Is it possible to use generative AI ethically in your B Corp marketing?

Generative AI is now impossible to ignore. Since ChatGPT launched in November 2022 – hasn’t that time flown by? – LinkedIn has become awash with generative AI content, entire advertising campaigns are being generated by AI, and it’s a daily topic of conversation. And no-one seems to have the right answers about how it should be used from an ethical perspective, or how it’s going to change the world of work.

As purpose-driven businesses, B Corps are questioning the ethics of using generative AI more so than others. And rightly so. GenAI has been called the steam engine of the fourth industrial revolution. It is reshaping jobs, organisations and lives.

In this blog I’ll refer specifically to generative AI – a type of artificial intelligence that is based on large language models, diffusion models and others to generate text, images, video and more.

Generative AI is increasingly being used by marketers for research, analysis, copywriting, image and video creation and countless other uses. According to Gartner, this year 30% of outbound marketing messages from large organisations will be synthetically generated.

That’s huge, and who knows what the next decade will look like for us marketers.

There are several factors we need to consider when discussing the use of genAI for B Corp marketing – both environmental and ethical.

The environmental question: Can genAI ever be sustainable?

It’s well talked about that generative AI uses a significant amount of power for training models. However, it’s worth saying that there is very little in the traditional business world as we know it that is truly sustainable.

Training and running inference of machine learning models currently takes massive computing power, which translates to high energy consumption and significant carbon emissions. There’s also the footprint generated by building the hardware. A 2024 study in Frontiers of Environmental Science and Engineering estimated that major AI systems could emit more than 102 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year- that’s a huge amount.

Water consumption is also a big problem. Research from the University of California has shown that processing between 10 to 50 ChatGPT queries consumes approximately two litres of water, because of the amount of cooling that is needed by data centres from all the compute power generated.

Carbon tunnel vision

However, in my opinion there is a danger that we are applying carbon tunnel vision when talking about using generative AI tools. This means that we only look at one facet of using generative AI: its energy and resource usage, and not the impact of its output.

What do you think is more positively impactful?

- A micro marketing agency using genAI to create a campaign for one of its clients which encourages people to buy less, and buy better. The campaign reaches 50,000 people in one month, and 500 of these cancel their Amazon Prime subscription.
- A micro marketing agency that does not use genAI to create the campaign reaches 25,000 people, and 200 of them cancel their Amazon Prime subscription.

The difference here is about the outcome. If harnessed for good, with positive influence, the impact is likely to be a multitude bigger than if not used at all.

For B Corp marketers committed to reducing their carbon footprint, it’s worth being discerning about how you’re using AI. Do you need to use it for every task, or will a Google search do? It’s also worth seeking out AI tools powered by renewable energy or working with providers prioritising sustainability. China’s DeepSeek is developing AI models that use less energy than traditional systems – proof that ‘better’ AI solutions are emerging.

For more on this topic, take a look at Harvard Business Review’s blog.

Data privacy and security

AI is built and trained on our data, but if that data comes from people who haven’t explicitly opted in, it’s a moral problem. Transparency and trust are core to the B Corp mission, so ethical AI use could mean:

Implementing privacy policies that align with GDPR and other regulations
Choosing tools that prioritise anonymous or consent-based data collection
Being upfront about how customer data is used and always offering an opt-out

WIRED has written this useful guide on how to stop your data from being used to train AI, while artists can search Have I Been Trained? to see if their work has been used in ML models.

Bias and fairness

AI models are only as fair as the data they’re trained on, and if that data is unbalanced, AI can reinforce harmful biases. To ensure inclusivity:

Audit content generated from AI regularly to catch and correct bias
Try different inputs: Ask an AI tool questions that reflect different cultural, regional, or demographic perspectives. If it struggles or gives biased responses, its training data may lack diversity. This could be a problem when creating inclusive advertising campaigns for example
Partner with AI providers who prioritise ethical AI principles in their development – for example, the team at Anthropic is working to try and put fairness, inclusivity and ethics at the heart of its model Claude

Transparency and accountability

People expect honesty from brands, and to earn their trust we need to uphold this value. When AI is at the forefront of creating marketing strategies and executing tactics without adequate input from us, the humans, we need to be upfront about it. Us B Corps can lead the way by:

Disclosing when AI has been used
Making sure humans are overseeing and analysing output to correct mistakes, biases and to ensure the content aligns with brand values
Regularly reviewing AI-driven processes to uphold ethical integrity

Ethical AI in B Corp marketing: Be thoughtful, and seek balance

GenAI is an incredibly impressive and powerful tool, but like any tool, it’s about how you use it. For B Corps, ethical AI means prioritising sustainability, fairness, transparency, and privacy. For me, the most important thing to bear in mind is to keep a human at the heart of any work generated by AI. AI needs to support, rather than replace decision-making.

It’s also important to be responsible about when you use AI and as mentioned above, consider when a simple Google search might prove just as effective.

Used thoughtfully, generative AI can help B Corp marketing teams amplify their mission, build deeper customer relationships, and – the thing we all care about the most – making a bigger, positive impact in the world.

To summarise:

Use GenAI as a creative tool, but don’t take its output at face value – always apply critical thinking and be mindful of over-reliance
Develop a clear GenAI policy for your marketing team to ensure ethical, strategic, and responsible usage
Prioritise privacy and data protection by aligning with GDPR, using consent-based data collection, and educating users on how to protect their data
Mitigate AI bias and ensure fairness by testing responses with varied inputs, and auditing content regularly for inclusivity
Work with ethical AI providers that prioritise fairness, inclusivity, and responsible AI development, such as Anthropic’s Claude model
Maintain transparency and accountability by disclosing AI usage, ensuring human oversight, and regularly reviewing AI-driven processes to uphold ethical integrity

B Corps can lead the way in responsible AI use, setting standards for transparency, fairness, and ethical AI-driven marketing.

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For more on this topic

How are you using AI in your business? I’d love to hear more. Email me at maria@soleilmarketing.co.uk.

Some parts of this blog post were developed using generative AI. See our genAI policy for more details.