The need for companies to act more responsibly to mitigate the impact made on the environment has never been as vital as it is today. As consumer expectations rise, companies must embrace their sustainability responsibilities and communicate their actions effectively.
Once a peripheral concern, sustainability has become an essential element of corporate strategy, offering significant opportunities for environmental protection and economic benefit. This shift has led companies to explore how sustainability can generate value.
Nationally, the push towards a green economy is evident, with governments recognising its potential for job creation, skills development, and GDP growth. Over the past 12 years, the global green economy has seen a compound annual growth rate of about 14%, reaching a market capitalisation of over $7 trillion, making it comparable in size to the fossil fuel sector. This transition demonstrates the interconnectedness of corporate sustainability efforts with broader economic trends, highlighting the integral role of businesses in advancing global sustainability.
Three Pillars for Effective Sustainability Communication
In today's era, where environmental responsibility is paramount, companies are increasingly under scrutiny to not only adopt sustainable practices but to communicate these actions effectively. With the global green economy booming, sustainability is no longer a fringe issue but a core element of strategic business operations, offering both environmental protection and substantial economic benefits.
Identifying, Integrating, and Illustrating Your Sustainability Journey
Identify clear sustainability goals that reflect your company's commitment to environmental stewardship. Integrate these goals across all facets of your organisation, ensuring they align with your core values and business strategy. Illustrate your progress through relatable and straightforward narratives that resonate with your audience, showcasing the tangible steps your company takes towards sustainability.
Crafting Stories, Strategies, and Successes
Develop stories that simplify complex sustainability initiatives into engaging narratives. Strategise to embed these sustainability efforts deeply within your business model, demonstrating a commitment beyond compliance. Share your successes, using milestones to highlight the journey and outcomes of your sustainability efforts, building trust and credibility with your audience.
Emphasising People, Planet, and Profit
Adopt a triple bottom line approach that balances people, planet, and profit. This holistic view demonstrates your company's comprehensive approach to sustainability and connects with a broader audience, highlighting the interdependence of social, environmental, and economic well-being.
Factors in communicating sustainability efforts in a human-centric way
In shaping messaging around sustainability, there are some critical factors in helping to connect the organisation's personal story with key audiences.
Make stories relatable and uncomplicated.
Avoid jargon and complicated terms when describing what is being done and achieved. It is best to use clear and appealing conversational language. Stories involving people bring efforts to a relatable scale and may spark their interest in how they can take similar action. Keep the story simple and focused on what is being undertaken alongside a clear why.
Be authentic, realistic, and truthful.
Avoid over-inflating claims, unachievable goals, or padding out progress. Sustainability efforts can form part of a long journey. Therefore, with long-term commitments that may be decades away, building nearer milestones that show progress is essential. Establishing trust in your aim, journey, and goals achieved requires clear and concise progress being articulated. Data visualisation and practical examples can help paint the picture for the audience.
Be true to your purpose.
As part of defining and articulating the 'why' behind specific sustainability initiatives, there must be a clear link to the organisation. These efforts should align with the organisational values, brand attributes, and business strategy and be articulated throughout the sustainability story. It should look and feel like the organisation and be on brand rather than something that looks like a simple bolt-on to everyday business communications.
Meeting Consumer Expectations on Sustainability
The IBM Institute of Business Value surveyed over 16,000 global consumers and found that just over half (51%) of people reported that environmental sustainability is more important to them today than 12 months ago. The pandemic certainly accelerated people's views to value a more sustainable future. IBM found that consumers' actions were also starting to match their intent.
There is evidence that consumers will connect with brands that reflect their evolving beliefs and are willing to pay a premium for eco-friendly or sustainable products.
With increasing consumer demand for sustainable products and practices, companies that communicate their sustainability efforts authentically and engagingly are poised to gain market advantage. By adopting a structured approach to sustainability communication, businesses can effectively articulate their commitment to a sustainable future, fostering a deeper connection with their customers and stakeholders.
About Manara Global - Abu Dhabi and Dubai Strategic Communication Agency
Manara Global is a strategic communication and advisory agency partnering with businesses, governments, and organisations to enhance their reputation, define their purpose, and shape their communication strategy to connect with audiences in a human-centric way. Our purpose is to help leaders, businesses, and organisations to thrive, make a difference, and succeed.
We understand the business imperative for organisations to actively contribute to building a more sustainable community and world. From strategy development to the bespoke creation of your sustainability narrative and thought leadership positions designed to articulate a clear position and ideation around its activation, our team can help advance your sustainability ambitions.