Only 36 per cent of chief marketing officers (CMOs) in Europe say their company is measuring the environmental impact of their marketing, says a study by Xerox.

Its new research, ‘Marketing Success’, surveyed European CMOs and chief financial officers (CFOs) about steps being taken to monitor and reduce their marketing’s carbon footprint.

The majority of CFOs said there was little drive within their businesses to reduce the environmental impact of their marketing activity: in Germany 74 per cent of respondents agreed with that statement, in the UK 70 per cent, France 67 per cent, Spain 61 per cent, Italy 59 per cent and the Netherlands 54 per cent.

UK respondents showed more optimism looking to the future, with 74 per cent of CMOs agreeing that measuring the environmental impact of their marketing was growing in importance, compared to only 45 per cent in France and 51 per cent in Germany.

Peter Romaine, director and general manager for Xerox global services, Xerox UK, said: “This is a disturbing result as the research also shows that 36 per cent of CMOs across Europe say their company is measuring the environmental impact of their marketing and only one in five in the UK has targets to hit. While the survey suggests that measurement is getting more important, we believe progress to be slow.

“Companies need to address environmental issues right across the business – including the marketing department.”