Green don't sell Why Sustainability Alone Fails: The Real Rules of Green Marketing

by Susini, Walter

• ISBN13: 9791281627734
• ISBN10: 1281627739
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2026-04-01
• Publisher: EGEA Spa - Bocconi University Press
• More Book Details

Summary

Sustainability has long been framed through sacrifice and fear, while marketing thrives on optimism and desire. What if the tools that make brands irresistible could also make sustainability impossible to ignore? This book argues that sustainability fails not for lack of urgency but because of ineffective narratives. Apocalyptic warnings paralyze rather than mobilize. To change behavior, we must shift from guilt to stories that tap into people’ s hopes and emotions. Drawing on marketing strategy, consumer behavior, and psychology, Walter Susini proposes a new paradigm: storybounting— creating abundant, engaging narratives that drive action and shape habits. Combining insights from global executives and thirty years of experience, Green Sells offers a roadmap for aligning motivation science with sustainability ethics, making the sustainable choice not just right— but desirable.

Author Biography

is a seasoned marketing executive with 30 years of international experience across marketing, advertising, consulting, and entrepreneurship. Current Professor of Practice of Marketing at SDA Bocconi School of Management and Senior Advisor to McKinsey & Company for global marketing & sales practice, he also advises CMOs of leading global companies — including Pfizer, Luxottica, KDP and Coca-Cola Hellenic — on marketing transformation, commercial excellence, and capability building. Susini serves on the boards of two private equity– owned companies in Europe and Latin America.

Table of Contents

Introduction – Why Sustainability Needs Better Stories From Storytelling to Storybounting: Rethinking Narratives for Impact The Failure of Fear: Why Doom and Guilt Don’ t Change Behavior The Power of Desire: Making Sustainability Irresistible From Awareness to Action: Closing the Intention– Action Gap Rewards and Habits: Designing the Path to Long-Term Adoption Beyond Greenwashing and Greenhushing: Building Trust Through Narrative ROI Cross-Stakeholder Strategies: Business, Policy, and Civil Society Practical Playbooks: Tools, Templates, and KPIs for Storybounting Conclusion – A Manifesto for Abundant Narratives PEOPLE INTERVIEWED Affrique, Antoine de Saint- (CEO Danone Group) Beaufils, Benoit (Founding Partner Innate Motion) Behar, Marcelo (Former VP of Sustainability and Group Affairs Natura &Co) Bigio, Gaston (Co-Founder and Creative Chairman GUT) Bondolowski Cristina (Chief Marketing and communication officer MSCI) Botti, Simona (Professor of Marketing, London Business School) Brook, Penny (CMO The Body Shop) Corsi, Patricia (Chief Growth Officer Kimberly-Clark) Jones, David (Founder and CEO, The Brandtech Group) Jope, Alan (Former CEO Unilever) Laurentino, André “ Dede” (Chief Creative Officer Ogilvy UK) Manfredi, Alessandro (Former Global CMO Dove) Mathieu, Marc (Former SVP Web3 Studio & Strategic Customer Transformation & Innovation, Salesforce) Pereira, PJ (Co-Founder and Creative Chairman Pereira O’ Dell) Schelstraete, Peter (Co-Founder Ubuntoo) Simmons, Virginia (Senior Partner McKinsey) Smith, Brian (Former President and COO, The Coca-Cola Company) Todescan Mattos, Paulo (Co-founder, Managing partner IG4 Capital) Van Gompel, Bruno (Former VP Technical, Innovation and Supply Chain for Western Europe, Coca-Cola) Zerbini, Fabrizio (Professor of Practice – SDA Bocconi)