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There has been a rise in the number of companies facing backlash for misleading public-facing sustainability initiatives. Greenwashing has fast become a serious offence in the corporate landscape. Legislation to monitor brand messaging relating to sustainability, and the scale of potential fines for falling foul of said rules, mean greenwashing is now a serious matter for businesses.
This is before we’ve even considered the fallout a business could face from key audiences following such an infringement, which could be even more damaging in the longer term.
In turn, this has subsequently led to a rise in greenhushing – a practice which sees companies opting not to publish their activity under ESG workstreams for fear of scrutiny. But there are risks associated with staying silent too...
Without ongoing and evidenced sustainable business practices, the future of business as well as the survival of the planet is at stake. The more businesses see their competitors engaging in well-thought-out ESG-based communications, the greater the pressure will be to act in kind.
Having effective ESG communications isn’t just a box ticking exercise. It now has a real effect on client preference, brand loyalty and, ultimately, your bottom line.
Now, as many as 82% of consumers want to have their own brand values aligned with those of the brands they use and the products they purchase and consume. This alignment is replicated in the B2B landscape too, including between agencies and clients. But, as the rise in greenhushing and greenwashing claims show, there is a fine line to tow when it comes to your ESG communications.
What is meant by ‘ESG communications’ will vary considerably from business to business, meaning there is no one-size fits all approach. However, the bedrock of all communications relating to corporate sustainability, ESG credentials or the impact of a product or service should be transparency and authenticity. You can’t create trust and respect out of nothing, they have to be built and earned. As such, your ESG principles and policies need to chime with the DNA of your company, as well as being factually accurate, substantiated and – where relevant – externally validated.
Incorporating ESG into business decisions and planning in this way is likely to involve the support of external consultants, able to guide businesses on evolving standards and frameworks. For smaller businesses, there are numerous specifically designed tools such as the SME Climate Business Hub, as well as consultants who are experts in supporting SMEs.
Specialist outside assistance can help you cut through the noise and hone in on a framework and approach that best aligns with your business and its long-term sustainability goals. When it comes to ESG marketing and communications, it is these frameworks, along with your responses and actions that dictate your stance and your messaging development.
It’s critical to work with specialists who understand how sustainable strategies can be folded into PR and communications efforts, and are willing and able to ask potentially difficult questions to anticipate greenwashing risks.
Language is critical in ESG communications. The final area where outside help can be of the most benefit is to ensure that you and your business are using the most recent and relevant language and terminology. Not everyone needs to understand the difference between carbon neutral, carbon negative and carbon positive, but anyone involved in creating communications assets should at least be able to identify these terms and when they may have been used incorrectly.
From the outset of determining an ESG strategy to developing and evolving your communications about these activities, the voices of various stakeholders will be essential. Internal and external actors from leadership teams to customer and local communities should not be seen only as end audiences but also creators of the strategy and its communication.
These groups and more will be the ones judging the tone and quality of your ESG content. We’ve mentioned above that ESG strategies are only effective if built on transparency. When you’ve reached a stage when communications around ESG strategies are ready to share, they should already have been tested and discussed with multiple stakeholders.
With your mission, goals and plan of action defined, then it’s time to start thinking about how you can demonstrate and communicate your ESG efforts. But it can be difficult to work out from the inside which elements of an ESG plan are suited to external communication.
This is where working with a trusted public relations partner will add true value. An experienced PR partner can act as a filter through which initiatives and updates can all be made public, through a variety of channels. Here we briefly cover earned, content marketing and paid:
Content marketing: you may think of lengthy ESG reports when considering content relating to ESG. These of course have a place and are obligatory for many businesses. However, they should not be seen as the only option or as a one off annual report. Regularly publishing updates on your ESG journey, through your owned channels is a good way to demonstrate your progress and frame your activity, within the wider context of your business.
Authoritative content can help you build authority within your industry and sector, it can strengthen your brand and the overall position of your business, as well as build SEO standings and bring more traffic to your site.
Content marketing of this nature is not a short-term project, and should be integrated into wider ESG communications and content planning. It must be treated as an ongoing effort, to yield the benefits and results that effective content marketing may bring.
Boost with paid: another way of helping your content marketing and ESG efforts to reach wider audiences is to use paid media to boost your messages. A well-targeted piece of native content can engage and resonate with an audience, without running the risk of feeling too disruptive or intrusive. But, like with content marketing, building a paid strategy around your content takes time and effort. Building audience overlays, AB testing creative content and copy and testing and learning is a constant activity, irrespective of the subject matter.
The ideas and strategies above are just some of the ways you can demonstrate sustainable strategies to stakeholders. They also contribute towards increasing brand loyalty and attracting talent, and support efforts towards a happier and healthy planet.
With transparency and authenticity at the heart of your ESG communications, you can effectively integrate ESG messaging within wider communications, marketing and PR. Building your ESG comms strategy on these foundational blocks will give you the ideal grounding to creating meaningful ESG-led comms that can affect meaningful change in your industry.
