Why Execution Matters
The first two parts of this series explored the marketing challenges facing circular organisations and the importance of building credibility with evidence. Yet even with the right strategy, too many ventures stumble at the execution stage. They underestimate the resources, systems, and persistence required to communicate effectively with diverse stakeholder groups.
Execution is where vision meets reality. It is not about producing glossy campaigns or one-off announcements. It is about constructing communication systems that can adapt to different audiences, evolve over time, and sustain credibility as the business grows. For circular economy organisations, execution is as important as innovation itself.
The Execution Gap
Many circular businesses have strong stories. Few have the systems to tell them consistently.
The founder can articulate the vision. But can the sales team? Can the website? Can the investor deck, the procurement response, and the regulatory submission all convey the same credible message? Inconsistency erodes trust. If stakeholders encounter different versions of the story, they wonder which one is true.
Technology as Enabler
Digital tools can help.
AI and IoT enable real-time tracking of emissions and resource use. Blockchain can provide supply chain traceability. Data platforms allow consistent reporting across stakeholder groups.
The investment pays off not just in operational efficiency but in marketing credibility. Real-time data supports dynamic communication. It allows faster responses to stakeholder questions.
Phased Stakeholder Engagement
Circular organisations rarely have the luxury of a single audience. They must communicate simultaneously with investors, regulators, consumers, corporate partners, and supply chain collaborators. Each audience starts from a different level of awareness and moves at a different pace. Attempting to address everyone with the same message almost always fails.
A phased approach works better.
Awareness building comes first. At this stage, the focus is on education and context. Many UK consumers still find circularity abstract. A 2023 Deloitte survey found that over 50% of UK consumers say they want to live more sustainably but do not understand how brands define sustainability. Educational content, accessible impact stories, and thought leadership are essential to closing that gap.
Credibility development follows. Once stakeholders understand the basics, they want evidence. Pilot results, third-party certifications, and transparent progress reports reassure cautious investors, regulators, and potential partners. For example, the Royal Mint published independent validation of its e-waste metals recovery process before scaling up production, which helped build credibility with both policymakers and industry partners.
Adoption support is the final phase. When stakeholders are ready to act, they need integration guides, risk management frameworks, and reporting systems. Without this, even interested partners may hesitate. Celsa Steel UK has succeeded by providing detailed supply chain data that allows construction firms to demonstrate compliance with sustainability standards. This support shifts communication from inspiration to facilitation.
Mapping the Journey
Not all stakeholders start at the same point.
Some investors already understand circular principles. They want financial modelling. Others need education before they can evaluate the opportunity. Some corporate partners are actively seeking circular suppliers. Others have not yet connected circularity to their own sustainability commitments. Mapping these journeys allows you to deliver the right content at the right time. Move stakeholders forward without overwhelming them or leaving them frustrated.
Allocating Resources Effectively
A common barrier to execution is resource allocation. Many circular organisations assume marketing is primarily about promotion, so they allocate the majority of their budget to advertising or events. In practice, that is the least effective spend.
Our experience suggests a different balance:
- Around 40% of resources should be allocated to building the evidence base, including lifecycle assessments and validated impact dashboards.
- Another 30% should support educational content that raises stakeholder literacy.
- About 20% is best spent on relationship development, from strategic partnerships to industry collaborations.
- The remaining 10% can focus on promotional activities.
This may feel counterintuitive, but it reflects the reality that credibility and understanding drive adoption far more than advertising spend. UK data supports this view. Edelman’s Trust Barometer consistently shows that trust in business is earned through transparency and evidence of action, not through traditional marketing.
Showing Return on Investment
B2B stakeholders want to see the numbers.
How does circularity affect the bottom line? Show cost savings from reduced waste. Quantify efficiency gains. Model the value of supply chain resilience.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation and NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business have developed frameworks for quantifying benefits from circular models. These capture value that traditional metrics miss: customer loyalty, risk reduction, and climate resilience.
Use these frameworks. They make the financial case concrete.
Measuring What Really Matters
Execution often fails because organisations measure the wrong things. Traditional marketing metrics such as impressions or click-through rates do not reflect progress in a circular context. What matters is whether stakeholders are moving from awareness to engagement to adoption.
- Better indicators include:
- Progression of stakeholders along the engagement journey
- Uptake of impact dashboards or case study material in stakeholder decision-making
- Development of partnerships, joint ventures, or industry collaborations
- Mentions in policy discussions, regulatory frameworks, or third-party reports
WRAP provides an instructive model. Through the UK Plastics Pact,% it has not only convened more than 100 businesses but also published annual progress reports. These reports do not focus on visibility but on measurable outcomes, such as the 17% reduction in plastic packaging placed on the UK market since 2018. This approach demonstrates accountability and builds confidence among stakeholders.
Leading and Lagging Indicators
Some metrics show immediate change. Others take time.
Brand mentions and sentiment shift quickly. Customer loyalty and financial resilience take longer to demonstrate. Track both. Leading indicators confirm you are on the right path. Lagging indicators prove the destination was worth it. Commit to consistent measurement. Build it into regular reporting cycles. Do not treat it as a one-off exercise.
Lessons From UK Organisations
A circular packaging venture achieved scale not by pouring money into consumer advertising but by forging partnerships with major retailers. Its initial communication was educational, helping consumers understand the scale of plastic waste. Once credibility was established, the company shared pilot results showing reduced single-use plastic across supermarket chains. Adoption accelerated because retailers could see both compliance benefits and consumer engagement.
Celsa Steel UK demonstrates how execution at scale requires robust systems. By investing in communication that highlights its annual recycling of 1.2 million tonnes of scrap metal, the company positions itself not as an environmental outlier but as a dependable supplier aligned with construction industry standards. This framing matters more than promotional slogans because it directly addresses client concerns about risk and compliance.
WRAP’s Plastics Pact shows the power of structured execution at the industry level. By moving stakeholders through awareness, credibility, and adoption in a phased way, WRAP has shifted behaviour across retail and manufacturing sectors. Its reporting system ensures that claims are supported by evidence, while its collaborative framework enables competitors to work together toward shared goals.
The Power of Collaboration
Circular marketing does not have to be a solo effort!
Industry collaborations reduce the cost of building credibility. Shared evidence frameworks, such as those developed by WRAP, allow companies to demonstrate progress within trusted collective structures. This reduces duplication and creates momentum that benefits all participants.
Internal collaboration matters too. Employees who understand circular principles become authentic advocates. They carry the message into customer conversations, supplier negotiations, and informal networks.
Engage your team. Make sure they can articulate what you do and why it matters. Their credibility reinforces yours.
Building Systems That Last
The final challenge is the sustainability of communication itself. Too many circular organisations treat marketing as a campaign-based activity. They launch initiatives with enthusiasm, publish a burst of content, and then struggle to maintain momentum.
Lasting impact requires a system. This begins with a central hub of evidence, the verified data, case studies, and dashboards that underpin every message. From this hub, tailored content can be developed for different audiences. Transparency must be continuous, not occasional. Progress reports, updates, and independent validation should be released as part of an ongoing rhythm.
Execution is not glamorous. It demands discipline, patience, and consistent resource allocation. But it is what transforms a strong strategy and credible story into sustained adoption.
Building a Content Engine
Think of evidence as raw material. From it, you produce content for different audiences and formats.
A lifecycle assessment, for example, can generate an investor summary, a customer case study, a technical specification, and a press release. The same verified data, shaped for different needs.
Build the hub first. Invest in verified, defensible evidence. LCA data. Third-party certifications. Audited impact metrics. Then develop the production system that turns this into stakeholder-specific content.
This approach is more efficient than starting from scratch for each audience. And it ensures consistency. Every piece of communication traces back to the same source of truth.
Moving Forward
The circular economy is a powerful idea. But it will not succeed on inspiration alone. To scale, organisations must execute marketing with the same rigour they apply to innovation and operations. By phasing stakeholder engagement, allocating resources intelligently, measuring progress with the right indicators, and embedding communication as a system, circular businesses can build the trust needed to move beyond early enthusiasm.
The organisations that will define the next decade of the circular economy are not simply those with the most inventive models. They are those who execute communication with credibility, discipline, and resilience.
Where to Start
Review your current resource allocation. How much goes to evidence building versus promotion?
Map your stakeholder journeys. Identify where each group sits on the awareness-to-adoption spectrum.
Then build the hub. Start with your strongest evidence. A lifecycle assessment. A third-party audit. Verified impact data. Make it defensible. Make it accessible. Make it the foundation of everything else.
If you need help building evidence-based circular economy communications, get in touch.
