Steven Thomas (Owner & CEO, MILESTONE CONCEPT) is a Strategy & Communications Executive.
Sustainability has become a central focus for individuals, businesses and governments worldwide. As the urgency of addressing climate change and other ecological challenges intensifies, effective sustainability communication has never been more crucial. However, to truly make a difference, sustainability communication must be credible. In this article, I will explore the importance of credibility in sustainability communication and discuss strategies for building trust in sustainability efforts.
The Importance Of Sustainability Communication
Sustainability communication, broadly defined, encompasses the methods and messages a company uses to convey information about its sustainable practices, initiatives and goals. This communication serves as a bridge between organizations, governments and individuals, helping to raise awareness and inspire action toward a more sustainable future.
Sustainability communication has gained momentum due to shifting business landscapes, with many organizations being driven by four key factors: responding to rising consumer demand for eco-friendly products, complying with global environmental regulations, meeting investor expectations regarding sustainability practices, and emphasizing corporate social responsibility. However, the effectiveness of sustainability communication is contingent on maintaining credibility.
Credibility is vital for establishing trust with stakeholders like customers, employees, investors and regulators. This trust helps companies build lasting relationships and gain support. When individuals believe in your organization’s commitment to sustainability, it can positively influence their behavior and encourage them to adopt eco-friendly practices.
I have also found that credibility can serve as a powerful tool for risk mitigation, helping organizations navigate crises and negative publicity by leveraging a reservoir of goodwill. Moreover, credibility in sustainability can offer a competitive advantage, as customers are more likely to choose products and services from companies perceived as genuinely committed to sustainable practices.
Building Credibility
Building credibility requires a strategic and consistent approach. Based on my experience, here is a step-by-step model you can use to implement credible sustainability ambitions in your company.
Step 1: Clarifying And Analyzing
Before delving into a diagnostic of your company’s current status, establish a shared understanding of its ethical values. This involves recognizing your organization’s values, goals and purpose, along with staying aware of trends and their impact on public perception, increased politicization of entrepreneurship, regulatory changes and societal polarization.
Once this ethical self-image is clear, move on to specific analyses, developing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and gathering necessary data through interdisciplinary collaboration. This includes methods like stakeholder analyses, risk management and specialist assessments in areas such as supply chain management. I also recommend identifying gaps in budget, personnel, skills and cultural resources, encompassing the company’s values, purpose, vision and history.
Step 2: Capacity Building
Building capacity means creating time and space for growth in order to equip strategy, management, legal and compliance, IT and controlling, and all other relevant areas of the company for the tasks ahead. Aligning with an indicator system can provide you with the orientation required for management and control, and process maps can help enable agile change. As every existing organization has its own strengths, it’s important to design these changes in a measured, small-step and reversible manner with a sense of tact for the peculiarities of each area and process
Step 3: Creating Cohesion
When changing for more sustainability, more extensive social responsibility, and better compliance and governance, your company becomes a joint project: not only for those involved in the process, but also for critical stakeholders. Maintaining this type of joint project typically requires constant communication and sensitive conflict management.
Similarly, areas such as digitalization, data management and analytics should be utilized collectively to ensure your company has cohesive principles, values and purpose across all sectors, including product development, process optimization, innovation, supply chain and risk, personnel and knowledge management. Each department should also have a shared understanding of ESG, employee management and past, present and future expectations that will guide the company’s action and orientation.
Step 4: Reporting And Communicating
Provide transparent and verifiable information about your sustainability efforts. This may include sharing data on emissions reductions, resource conservation and progress toward sustainability goals. Communicate not only your successes but also challenges and areas for improvement. Honest acknowledgment of setbacks can enhance credibility by showcasing a commitment to learning and growth. Consider also employing third-party audits and certifications, as these can further enhance credibility.
Also, take regulatory requirements into account in your sustainability communication. In the EU, for example, the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) must be observed. These regulations are intended to make sustainability, environmental and social reporting by companies in the EU more accurate, consistent and comparable. Europe-wide legislation is also being prepared, with the European Commission proposing the Directive on Green Claims in March 2023, currently in the EU legislative process.
Individual markets typically have more specific regulations or guidelines governing the communication of environmental claims. For example, individual European markets like the Netherlands and France have already issued their own guidelines. The UK’s Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has updated its environmental claims guidelines, aiming to provide clarity rather than banning such claims. And in the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) offers guidance through the “Green Guides” for environmental marketing claims.
Step 5: Learning And Adjusting
Every step is connected to every other step through learning processes, which close the circle. Changing into an ethical and economic company of the 21st century requires constant learning processes: not only about the company, its stakeholders, and the substantive processes that lead to more ESG, but also about the cultural and communicative challenges.
There is no master plan for the ESG world, neither for society nor for individual companies. This makes it all the more important to make change efforts resistant to unavoidable side effects. By constantly evaluating data, perspectives and process patterns, you can create resilient change management within your company, enabling you to make rapid adjustments.
In conclusion, sustainability communication is a powerful tool for driving positive change, but its impact hinges on credibility. Companies that prioritize transparency, authenticity and meaningful action in their sustainability efforts are more likely to earn the trust of stakeholders and contribute significantly to a greener future. By adhering to these principles and avoiding greenwashing, we can collectively work toward a sustainable world that benefits both people and the planet.
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