a crucial decision: remain reactive, or lead the sustainability conversation from the front. If the latter, this could mark a turning point, not just for African marketing, but for how African business tells its story to the world.
