SUSTAINABLE MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS: ESSENCE, FUNCTIONS AND MODERN IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS

The relevance of the selected topic is determined by the growing role of sustainable development in shaping modern models of enterprises’ marketing activities and the increasing public attention to the environmental, social, and ethical responsibility of business. This necessitates the transformation of traditional marketing communications toward ensuring transparency, reliability, ethical principles, and long-term interaction with stakeholders. The insufficient systematization of contemporary approaches to interpreting the essence of sustainable marketing communications, their functions, and implementation tools determines the need for a comprehensive scientific analysis of this issue. The purpose of the study is to provide a theoretical substantiation of the essence of sustainable marketing communications, identify their key characteristics, functions, and implementation tools, as well as analyze modern approaches to organizing companies’ communication activities in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. The object of the study is the system of enterprise marketing communications under the conditions of implementing sustainable development principles. The objectives of the study include analyzing modern scientific approaches to interpreting the concept of sustainable marketing communications, identifying their main functions and characteristics, and examining modern implementation tools and trends in the transformation of communication activities in line with sustainability principles. The methodological basis of the study consists of the works of domestic and foreign scholars in the field of marketing communications, international regulatory documents, and the use of a set of general scientific and special research methods, including analysis and synthesis, comparison, systematization, and generalization. As a result of the study, the essence of sustainable marketing communications has been substantiated as an integrated system of communication interaction between a company and various stakeholders regarding the economic, environmental, and social aspects of its activities, within which both the content of communication messages and the very process of organizing and implementing communications are based on the principles of sustainable development and aimed at creating long-term value for business, society, and the environment. Their main characteristics and functions have been identified, and modern implementation tools have been analyzed, including non-financial reporting, green advertising, eco-branding, eco-labeling, content marketing, and stakeholder engagement communications. It has been established that the modern development of sustainable marketing communications is associated with the transition to digital and low-carbon communication practices, the implementation of ethical management of communication activities, the development of radical transparency principles, and the responsible use of personal data. The obtained results may be used in the practice of developing enterprise marketing strategies, advancing sustainable marketing communications, improving corporate sustainability policies, and conducting further scientific research in the field of marketing communications.