Sustainability communication is much more than an ESG report. It should engage all stakeholders - customers, employees and the wider community - to build awareness and support for the company's sustainability efforts, and be delivered in a transparent and tailored way. Not only external, but also internal communication, sharing concrete initiatives and progress on the sustainability roadmap, is under increasing scrutiny.
Create the narrative:
Develop a clear, concise, and consistent message about the company's sustainability efforts that can be used in all communications, reports, and marketing materials. Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the company's sustainability communications and marketing efforts and make changes as needed to improve impact.
Communicate transparently:
Greenwashing can be defined as creating a false impression or providing misleading information to show that an organisation's products or services are good for the environment, or at least better than competitors. In essence, it is when a company or organisation spends more time and money marketing itself as sustainable than actually minimising its environmental impact. Companies sometimes engage in greenwashing because it helps them to be seen as ethical, which in turn helps their profitability, or they simply don't know they're doing it. Greenwashing is a threat to business because of the reputational risk it can cause, but even more so now that regulation is increasing, with the EU voting to "ban greenwashing and improve consumer information on product durability".
Transparency plays a key role in avoiding misleading advertising and/or ignorance. To minimise the risk of greenwashing, it can be helpful to identify the green credentials of products and create a process to regularly identify, monitor and manage them. If you have communicated incorrectly (e.g. in the facts and figures of the sustainability report), it's a good idea to make corrections.
Industry guidelines for sustainable communications can be found on the PRCA APAC Sustainability Working Group website.
Internal communications:
An effective internal communication strategy is essential to strengthen the culture of sustainability among employees and build morale and trust. Employee understanding of the sustainability strategy is a prerequisite for employee engagement and the integration of sustainable practices into day-to-day operations.
up to 100 000$
fine or up to 2 years prison for companies charged for making false or deceptive environmental claims under the CPFTA
(SEC)
51%
of online environment-friendly product claims are vague or give insufficient details, according to a 2022 survey ordered by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore
(CCCS)
- guide on greenwashing and how to spot it
- communication guide to get internal buy-in of the sustainability strategy
Third-party verification / qualification tools:
- The Singapore Environment Council
- Singapore Green Building Product (SGBP) scheme
- Integrated Assessment Services
- Other ecolabels… (SEC Green Label, FSC, Fairtrade, MSC for seafood, EcoVadis for supply chain)
Anewkind is a planet centric design and strategy studio delivering workshops and advisory services to adapt brands, business models and systems with regenerative principles.
South Pole has been at the forefront of decarbonization since 2006, developing and implementing comprehensive strategies that turn climate action into long-term business opportunities for Fortune 500 companies, governments and organizations around the world.
South Pole is more than a consultancy, its team of 1,200+ experts have developed projects, as well as designed innovative tools across finance, climate neutral APIs, and carbon offset solutions to help clients reach their carbon mitigation and Net Zero goals.
To date South Pole has worked with over 1,000 clients, and will soon have developed 800 offset projects across 30 offices globally.
Our solutions have created tens of thousands of jobs in developing countries, hundreds of millions of dollars for business, improved brand value and better living and working conditions for countless people in vulnerable communities around the world.
Strategic sustainability messaging to engage stakeholders and communicate your ESG commitments authentically and in alignment with prevailing guidelines.
Zuno is a pioneer in decarbonisation, carbon & ESG management. Our tech platform helps leading organizations measure, reduce and report their carbon emissions and ESG performance. Powering you towards your sustainability goals, one step at a time.