How do you get your sustainability story out there?
How do you make them believable?
And how do you avoid being accused of greenwashing?
These are just some examples of the questions brands face around telling sustainable and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) stories as they seek to show the difference they make to the environment. And that they care about the communities where they operate and those that work for and with them.
This is a problem because there is an ever-growing interest in sustainability.
Customers, potential customers, partners, employees and investors want to align themselves with brands willing to discuss and tackle environmental and social issues and try to improve an ever-changing world.
To help answer some of the questions surrounding the subject, the latest masterclass for members of The Media Team Academy looked at all things ESG.
The session was led by Tom Idle, a journalist and podcaster specialising in sustainability.
Tom shared his thoughts on the emerging trends in ESG storytelling. And offered 10 tips to help you tell better sustainability stories.
Let’s look back at the session, starting with those emerging trends.
Where better to start than the climate crisis?
This is not a new trend. But there is much more urgency surrounding it.
Tom said: “The climate crisis is front and centre of all that we talk about when it comes to ESG.
“The global nature of what happened with the pandemic gave an added urgency to the climate crisis at a time when the awareness of climate impacts was higher than ever.
“The climate crisis was high on the agenda back in 2008. But then we had the economic crash, and greenhouse gas emissions fell off the radar completely because it was all about growth and trying to get back on our feet.
“I think that is less likely to happen now. And the cost-of-living crisis we are going through now means the climate crisis and energy efficiency are not going to go away.
“Rather than being driven by the geeky science community and academics, it is now being driven by much more aware members of the general public.
“Stories about the climate will dominate the agenda for at least the next 20 years, I would say. The next 10 years are going to be crucial in solving the climate crisis.”
What does this mean for you?
“You must be ready to write and talk about carbon, energy, climate, adaptation, mitigation, air pollution - all these things. And not just in the context of the environment. It is also about people’s health and wellbeing.”
Who is doing it well?
“On climate, I wouldn’t look much further than Riverford. They are based in the West Country and parcel up organic vegetables and serve them as delivered boxes. They do a really good job of talking about climate action and do it in a way that is locally textual, business relevant and focuses on the things they can contribute as a fairly small business.
“Another good example is Ben & Jerry’s. It stands out as a provider of resources and ideas for people who want to join in.”
Plastic pollution is another issue that has been around for a while and is difficult to solve.
Tom said: “I’ve been working with clients over the past couple of years to find new ways of talking about plastic because it is ubiquitous and it is good at doing what it does. This is particularly true in fresh food, where the job it does in keeping food fresh is arguably more important than the issue of plastic ending up in landfill.
“It is the issue of plastic ending up in our rivers and oceans that gets people most excited. Unlike carbon dioxide, plastic is tangible. We can see it. We can touch it and we see the damage it is doing to our planet.
“Acceptance of single-use plastic, where there are other options, has gone. And this is a really interesting space, particularly for food companies that have a huge packaging footprint.
“But is it also exciting to see some big companies work with small start-ups to trial alternatives to plastic.”
Tom identified the chemicals company Dow as an example of a company that is talking effectively about plastic. The company has ambitions around circularity and boosting the amount of recycled content that goes into new plastics and is showing how that works in the different areas of the world where it operates.”
This is another trend that goes back to the pandemic and the increased focus it brought on the health and wellbeing of people.
Tom said: “Plenty of businesses made interesting declarations during that period, wanting to show that they cared and that they were nothing without their people.
“This focus on wellbeing will stick around. It won’t just be about physical health. It will be about diversity, equality, fair play and staff protection.
“And it won’t just be internally – it will be further along the supply chain.
“The issue about mental health will become something that will become more emphasised as well.”
Who is doing a good job of discussing this trend?
“Nespresso acknowledges the need to look after the farmers and farming communities that supply it with high-quality coffee and recognises they are crucial to the business and the future of the supply chain,” Tom said.
“They produce stories about people that show how the farm can be attractive to the next generation.”
Circularity is a term used to describe the economic, technical and environmental principles that aim to eliminate waste and maximise the reuse of resources.
“Circularity and circular economy principles and ideas are not new,” Tom said.
“And things have stagnated a bit due to the cost of repairing and refurbishing things versus the costs of creating new ones.
“But this has not stopped companies looking at how they can design their products with end-of-life in mind, which can help them find efficiencies and a competitive edge in the market.
“Lockdown also made people think about their consumption habits, which can stimulate this move to circular thinking a bit more.”
People are more aware of sustainability issues.
And they are more mindful of their environmental impact and what they can do to change it.
“More and more evidence shows consumer habits and purchasing intent is changing,” Tom said.
“More people are seeking out more sustainable products or are avoiding the stuff that is non-sustainable.
“There was a story that came out during the early stages of the pandemic that showed that Google searches for ‘how to live a sustainable lifestyle’ increased by more than 4,000 per cent - there is an appetite for people wanting to cut back on their consumption and live a more responsible lifestyle.
“It is important to remember there is a difference between intent and an action when it comes to sustainable consumption.
“The other challenge is that all costs more money - how do you get consumers to pay for it?
“By and large, consumers are not prepared to pay more for something sustainable, but that is changing.
“And people are becoming less accepting of companies that make the wrong choices for the planet and local communities.”
What does this mean?
It is about businesses identifying and understanding the sustainability issues in their supply chains. And then highlighting what is being done to improve them.
Tom said: “Companies need to not just consider the impact they can have internally, but also further along the supply chain.
“For the majority of food companies, their impact lies in the supply chain, in growing crops, transporting goods, packaging, keeping things cold and putting things on ships.
“It is easier to write stories about what you are doing inside your business. But there are fantastic stories further along the chain where your business might be having a positive impact, whether it is tackling environmental or societal issues.
“So, going beyond boundaries is increasingly important. And it is also about leadership and ownership of problems. It is about a company saying we contribute to this problem, so we have a responsibility to sort it out.
“It is not something you hear CEOs say often. When they do, journalists like me sit up and take notice.”
This can be a tricky one to get your head around. And it is a hard one to achieve.
But it centres on the argument that to achieve meaningful improvement, you need systemic change.
“The point is it is hard to produce a sustainable product unless the whole market and the way it is consumed is sustainable too,” Tom said.
“Each player in the system, whether it is the manufacturer, the retailer, the farmer, or the supplier, can all do their bit.
“But unless they work together, nothing will change, and we will get small incremental improvements each year, which will not be enough.
“So, collaboration is needed more than ever.”
Some ESG stories are naturally more exciting than others.
Communicators need to make all of it appealing and show its impact.
Tom said: “There is a need for innovation, new thinking, new inventions and ways of doing things.
“Innovation is the sexy part of sustainability. If you think about lab-grown meat and sushi that isn’t made from sushi, these sorts of stories are fascinating and go to the top of the pile in terms of media coverage and investor interest.
“It is the stuff that gives us hope and inspiration.
“The challenge is to make the seemingly uninteresting and geeky just as sexy as lab-grown meat because innovations and inventions have a long way to go if they are going to make an impact.
“So, with the here-and-now activity, it is crucial to show you are doing more than just turning the dial and making things less bad. “
There is much-heightened awareness among consumers.
And that brings with it a demand for greater transparency.
“Transparency is not new,” Tom said.
“But there has been a resurgence, and it is taking things further than before, especially with ingredients and raw materials. These are the things people want to know.
“And companies are using technology to take care of their transparency needs – mapping where suppliers are in the world, using satellite technology, making more data available – to give customers and investors more insight into how they make their products.
“I can only see this continuing, with an extra focus on how transparency can create a positive impact - there’s no point being transparent if it does not lead to the needed change.”
Inaction, or doing things the way they have always been done, can no longer be excused.
Tom said: “People will no longer accept excuses for doing things the way you have always done them.
“With the economic crash in 2008 that I mentioned earlier, many businesses were excused for ditching their sustainability efforts because it was all about growth.
“It legitimised inaction. But I don’t think that will happen again. The more examples we have of companies getting this right and being profitable regardless, the less room there is for accepting excuses.”
So, we know the current ESG storytelling trends.
But how can we tell better sustainability stories?
During the session, Tom also offered 10 crucial ESG storytelling tips.
Telling sustainable stories involves some bravery.
This means telling people about what you have already achieved. And being open and transparent about what you need to improve.
“Often I work with businesses who are too fearful of talking about sustainability because it is not backed up by a robust corporate strategy,” Tom said.
“But you must be bold and confident in discussing what you have achieved.
“Of course, there are accusations of greenwashing everywhere. The way around that is to acknowledge any limitations and explain what is yet still to come.
“That way your stories will stack up and gain momentum.”
To highlight the point about limitations, Tom mentioned criticism HSBC received for a press release about its net-zero ambitions but that didn’t offer a timeline for reducing its financing of coal, oil and gas projects before 2050.
You don’t need us to tell you that consistency is crucial to any corporate comms strategy.
But it has even greater importance with ESG storytelling.
Tom said: “You have to get your story straight and ensure you are using the right metrics all of the time.
“And you need to anchor your stories by referencing the overarching corporate strategy, vision or mission.”
We often stress the importance of clarity and avoiding jargon during our media training and presentation skills courses.
And this is vital in sustainability storytelling, where criticism often includes complaints about the vagueness of what is discussed and accusations of ‘greenwashing’.
“The reason sustainability communication differs from communicating stories about anything else is that people are ready and waiting to bash it over the head and dismiss it as being non-essential or a nice-to-have,” Tom said.
“Earlier this year, a Unilever investor criticised the CEO for talking about sustainability too much rather than core business issues.
“So, the overuse of jargon and acronyms that tend to dominate sustainability and ESG stories must be avoided. Be really clear.”
To illustrate his point, Tom used the example of Quorn and its ‘Thai style wonder grains’ product, launched in 2020.
He said: “When they launched it, they created a series of stories that suggested this little lunch pot was a way of addressing climate change. It said that the product ‘helps us reduce our carbon footprint’.
“It didn’t make clear who they meant by ‘us’. They actually meant themselves rather than the people eating the lunch pot. The Advertising Standards Agency got involved, ruled that it was misleading and said that because it was new, it was impossible to say whether it would reduce Quorn’s carbon footprint.
“So, be clear and don’t try to win quick sustainability PR bucks.”
How do you know if you have a sustainability story worth telling?
“The best way is to check whether it is aligned to what your company wants to say and do,” Tom said.
“Ultimately, it is about your audience and talking to your customers and stakeholders to help them overcome challenges and think differently about subjects you know they would expect you to have the answer to.”
This is connected to the last point and fits in with something we regularly discuss during our media training.
Tom said: “Does it make sense for your business to be talking about ocean plastic waste?
“There are plenty of examples where you get someone senior in the business who has an issue they want to talk about rather than what is relevant.
“If you are a consumer goods business, you are potentially using lots of single-use plastic. Does it make sense to talk about that as an issue? Or to talk about saving rainforests?
“It might be right to talk about both those issues. But you need to get the balance right.
“I’ve worked with Sky for many years, and they decided some time ago to shift their ESG storytelling away from rainforests to the ocean and plastic waste.
“Quite rightly, the company felt it had more to say on plastics than it did on anything else, given they use so much of it in their products and packaging,
“It felt much more connected to their core business.”
This is about understanding who you are as a business and what you stand for.
What do you believe in? Why do you exist?
“Unless this work has been done, it is harder to tell ESG stories because everything can feel a bit disjointed and unnatural,” Tom said.
“That confidence and assuredness in storytelling only come when you have worked out your place in the world.”
We’ve touched on this already, but it is crucial not to leave gaps in your ESG narrative and storytelling.
Transparency can come from what you don’t say as much as what you do say.
“Think about the questions you could get asked by a journalist on any of these stories,” Tom said. “And try to fill in the gaps because, if you don’t, someone else will.
“It won’t just be the media trying to catch you out. It could be your customers, investors and shareholders who make assumptions about what you are doing.”
It is vital to remember that people want different things from the communication they receive, in terms of language, the stories covered, and what they are asked to do.
Tom said: “Not everyone appreciates stories and messages that on the surface are not directly linked to revenue and sales.
“So, it is vital to think about your audience and spell out the sales and revenue connection, if you need to do that.”
Consumers are evolving, and there is growing awareness of environmental and social issues.
This requires you to think a bit differently about what you tell them and what you focus on.
“Your audience is smart – smarter than you think,” Tom said.
“What they don’t want is for you to tell them something is sustainable. They can work that out themselves.
“Instead, focus on the benefits, value and how sexy or cool something is instead.
“That’s where you should focus your storytelling efforts.”
Last but not least is emotion.
Emotion is a crucial part of effective communication. And it is pivotal ESG stories trigger emotion.
“We are in the emotion business as storytellers and communicators,” Tom said.
“There is a reason ESG issues maintain their position in our consciousness and on political and business radars. And that is because we are talking about human rights, fair pay, diversity, plastic waste in the ocean, and poor air quality giving kids asthma at five.
“All these things are about human connection and the connection between ourselves and the natural environment.
“The other thing that I think is sometimes lost in corporate communications is that businesses should not be faceless entities. Businesses are a group of people all making decisions and working together and creating things people want. We should not lose sight of that.
“So, feed our emotions and talk to the heart as well as the head. That way you have a good chance of breaking through and making sure the stories you are telling land with your audience,
“My favourite example in ESG storytelling is a company called Just Egg, which makes eggs from plants. Their messages talk about saving the planet and making people healthier. But they also talk to your emotions.”
Don’t forget, you can watch this masterclass – and all the previous ones - in the ‘masterclass video library’ section of the hub.