It feels like almost every day a brand announces new Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) commitments and targets or a purpose-related strategy.
From climate change to a living wage, businesses increasingly want to reach audiences with their ESG story.
But not only is there lots of competition for attention, there can also be plenty of cynicism and scepticism about the subjects and heightened awareness of greenwashing.
And we are seeing organisations row back on targets. Unilever has scaled back some of its commitments, including on plastics and diversity. Volvo has abandoned its 2030 EV-only target. And the National Farmers Union is warning plans to make farming net zero by 2040 may not be achieved.
How can you overcome these ESG challenges and reach and convince your audience?
This was the topic of our latest masterclass for members of the Media Team Academy – our learning and development programme for comms professionals.
James White, our managing director, was joined by sustainability and business journalist - and podcast host - Tom Idle.
And by Adam Fisher, our content editor, who has previously worked as a journalist and comms manager.
They began by exploring why it is all about ESG now rather than sustainability.
“In sustainability, this happens every few years where we seem to have a new term or acronym,” Tom said.
“When I started, it was all about corporate responsibility.
“Then it became corporate social responsibility. And then there was the all-encompassing sustainability term, which is still bubbling away.
“But ESG has taken over now. There is a big focus on governance, driven by the increased interest and awareness among the investor community. They want some guarantees and confidence companies are not only going to say they will do the right things but have polices in place to ensure they stay on the straight and narrow.”
Tom believes ESG storytelling has become trickier.
“The feeling out there is that tacking sustainability and communicating what you are doing is getting harder,” he said.
“This is because the value of sustainability has increased, so it is more valuable to get it right.
“And there is more scrutiny – consumers, investors, and stakeholders are more aware. We are told more and more that when people are going for jobs, they are looking at the sustainability credentials of the business they might want to work for.
“It is also a nervous landscape. People are scared about saying the wrong thing or not quite getting it right. Five or so years ago, there was more of a boldness to experiment with messaging and telling stories.”
What are the common mistakes organisations make?
Tom said: “Many organisations get sidetracked by data and numbers, partly because they have so much of it now.
“There is a temptation to use the data you’ve got and think that because you have it, that is the story you should tell.
“But sometimes, the more meaningful stories that resonate and connect with the audience might not have any quantitative data. It might be anecdotal or qualitative.”
Adam added: “As we always say during our media training courses, people love stories about other people. That is what will resonate. That is what will draw people into what you have to say.
“And then you can back that up with facts and figures.
“But facts and figures alone do not have the same impact as storytelling.”
Is there growing scepticism around ESG?
“I don’t know if scepticism is the right word,” Tom said. “People are much more aware and much more educated.
“The latest research from PWC suggests people are willing to pay more for perceived sustainable products despite the cost-of-living crisis and inflation.
“They are prepared to go the extra mile because they like the idea of buying into brands that are doing the right thing.
“They are also saying ‘If I'm going to do that, I want to make sure I am spending my money in the right way. They are much more likely to get claims substantiated and delve into more detail.”
Adam added: “There are some loud sceptical voices on social media and in mainstream media – and they can get a lot of traction and make it seem there is more scepticism than there really is.
“We’ve seen this week a little example with National Trust changing the menus at its attractions to 50 per cent vegan - reportedly under efforts to reach net zero - and that getting a backlash from certain sections of the media.”
National Trust faces fierce backlash over vote to make half of the food on its cafe menus VEGAN Daily Mail
National Trust set to make half of its cafe food vegan Telegraph
What about targets?
ESG targets have often felt bold and ambitious. But do organisations set themselves up for failure by setting them?
Tom believes this is something that is changing. He said: “I think target-setting has become more scientific over the past five or so years. In the past, big companies used huge targets to drive innovation and spur new technologies. That changed because companies are under more scrutiny and are now reluctant to set targets they don’t know how they are going to reach.
“Ambition has come down the pecking order in terms of sexiness as a story. It is more about the technology and the cool stuff you do in the background.”
Adam added: “When you set bold, ambitious long-term targets, there are two main worries from a comms perspective. One is that things can change. There are so many things beyond your control that can impact you reaching a target years down the line.
“The other issue is that when it is so far in the distance, it can be hard to make people care. They have so many more immediately pressing issues, why will they care what might happen in 10 or 15 years?”
Staying ahead
So, how can you stay ahead of ESG comms challenges?
“Find out what people are thinking and feeling among your stakeholders,” Tom said.
“And then prioritise the things that matter most to your organisation. You could talk about a range of topics, but you need to focus on what is most relevant to you.”
Adam added: “Break ESG down because it is a term that means everything and nothing. Find those areas that you can talk about and where you have stories you can tell.”
To help further with this, the panel explored five case studies of organisations that communicate ESG well, even when targets and pledges can no longer be met, which brings us neatly to Unilever.
Unilever
Unilever has, for some time, been the poster boy of ESG.
But the consumer goods giant, which includes household brands like Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Dove beauty products, announced earlier this year is scaling back some of its commitments,
Tom said: “Unilever got negative press for this decision.
“But it did a good job of explaining why it took it – such as the infrastructure not being in place globally for it to be able to meet the waste target - and showing that the changes it was making were not that significant.”
Adam, who wrote a blog with Tom on the announcement earlier in the year, said: “Where Unilever has changed the targets, it is not rowing back on them too much and is still doing lots of positive stuff.
“What I liked about the comms with this announcement is that it said, ‘We are not going to meet these targets, but these are some of the successes we have had’. There was a lot of positive storytelling within an announcement about changing targets.
“This also fits in with what we often say during our crisis communication courses about breaking your bad news. If you know you will not meet your targets, doing it this way gives you more control of the narrative than waiting until you have failed to meet them.”
Bupa
Bupa has announced it is working with GreenTheUK and the Royal Forestry Society on a project to plant 2,000 climate-resilient trees through UK woodlands in Cumbria, Tyrone and Aberdeenshire.
And globally, it is investing £2 million in nature regeneration projects.
Tom said: “Bupa has decided to do tree planting, which has become a bit of an ESG cliché.
“But what I love about this example is the connection to the business.
“This is all about nature, which is important for people’s health. And it is a simple, easy to explain, story.
“It is not about offsets or carbon reduction – it is about health.”
That relevance factor is essential.
“We talk about the importance of relevance during our media training courses, and it is part of the TRUTH acronym we use to discuss what makes something newsworthy,” Adam said.
“And relevance comes across strongly in this story – healthy people need a healthy planet. It makes sense.
“For some other organisations, tree planting can feel like a safe ‘go to’ option - ‘Let’s get the CEO out planting a tree and show everyone we are green’. Many organisations have done it - 98 per cent of Fortune 500 companies in the UK, France and Switzerland have been involved in tree planting initiatives in the past two decades.
“So, it can lack that ‘unusual’ element stories needed to get coverage. But Bupa’s tree planting story feels different, at least partly because of the strong connection between health and the planting of trees.”
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HSBC
HSBC has just announced a Sustainable Farming Pathway alongside the farming charity Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF).
Tom said: “This initiative offers discounts on loans for farmers adopting sustainable farming practices – something necessary for reversing the climate crisis.
“The bank knows this and explains it well. It understands farmers are not adopting sustainable practices because they can’t afford it. And it is trying to unlock that.
“There is a lot of research in their announcement that shows they have gone under the bonnet and got to grips with the issue.”
From the outside, the link between big banks and climate-friendly banking could seem a little tenuous. But HSBC is a key lender in UK agriculture.
Adam: “I worked in comms around the edges of the farming industry around 10 years ago, and I remember HSBC coming up in many industry stories then. So, I feel there is a legitimate connection here. It has not plucked farming out of the air to help it look green.
“And this looks like an excellent initiative.
“The only concern for me is that there is a ‘greenwashing’ history with HSBC. Some of its adverts were called out by the Advertising Standards Agency ahead of COP 26 over failing to acknowledge its contribution to emissions.
“Earlier this year, there were stories where it was accused of financing North Sea oil extraction. So, there will be some scepticism about what is going on beyond this new initiative.
“And there will need to be more stories like this sustainable pathway to convince.”
BrewDog
BrewDog is no longer a carbon-neutral beer.
The Scottish brewer, which had previously promoted some of its products as 'planet positive beer' and the ‘world’s first carbon-neutral beer’, announced in July that offsetting its carbon with external schemes is too expensive and it can no longer claim to be producing less carbon than it is offsetting.
“BrewDog has removed a carbon negative claim on some of its products saying ‘this is a carbon negative beer’,” Tom said.
“It reached carbon negative by reducing as many emissions as it could. And through buying offsets.
“But it has removed that claim now because of the price of the offsets and concern that some of the offsets in the market are contentious.
“What I loved about the comms here was the admission about what was happening. There is an honesty. An authentic voice comes through.
Adam: “It is similar to Unilever because there is a clear explanation of why it has taken this action.
“And it is a step that it would not have taken lightly. It made a big play on being the world’s first carbon-negative beer.
“It also came at a risky time for them because it had rowed back from real living wage promises a few months earlier. So, you are potentially looking at successive ethical PR hits.
“But BrewDog is no stranger to bad publicity and never seems to stray far from controversy.”
BrewDog abandons its pledge to be 'carbon negative' in latest crisis to hit controversial brewery - as union says the company has 'given up' on being ethical after it stopped paying the real living wage to new staff Daily Mail
PepsiCo
Our final case study looked at PepsiCo and its rollout of electric trucks, which has been brought to life through brilliant storytelling.
“The company has 80,000 vehicles in North America alone,” Tom said.
“And what is good about this example is it is a story about the woman leading the charge to transform and electrify its fleet - Amanda DeVoe-Bice.
“They put her centre stage of the story.
“Often, when I am brought into companies, the process of finding where the stories are involves me talking to people throughout the organisation.
“I might have spoken to someone like Amanda in another company who the comms team did not know existed.
“And when they join us on call, we uncover these bubbles of stories deep within companies.
“This announcement could have been a straightforward story ’24 per cent of our fleet is now electric, but this way it feels much less corporate.”
Adam agreed, adding: “I love the human storytelling. PepsiCo is a massive company but here we get to see the human face of it.
“Stories are crucial for drawing people into what you want to say.
“Again, a bit like HSBC, there is still that believability question because this is a company with a history of controversy on green issues. It was sued by New York state because of plastic pollution in the Buffalo River, for example. And it has been called out by the New Climate Institute for "ambiguous" net zero pledges and offsetting targets.”
Top tips
Here are our top ESG storytelling tips:
Relevance – Make all your stores relevant to your audience
Authenticity and honesty – Be honest about the situation
People-centred – Make the stories about people
During this exclusive session for member of the Media Team Academy, our panel also discussed the rise of greenhushing, including why it is on the rise and what it means for your ESG comms. We also discussed internal communication with those reluctant to change and how you can keep people engaged as you move twards your ESG goals. You'll need to join our learning and development programme to read that discussion. Click here to learn more.
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