Connecting Brand and ESG
The aftermath of an ESG report is somewhat of a paradox because an immense amount of time, money and energy are spent planning and executing sustainable initiatives, yet there is meat left on the bone.
ESG reporting is a years-long endeavour spent collecting data, setting targets and reporting on them—but what happens next?
A surprising number of companies publish ESG reports on their website without the additionality of storytelling associated with their efforts. The missed point is a golden opportunity to humanize their organization through ESG storytelling, thereby managing long-term brand awareness.
ESG practices are about doing better business and allowing investors to see that a company’s profit margin isn’t the only goal. ESG reporting is a chance to put leadership on display through important commitments to social and environmental initiatives.
ESG reports contain enough information to supply communications teams with the building blocks to shape an organization’s identity and defend against unperceived threats for years to come.
Dangers to Modern Sustainability
In the 1990s, global warming was a popular movement warning of climatic degradation. Polluting industries would popularly put images of beautiful forests and waterways on their websites and colour their letterheads green to appear more environmentally conscious. This is called “greenwashing.”
ESG is meant to champion transparency and create a better world; despite noble efforts, greenwashing still exists and faces criticism in the press. An unpredictably woke culture also scrutinizes everything and everyone under a cancel-oriented lens that makes image management increasingly difficult.
The next generation of executive leadership uses ESG to balance ambitions with fundamental values, and the narrative structure illuminates corporate responsibility to build confidence and trust. Using strategic communications to tell stories about who the key characters in an organization are and why they operate brings an element of transparency that sets audiences and critics at ease — it is a natural defense.
Culture is everything in ESG, so it is crucial to own the narrative.
Owning the narrative
From a communications standpoint, narrative is one of the trickiest elements to control in such a highly digitized age. An organization’s internal identity can wildly differ from the image audiences perceive.
Proactive communications strategies require vulnerability to own whatever narrative may exist and the ability to craft something new. In the press, on social media or orally, it doesn’t take long for a positive or negative opinion to become a dominant narrative that can have a profound impact.
ESG was invented to have a positive effect on what investors believe about a company, but does it have the ability alone to influence what the press writes and safeguard against an uncontrolled social sphere?
Owning the narrative requires a progressive leadership style that can admit its strengths and weaknesses and has enough vision to steer the ship in the right direction.
Storytelling acts like a wetsuit: insulating companies against a sea of uncontrolled narratives. Controlling the narrative means that negative press is less likely to show up, and companies have years worth of positive stories to refer back to if it does.
The entire point of storytelling is to create a scenario of unshakeable trust with your audience.
ESG as a brand shaping tool
ESG reports can hone a brand’s identity — beliefs, values and purpose — by addressing public matters of importance which is helpful for public relations teams and communicators as reports are a robust risk management tool.
Most of the information in ESG reports is qualitative, yet they remain full of potential stories that need to be told. There are tens, even hundreds of people — employees, collaborators, regulators, investors or civilians — that can be impacted by a single report.
Disclosures illuminate current events, the company’s long-term future, struggles, social topics and environmental stewardship, but it is not necessarily about the plot that gives organizations credibility.
The character development within an organization allows audiences to develop a more profound sense of who works there and their critical motivations. Matt Toohey, VP of ESG and Sustainable Business Practices at Modern West Advisory, says to remember that people invest in people.
Crafting impenetrable yet transparent narratives positions organizations as authority figures and shapes brand identity. Ultimately, since ESG initiatives reveal an effort to make the world a better place, it is paramount that they and the people who are writing them are known. This way, a brand’s reputation and the notion of being good is inseparable from your brand.
What is ESG Storytelling?
ESG reports are full of exciting initiatives that need to be reported on. The stories contained are about characters who experience challenges in pursuing targets.
ESG storytelling is an exercise of documenting an organization’s journey through business, interacting with the environment, social communities and leadership. It lifts the shroud of what is happening and crafts a legacy for organizations to live into.
ESG is an opportunity to exhibit modern executive leadership, plain and simple. Investors looking for socially and environmentally conscious companies also consider the leadership’s values and beliefs, expecting alignment.
Storytelling is about the journey. Give your audience the chance to walk in your shoes by telling prolonged stories that represent who the company is and why it operates.
As companies grow as an effect of ESG programs, so does the investors’ belief. Let them see and experience the social or environmental transformation along with you.
In a CBC article, Christine Hennebury wrote that people construct internal narratives to help make sense of the world. If companies don’t tell their story, others will come up with alternative narratives that may not be accurate.
What’s your story?