Stakeholder Engagement: Sustainability and ESG
Stakeholders and potential investors are focusing more and more on sustainability, CSR (Corporate, Social, Responsibility) and ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) as part of their assessment of a company’s viability.
Organisations should seize the opportunity to showcase and implement their CSR, ESG and sustainability goals in all their corporate communications.
Organisations should consider a deeper integration of the company’s ESG goals and results into the narrative of their annual report for instance, rather than relying on it being a separate section within the report.
Highlighting the non-financial goals as part of the sustainability, ESG and CSR activities can be woven into the report’s main narrative. Consider the use of case studies, these can be focused on internal activities, supply chain or client-facing stories.
For instance; investing in people. Explain your personal development plans, diversity goals and equal pay policy. Once defined, clearly illustrate these over a time period so that stakeholders can easily track progress and clearly see the results
These can be presented by tracking and comparing progress using non-financial KIPs, detailing strategy against delivery, as well as planning for the future.
Each goal should be defined and incorporated into the corporate strategy, forming one of the organisation’s strategic ‘pillars’. These pillars and the strategy should inform and underpin the values of the organisation. It makes for a far more compelling message and delivers a broader, more holistic message to stakeholders and potential investors.
In a sentence; you are what you do.
The strategy and goals will depend on the company’s activities and structure and could include anything from inclusivity, ie. gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity and social background to delivering net zero by setting a plan to lower water consumption, reducing waste, increasing recycling, lowering emission and reducing energy use.
A case study might include a director-level vision and strategy or a reformed and improved supply chain procurement policy.
Perhaps on a staff level a case study might explain how, after consultation with suppliers and the management team how Jeff might buy print and paper that is not just FSC accredited, but recycled, uses vegetable inks, has a carbon offset (paper purchase), avoids cotton content, is fully recyclable and eschew finishing techniques that make recycling difficult, if not impossible. Lamination is a case in point.
The opportunities are there for the taking. All that any organisation needs to realise is the opportunity and apply the resource and the will to explore these avenues. The barrier is often the internal resources.
If internal resources are not available, we have the team and skills to help organisations communicate these important messages and practices. It could be as simple as a telephone ‘interview’ or a wider development of a ‘transformation plan’.
These ‘new’ or developed messages and the processes involved, need not be expensive or time-consuming and can – and should – be developed over the years. But it is important to recognise that the world is moving on and stakeholders are expecting to see a deeper understanding of the wider company ethos and activities in this space.
What is a transformation plan? It is the foundation of an organisation’s strategy. It should define CSR, ESG and sustainability goals. Simply put:
What have been defined as your corporate, social responsibility goals? What have you delivered? What are your aims?
What is your strategy and framework for your ESG, how does governance define these goals and how are they being implemented?
What is your sustainability strategy and KPIs?
A transformation plan should include these stratagems, but there is scope for more.
Lastly, it is very easy to rely on an annual report to communicate these messages, but again, this is an opportunity lost. These values and strategies are just as important to potential employees, staff and ‘middle management’.
So whilst an annual report may be the primary channel for the delivery of these messages, consider a wider comms strategy. Below is a list of the channels that these messages and strategies could, and should be considered.
Channels for delivery
Reports
Annual reports
Sustainability reports
ESG report
Gender pay gap reports
Corporate presentations (eg. PowerPoint)
Digital
Websites
One page microsites
E-comms
Social media
Video presentations
The opportunities are vast and the tangible results are there for the taking. As it stands most organisations that we are working for (not all) have yet to capitalise on the benefits.
This provides a landscape for organisations to move into a place of being market leaders and the spokesmen or spokeswomen for any given market.
When you compare this to a PR budget that might deliver some of the same results, it is a no-brainer.