Communicating Sustainability in the Age of Polarization

“To be or not to be?” You don’t have to be a Shakespearean scholar to recognize the famous line from Hamlet in this question. Distant as the play set in Renaissance-era Denmark may seem, its powerful language and portrayal of the human condition have given it centuries of staying power. Time will tell if the theme of sustainability will become so embedded in our consciousness, regardless of the reasons why it should be.

Unlike dramatic dialogue, with all the emotion such entertainment conjures, the relatively dry term “sustainability” remains too academic to capture the popular imagination. But what some perceive as too conceptual to be actionable has, in fact, become a rallying cry for a rising number of people in key demographics across the U.S. and globally.

Consider some recent findings on the rising demand for progress on sustainability from investors, employees and consumers:

77% of CFOs from U.S. companies still plan to maintain or increase sustainability investments despite recent political shifts and expected regulatory rollbacks. The surveyed CFOs also continued to report gains in revenue, cost savings, risk management and access to favorable financing opportunities as a direct result of ESG initiatives. (Source: Sustainability Magazine)

69% of employees want their companies to invest in sustainability efforts, including reducing carbon, using renewable energy and reducing waste. (Source: Deloitte Consumer Center)

Consumers say their environmental concerns are increasing due to extreme weather. A recent study shows they’re willing to change behavior and pay 12% more for sustainable products. (Source: Bain & Company)

As the evidence suggests, the issue isn’t whether people care, but how to talk about it in this era of political polarization. Just as the setting of Hamlet inspired another famous line, “Something’s rotten in the state of Denmark,” the setting of America today is fraught with problems—each created by a different culprit, depending on who you ask. Fear of triggering an unfavorable reaction is enough to quiet even the most outspoken proponents.

Anxiety over whether to use loaded terms like “DEI” and “ESG” creates a conundrum for C-suite executives and the communications pros who support them. Many companies want to do their part to meet or exceed societal expectations for social responsibility and environmental stewardship—and many are well down the road in their efforts—but they hesitate to showcase these initiatives for fear of too much scrutiny.

To speak or not to speak green?

The answer is “it depends” — on your audience, your product or service offering, your mission and a host of other factors.

If you are motivated to demonstrate leadership or transparency, sustainability reporting is the smart way to communicate sustainability. The practice has been rising across industry sectors for more than 25 years, much of it voluntary. As market drivers, regulatory changes, consumer demands, environmental concerns and natural resource constraints propel the push for sustainability across global value chains, the need for a common language for suppliers and corporations to communicate both progress and challenges has never been more pressing. Fortunately, a universal language exists in the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards, the leading sustainability reporting framework used by more than 10,000 reporters and 78% of the world’s 250 largest companies.

The GRI Standards are a user-friendly modular set that delivers a comprehensive picture of an organization’s material topics and related impacts and how they are managed. Using the Standards to guide your messaging and reporting ensures you do not misrepresent your organizational impacts, giving you the confidence to speak up—whether to demonstrate compliance or capture a competitive advantage.

Choosing to fly under the radar is understandable, but neglecting sustainability means that organizations miss out on opportunities while leaving themselves open to unnecessary risks. Brands miss out on a chance to build the trust that comes with safeguarding the well-being of their current and future employees, customers and communities, which is what sustainability is all about.

At Cooksey, we understand that a sustainable business is a responsible business—one that’s prepared to respond to whatever forces may come at it. These forces will only strengthen in the coming years, so leaders should be prepared. Since no one-size-fits-all approach will succeed, good counsel is essential. To help, we offer clients strategic communications expertise, drawing on certification in the GRI Standards.

To prepare or not to prepare?

This is the most important question of all. If your answer to that question is affirmative, count on Cooksey as your communications counsel in a complex world. We can help you assess your position in the marketplace and decide if sustainability reporting is right for you. If it is, count on us as your GRI-certified partner in sustainability reporting and communications. For a sample of our work, see our award-winning ESG report for Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, North America’s first carbon-neutral airport.

Learn more about our Sustainability Practice here on our website.

By Anna Clark, Vice President & Sustainability Practice Leader