As much as it is a scientific, technological or political problem, climate change is a communications problem—as celebrated broadcast journalist and natural historian David Attenborough has said.

And when it comes to business and culture, marketers are the some of most highly trained and influential forces of communication.

With that in mind, Adweek’s 2023 sustainability honor aims to highlight the people shaping the way marketers think, talk and act regarding climate change. These people are charting the path forward for the marketing community when it comes to sustainability issues. They’re must-follows for our community.

The award will honor one person from each of the following five categories:

• Chief marketer: This leader is redefining the role to weave sustainability into the fabric of their business. They have a strong understanding of where sustainability-themed marketing can go wrong and are using innovative strategies while constantly shrinking their corporate climate footprint. Their work is producing measurable results while reducing climate impact.
• Agency lead: This agency head is positioning their firm to serve not just as a high-level creative and strategic partner, but also offering up sustainable business expertise to help clients make better choices around branding, creative and digital campaigns.
• Activist: This person is challenging the industry to think differently about its response to climate change—and having an impact. They don’t shy away from the complexities that climate change is creating for the business world, and is working alongside the ad industry to help the sector play a productive role in the fight against global warming while also successfully adapting to our climate reality.
• Marketing community leader: This person is working to mobilize the marketing industry from the inside—but without the title of CMO or agency head. This leader might be connecting creatives within the agency world with sustainability-related education opportunities, or a brand marketer supporting mid-level professionals as they navigate the complexities of greenwashing, greenhushing, greencrowding and every other buzzword in sustainability-related marketing.
• Entrepreneur: This leader is building a new way of doing business that’s revolutionizing their respective sector with an impact-driven brand. This could be someone creating a new form of textile recycling, a better and more affordable heat pump, a more efficient cloud platform for businesses or a new way of shipping that saves space and fuel.

Please submit nominations by Monday, Feb. 27.

Adweek will make final decisions with the help of an external panel of experts, and honorees will be featured in our April sustainability-themed digital package.