Communication in sustainability gets a bad rep despite how essential it is. This mainly comes from years and years of greenwashing, along with how much companies don’t seem to know how to communicate sustainable strategies and the fairly recent widespread adoption of reporting standards. It is, however, necessary for your company to get a handle on incorporating sustainability into your communications if you want to succeed in the 2020s and beyond.

There are a few major issues I see popping up: trends, missed opportunities, and, of course, greenwashing. I will briefly address these, and then give an overview of how to create an actually strong sustainability communications strategy. Crucially, the solution to each issue tends to be the same. Aim for strategy, relevance, accountability, transparency, and authenticity, and you should be able to navigate even the thorniest of issues.

Firstly, get off the bandwagon. Much of the population experiences sustainability via online trends. This inevitably creates a consumerist angle as a solution, which is deeply contradictory to the actual resource use conversation in environmental circles, and it creates a sense of fleetingness. A company relying on trends to guide and communicate their sustainability efforts will be misguided in terms of what actual impact can be made and perpetually left behind as the internet moves on to the next thing. If a trend happens to coincide with your existing marketing, that is great and you can take advantage, but you shouldn’t be chasing mass appeal via meme if you want to build a strong, long-lasting approach to marketing.

Secondly, if you are doing good things, please celebrate them! As a consultant, I often encounter clients who are doing impressive work to improve their impact, but consumers simply don’t know. You do not need to make your entire brand about sustainability, but you shouldn’t be afraid to give yourself the credit you have earned. It is possible your customer base is uninterested or dislikes environmental and social claims, but, first, you may be able to attract even more customers if you manage to communicate your existing value with sustainability, and, two, you can pick and choose which achievements to publicize. Perhaps your customer base doesn’t want to hear about climate change but does care about employee ownership. Perhaps the percentage of recycled material is more important than the gender diversity of your board. If you are genuinely accomplishing these things, you won’t accidentally fall into greenwashing. The point is to take advantage of your strengths as they currently are.

Last is greenwashing, and this is the biggest concern in my mind. You should simply not do it. Customers, employees, and investors are not going to be fooled forever, and lying about impact isn’t acceptable. Perhaps this sounds harsh, but I am a sustainability consultant, so this is a position I hold dear. I know that greenwashing has worked for many, but please do not engage with it. That is the line in the sand. Greenwashing is easiest to avoid when you are operating with SMART goals and aiming for those things (strategy, relevance, accountability, transparency, and authenticity) that I had mentioned before.

So how do we get those things? Let’s start with strategy, as this will guide everything. If you want a communications strategy, you need an overall sustainability strategy. What does an improved impact mean for your brand? Your long-term existence as a company? Your value proposition? I am a consultant. I work in strategic sustainability, so this is what I think about all day long and am thus a little biased as to its importance, but even if I leave my bubble, strategy remains essential for successful businesses. Once you know what sustainability means to your company, you can drill down into what it means for your marketing. You need a clear and decisive brand identity for customers to easily grab latch on to. Having a weak stance will leave you unmemorable, which will not hold onto customers.

Let’s next explore relevance. Not every issue is going to need your stance as a company. You have finite resources, including a limited amount of consumer attention. You should focus your communications on what is material to your company. If you are in an industry where labor rights are a major issue, then make that the focus of your sustainability communications. What do your customers and other stakeholders value? What do you actually impact? These might not align, so be cautious (and strategic!) in how you approach this. Essentially, stay in your lane. Keep your messaging focused so it is easier for customers to grasp and is something that actually matters to your company outside of a one-time PR campaign.

Accountability and transparency go together, but there are differences that you will need to think about. If you are going to take sustainability seriously, you need to be data-driven. This will help you avoid trends and celebrate your wins, driving your resources towards what actually makes an impact. You should set SMART goals and have established tracking mechanisms, keeping yourself accountable. Externalizing these goals can help, as stakeholders such as customers and investors can keep you on track. However, you should consider what goals you don’t want to publicize. If you know what your goals and progress are, you can make those decisions in an informed way. You are also more insulated from accusations of greenwashing if you can hand over the receipts when skeptics come knocking. There may be external impositions for accountability and transparency over time, such as regulations, investor expectations, or, if you pursue it, certification standards (third party certification/assessment is the best way to prove your credentials and is in some cases required). If you have already set up your policies and practices, it will be much easier to transition.  

Last is authenticity. This combines strategy and relevance to essentially keep your branding grounded. A lot of outdoor brands like to talk about sustainability (through greenwashing is rampant) because it matters to their customers, but also because there is a genuine overlap in the priorities of people in the industry and sustainability. If your company has a strong, identifiable mission, you attract customers, investors, employees, partners, etc. who are going to bring that passion to your products. There is a human element to this that is incredibly valuable and cannot be faked. This authenticity will shine through in your communications and motivate your company and community to continue making progress.

If this is all incredibly overwhelming, you can also find a marketing/communications firm that is aligned with your values. You will want your partner in this to be someone who understands the importance of sustainability and understands things like greenwashing without you needing to fill in all the gaps.

Sustainability is relevant to everyone, which is part of why as a consultant I don’t limit myself to a particular industry. When you don’t incorporate it into your communications, you are leaving value on the table and opening yourself up to criticism. Wherever you are in your sustainability journey, communications should be considered.