15 years of trying to do what’s right – now we’re ‘Next’

Since we founded in 2010, GoodSense has established, and done our best to show leadership in, best-practice in marketing sustainability. Now we’re on the Next List, as the only marketing and communications sector business among 119 Sustainable Business Award finalists in 2025.  This article is a copy of our award entry, edited slightly for context.

A quick introduction – marketing leadership

GoodSense is a Certified B Corporation and we have endeavoured to set high standards in the ethical marketing of sustainability and to play a role in nurturing the entire new sector of sustainability marketing in Aotearoa NZ. Some of our achievements include delivering services to support the growth of 300 more sustainable organisations, initiating and delivering free training for 15 years, calling out greenwash and calling for higher ethical standards in the wider marketing sector, advocating for tino rangatiratanga, and taking a stand by being the first communications or marketing company in Aotearoa to Comms Declare we don’t and won’t support fossil fuel companies.

The purpose and focus that drives us

At GoodSense, we only use marketing as a force for good. This means we work with organisations whose products or services benefit nature or people, as well as their bottom line. With them, we’re reinventing marketing to grow a healthier, fairer, zero-carbon world.

Our Theory of Change is that our impact should lead to reduced greenhouse gas emission, reduced inequality and an improved natural environment through the client work we support.  Every decision about projects we take on has that as its goal. Our focus is on working to advance ‘Horizon 3’ opportunities and on creating the kind of economy we all need to thrive.

We understand the power marketing and communications have and we work to redirect that potential to cultivating success among organisations that have sustainability at the core. We take every opportunity to challenge others in our sector to do better, advocating for the public good.

As a team, we see marketing and communications, disciplines that have been used to foster unsustainable consumerism and extractive capitalism, as essential skills for change agents.

Our processes centre co-design because that means we can transfer skills to our clients, increasing their capacity to work for good without us.

It also means we freely share our expertise for the good of the sustainability movement overall and to grow the capability of other marketers and communicators.  We take every opportunity to be outspoken in support of the highest standards of ethical marketing and to counter greenwash.

Some key initiatives and actions

In November 2024, GoodSense became the first marketing and communications company in Aotearoa to Comms Declare that we don’t and won’t support the fossil fuel industry.  We joined 100 Australian organisations declaring themselves fossil fuel free.  Our leadership was covered in nationwide business media; Campaign Brief and Stop Press.

In the last five years alone, we’ve partnered with 20 organisations to deliver free capability building to increase practitioner skills in marketing sustainability, including with SCANZ, WeALL NZ, Toitū, The Marketing Association, The Lifecycle Assessment Association, NZTE, Buy Pure NZ, The Hirschberg Entrepreneurship Institute, B Lab AANZ and the B Local Wellington and Tāmaki Makaurau Communities, the University of Auckland and Massey University, OANZ, Carbon and Energy Professionals, The Kitchen Project, The Social Enterprise World Forum, Regional capability organisations including Wellington NZ, Waikato Impact Hub, Tātahi Auckland and Tasman Bay Guardians and the Sustainable Business Network.

You can see more about our 15 year track record in growing capability for the sector through sharing what we know on our website, under ‘Sharing What We Know’.

GoodSense has worked consistently with journalists to cover greenwash and promote good practice in sustainability marketing and ethical standards for our sector, with our advocacy being covered by Newstalk ZB, The Project (TV3), NZ Listener, Stuff, RNZ (Checkpoint and The Detail) in the last five years.

We’ve lodged successful formal complaints to the Commerce Commission and the Advertising Standards Authority about greenwash – against Dole – and advertising that contravenes the rules on environmental harm – against Audi.  In both cases the campaigns were withdrawn.

On LinkedIn, we use our reach to share best practices and bring an inspiring challenger voice in support of better marketing industry standards for ethics and sustainability.

Our founder and MD, Katherine Dewar, has been a voluntary judge for the Mindful Money Awards – media category (2021 to 2023) – and the Sustainable Business Network Awards (2017 to 2020 and 2010 to 2012), helping champion high standards in the sector and celebrate success.

We became a Certified B Corporation in July 2022 and in July 2025 we have re-Certified with an increased Impact Assessment Score.   B Corp certification confirms that a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability and transparency on social and environmental factors.

Sustainability Marketing Achievements

Through our work with 300 client organisations over the past 15 years, we have had a positive impact across all the Sustainable Development Goals and all segments of Kate Raworth’s wellbeing economy doughnut.  By advancing their success we achieve our vision. We report in detail on this impact, client by client, as part of our B Corp Assessment. This assessment is reviewed and audited by B Lab AANZ.

Between our first B Corp Certification in July 2022, and our recertification in July 2025 we increased our B Corp Overall Impact Assessment Score from 90.4 to 94.6.  To put this increase into perspective, a score of 80 Qualifies for B Corp Certification and 50.9 is Median Score for ordinary businesses.

He Whenua Rongo participants, 20204

We achieve results for our clients that they celebrate publicly, ranging from hundreds of instances of media coverage for the Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge, to increased sales channel effectiveness for eHaus, to sold-out events for SBC, WeALL NZ and Papawhakaritorito Trust.

You can see examples of our successful projects for clients, with client testimonials and impact summaries, in our case studies.

We’ve been upskilling others in our sector since had our guide to greenwash published by Good Magazine in 2009, instigated, developed and delivered the first green marketing course for the University of Auckland, Professional Development Unit in 2009 and 2010,  and since we instigated and delivered the first ever green marketing and greenwash business workshop in NZ, for the SBN, in 2010.

It all stacks up to 15 years of leading change.

Thankyou Sustainable Business Network volunteer judges for including GoodSense among the finalists for Transformational Leadership in the 2025 Next Awards.

Let us know if you’d like to talk

Whatever your scale or stage, if your organisation is doing good things for people or the rest of nature we can help you get your marketing strategy sussed.  If you’re a funder, Board member or investor, and you aren’t sure if the organisations you support have their marketing or communications strategy sorted, we can help.  Get in touch today for a free, no pressure, confidential chat with one of our GoodSense Associates. We’d love to help.