SMEs M5 - Communication

Communication for a Competitive Advantage

Sustainable SMEs : Module 5

After today, we will be able to:

Support stakeholder dialogue

Distinguish various forms of communication

Believe it or not, but communicating about your sustainability efforts is not just writing a report and putting it on your website - there is much more involved!

You will learn that sustainability communication is not a one-way street, especially if you want to make the most impact.

Classify the avenues for competitive advantage

Especially when it comes to external communication, there are various ways in which you can gain a competitive advantage just by appropriately communicating your progress.

Hundreds of millions of people all over the world are concerned about sustainability, and this number is growing.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Concern about the loss of animal and plant species grew by 9 percentage points, increasing from 75% to 84%.
The number of nature-loss and biodiversity-related Tweets grew by 168%.
The percentage of Globescan survey respondents who agreed with the statement “We need to preserve the environment for future generations” increased most in Nigeria (58% to 69%), Kenya (64% to 71%), and South Africa (65% to 75%) between 2016 and 2020.
In an address at the end of the fifth United Nations Environment Assembly in March 2021, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta stated that “The environment holds and can provide solutions to most of the challenges we face as humanity.”

The United States of America

The popularity of Google searches for sustainable products grew by 450% between 2016 and 2020.
The popularity of Google searches about nature loss and biodiversity increased by 24%.
Concern about the loss of animal and plant species increased by almost 10%, from 79% to 86%.
Eleven million news articles about nature loss and biodiversity were written between 2016 and 2020, with peaks occurring in 2017 in the wake of the US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, and again during the California wildfires of 2018.

United Kingdom

Demand for sustainable products has increased eightfold over the past five years, as Brits show their support for nature through what they buy and through their charitable donations and activism.
The popularity of Google searches for sustainable products grew by 800%.
92% of UK-based Globescan survey respondents believe that the loss of animal and plant species is a serious or somewhat serious global problem.
The popularity of Google searches about nature loss and biodiversity increased by 30%.
The number of Tweets about nature loss and biodiversity grew by 206%.
Market researcher Garner reports that 73% of UK consumers want to behave more sustainably in 2021.

China

77% of Globescan survey respondents from China saw the loss of animal and plant species as a serious global problem.
The percentage of Globescan survey respondents who agreed with the statement “We need to consume less to preserve the environment for future generations” increased from 75% to 83% between 2019 and 2020.
“Green development” is highlighted as a priority in the draft of China’s modernization plan for the next 15 years, which was unveiled in March 2021 at the 13th National People’s Congress in Beijing.

South-East Asia

The number of nature-loss and biodiversity-related Tweets grew by 102% in the region.
The volume of news stories about nature loss and biodiversity increased by 77%.
News articles about biodiversity protests increased by 48% between 2016 and 2020.

Brazil

The country produced the largest number of signatures for biodiversity and nature campaigns of any country in the world, contributing 23m signatures—13% of global signatures.
On average, 96% of Globescan survey respondents saw the loss of animal and plant species as a serious global problem.
The number of nature-loss and biodiversity-related Tweets grew by 442%.
The volume of news stories about nature loss and biodiversity increased by 148%.
During Jair Bolsonaro's presidency, biodiversity loss and deforestation have soared in the country. Indigenous leaders and human rights groups urged the international authorities to investigate what they say amounts to "ecocide" and anti-indigenous policies. The president was accused by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of "crimes against humanity" in 2021.

Colombia

The popularity of Google searches about nature loss and biodiversity grew by 74%
The number of Tweets about nature loss and biodiversity grew by 293%.
The popularity of Google searches for sustainable products increased by 63%, reaching new peaks in 2018, 2019, and 2020.
News articles about nature loss and biodiversity increased by 34%.
Colombian President Iván Duque’s ineffective environmental decisions, amongst other social and economic issues, provoked a national strike in 2019. Indigenous people, teachers, students, and campaigners took to the streets, giving momentum to issues including deforestation, fracking, limits on citizen participation, and biodiversity protection.

The Economist & WWF (2021). An Eco-awakening: Measuring global awareness, engagement and action for nature.

World map: Gall-Peters projection

Your communication strategy

Stakeholders care about sustainability.

Branding

Committed brands bring more business and create stronger emotions on their customers.

Talent

Employees are attracted and retained by sustainable companies.

Investment

Investors need sustainable businesses to make their portfolios more appealing to their clients.

Trust

Transparent companies inspire long-term relationships and collaboration.

The target

Communicating on your milestones will boost competitive advantage in terms of:

Most investors look for businesses that take actions towards sustainability, exponential growth, long-term brand value. This is not only due to client demands, but also because sustainable businesses have been proven to perform better over time, thus increasing their portfolio performance.

For example, according to a BCG BrightHouse report (2022):

During the last 12 years, brands with a strong sense of purpose have seen their value increase by 175% on average, compared to the median growth rate of 86%.
Over the next 15 years, organizations using more purposeful language are expected to earn Total Shareholder Return that is 9% higher than today.

ESG data helps investors get a better understanding of a business and its associated opportunities and risks. The Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures developed a framework to "help investors and others understand how reporting organisations assess climate-related risks and opportunities." Below is the summary figure, and the full document is accessible here.

Not only do consumers support corporate activism (86% want companies to stand for social issues) but also that 64% of them are likely to buy from such companies (Shelton Group 2018).

According to Nielsen’s 2015 Global Corporate Sustainability Report, 66% of consumers would spend more on a product if it came from a sustainable brand. Up to 73% of the surveyed millennials had a similar view.

In the following graph, you can observe how specific Google searches for sustainable products have been rapidly increasing in at a global level.

Product transparency is the practice of disclosing detailed information about products and services including what they contain, how they were produced and where they come from. Ensuring high levels of product transparency is one of the several methods to create trust between you and your stakeholders.

When it comes to customers, for example, a study by the Food Marketing Institute in 2016 revealed that 39% of people would be willing to switch to a brand that provides more in-depth product information – beyond what’s provided on the label. By 2019, this number had gone up to 75% (FMI 2020).

In today's competition for talent, sustainability can be of help to SMEs by driving employer attractiveness. As unveiled by the 7th EcoVadis Spotlight (2020), job seekers today are highly motivated by environmentally and socially-oriented initiatives inside the companies, as well as corporate investments in a greater purpose.

Moreover, sustainability is not only useful in the attraction and acquisition phases. The report also states that 70% of millennials, or close to 38% of the global workforce, report that they would stay in a company longer under the condition that it had a strong sustainability plan.

In fact, sustainability is so powerful that some companies have used natural elements in the packaging - or even just the color green - to market unsustainable products.

The target

This practice is known as greenwashing.

Greenwashing

It plays into a consumerist desire to live a green life...

...without necessarily creating sustainable value.

In a post on a Facebook group called “No Plastic Shopping,” a customer shared photos of what is inside the package for a South Korean cosmetic brand product after cutting the bottle in half. Despite the label reading “Hello, I‘m Paper Bottle”, the product turned out to be a plastic bottle simply wrapped in paper.

Following the backlash, the brand has acknowledged that the label “Hello, I’m Paper Bottle” may be misleading, and stated:

“We used the term ‘paper bottle’ to explain the role of the paper label surrounding the bottle”
“We overlooked the possibility that the naming could mislead people to think the whole packaging is made of paper. We apologize for failing to deliver information in a precise way”

Business Insider (2021). A South Korean beauty brand admitted that its product marked 'I'm paper bottle' is actually a plastic bottle wrapped in paper.

Optional greenwashing game

Sustainability communication tips

This section will explore some key tips to create a successful communication strategy around a sustainable business model.

Implementing these will allow you to fully leverage the large value of sustainability, while at the same time avoiding the greenwashing trap.

Sustainability Communication Tips

Communicate on measurable KPIs

Start with your internal stakeholders

Align with international frameworks

Communicate on measurable KPIs

Quantitative information

Tracking data that can be quantified, counted or measured, and given a numerical value. Responsing to "How many?", "How much?," or "How often?". E.g. carbon footprint, male vs. female distribution, tonnes of waste avoided.

Qualitative information

Descriptive in nature, expressed in terms of language . Responds to "How?" and "Why?". E.g. quality of life, personal testimonies, emotions. When analysed into categories, it can be quantified.

If you cannot measure it, you improve manage it.

Using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), i.e. critical indicators of progress toward an intended result, can help in this endeavor.

Communicating on measurable results helps your internal stakeholders align, and your external ones follow your progress.

Reach employees where they are

It is difficult to overestimate how relevant it is to keep your employees updated on your sustainability journey.

Start with your internal stakeholders

Internal stakeholders, even those outside the internal working group, should be engaged early and abundantly as they will be directly responsible for the company's progress.

Include it in the onboarding

Provide meaningful incentives

Empower leaders and ambassadors

Open opportunities for involvement

Align with international frameworks

While the sustainability KPIs will be necessarily unique to your organization, you can leverage globally recognized frameworks to help your target understand more easily.

As we have explored, sustainability is not always simple and straightforward at first sight. This might make communication difficult - thus, less effective - for uninformed stakeholders.

Click to learn about the global framework proposed by the United Nations...

...and how to align to it!

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership.

Click here to learn more about each goal.

Click here to learn about our progress on the goals.

Click here for an official UN report on our progress by 2021.

Communication examples

Why going purpose-driven?

Click on the circles to discover what these numbers mean for your business:

Case 1

Case 2

Case 2

Case 4

Case 6

Case 5

Value

Over the past 12 years, brands with a strong sense of purpose have seen their value increase by 175% on average, compared to the median growth rate of 86%.

BCG BrightHouse (2022). Business and Organizational Purpose

Brand Image

64% of Millennials wouldn’t take a job offer at a company that doesn’t have a strong sense of corporate social responsibility.

EcoVadis (2020). Spotlight 7: Talent Attraction and Retention

Talent Attraction

66% of those who applied for a position at Unilever in 2020 did so, in part, because of their "Sustainable Living Plan" as well as the company's investments in a greater purpose.

EcoVadis (2020). Spotlight 7: Talent Attraction and Retention

Talent Retention

70% of millennials, or close to 38% of the global workforce, report that they would stay in a company longer under the condition that it had a strong sustainability plan.

EcoVadis (2020). Spotlight 7: Talent Attraction and Retention

Total Shareholder Return

Over the next 15 years, organizations using more purposeful language are expected to earn Total Shareholder Reurn that is 9% higher than today.

BCG BrightHouse (2022). Business and Organizational Purpose

Summary of today's module:

Don't forget about your employees

Keeping your employees engaged and excited about sustainability is how you'll be able to continue monitoring and improving your efforts. External parties won't do the work for you, so focus inside.

HAVE CONVERSATIONS

Sustainability communication is not a one-way street. It involves conversation and listening to others as well.

understand the landscape

Outside of your company, there are so many ways in which your sustainability progress can shine: sustainability ratings, current client meetings, and potential client interactions.

The SME Dashboard

Congratulations, you finished this module!

SMEs M5 - Communication

More creations to inspire you

FACTS IN THE TIME OF COVID-19

AUSSTELLUNG STORYTELLING

WOLF ACADEMY

STAGE2- LEVEL1-MISSION 2: ANIMATION

TANGRAM PRESENTATION

VALENTINE'S DAY PRESENTATION

HUMAN RIGHTS

Transcript