CBID Conversation with Tessa Clarke

In 1970, a bipartisan movement launched Earth Day to raise awareness of pollution and inspire action for a cleaner environment. Today, Earth Month is recognized in 190 countries, and PMG remains committed to sustainability. As part of these efforts, we recently welcomed Olio co-founder and CEO Tessa Clarke to share her journey with us through our ‘DIG In’ speaker series.

U.K.-based Olio is an app with eight million users in 63 countries that tackles the climate crisis by reducing household and community waste; it connects neighbors and volunteers with local businesses, helping people give away rather than throw away spare food and household items. With over 130,000 volunteers, Olio partners with major retailers like Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Asda to redistribute unsold food.

In her talk, Tessa shared the behind-the-scenes story of how Olio went from a proof of concept via WhatsApp to a global movement, the implications of the sustainability imperative for our global economy, and specific learnings for marketers around how to harness the power of behavior change to drive action at scale.

“We cannot recycle our way out of this [climate] mess; instead, we need to do something far braver, far bolder, far more transformative.”

Tessa shared her POV on how we need to replace the current model of consumption, which is to buy new items. Instead, she called for humanity to utilize the resources that already exist. Our team heard Tessa’s call to action loud and clear, and ideas are already working towards becoming action plans to make PMG even more sustainable.

Thank you, Tessa, for sharing your passion and story with us!