Made in Britain’s Sustainability Matters webinar series provide a chance for businesses to come together each month and discuss sustainability-related subjects. This month, Green Growth Programme Manager, Victoria Page was joined by Cheryl Chung (pictured, left) ex Global Corporate Affairs Director at brands including Boohoo and McDonalds.
Cheryl opened with a broad overview of how the language of sustainability has evolved throughout her career. Whilst there are no set definitions of terms like sustainability, Cheryl highlighted that irrespective of the terms used, they all signify that business is moving towards doing the right thing for people and the planet, whether it's ESG, CSR or sustainability. What has changed is the expectation of audiences that business does the right thing – from consumers, employees, government and other stakeholders.
So how should businesses talk about sustainability progress?
In 2022, ‘What is sustainability?’ was the most Googled sustainability-related search term. There’s no unified understanding of sustainability and to a degree that presents an advantage to brands. Cheryl advises that brands make a statement about what they want to do, set targets and then talk about what sustainability means to you as a business.
What are key communication principles?
Being honest and transparent are key principles of good communication. Telling your workforce, your customers, your supply chain and wider stakeholders of where your business is at in terms of sustainability progress is a must. And it’s also important to celebrate achievements and tell your audiences what you’re proud of, whilst balancing that with the challenges you face as a business. No one organisation has all the answers, and being transparent and truthful about where the gaps are, can help to build trust.
One example is Tony’s Chocolonely, which created its sustainability report detailing progress. Within the report, a question read, “Is there slave labour in your supply chain?”. The response read simply, “Yes.” And went on to detail the exact number of cases solved, those unresolved and highlighted that this is a sectoral issue, and not just a problem being faced by Tony's in isolation.
That ability to be truthful about the good and the bad, helps audiences to understand that your business is being honest about its shortcomings. And with that comes trust and a stronger faith in the brand. Cheryl continued to explore how to build trust, suggesting using others to tell your story, who are believable. These might be people who can speak on behalf of your business including employees, those in your supply chain and broader partnerships. Coupling this with data or evidence to back up your claims is also critical, with third-party evidence being especially valuable.
It's not just your business – most issues are sectoral
The Tony’s example also highlights that many issues faced by brands are sectoral issues, and communicating them enables you to connect with other organisations either facing the same challenge or those that might even provide a resolution. It also helps consumers to understand that whilst some challenges might seem straightforward to solve, they require much more consideration than they might seem.
Cheryl attests that joining the debate and getting involved is the most important step. Otherwise, you leave yourself open to your audiences making their own minds up about your progress. She added the adage, “Don’t let perfection be the barrier to progress.”
How to communicate?
The way we communicate dictates how audiences can engage too. Cheryl gave an interesting example during her time at McDonald’s when the brand launched a management tool for farmers. Originally, it was billed as a carbon reduction tool, which failed to gain any suitable traction. Back to the drawing board, a new approach shared a way for farmers to save money by using the tool. The adoption of the tool was transformed.
Consider who you are selling to, buying from, seeking investment from, and appealing to join your business…..all these audiences need to hear your sustainability message. Keeping the drumbeat of noise going is a good thing. Cheryl added that McDonald’s has been talking about 100% British Beef for more than 30 years, and still cynics exist that don’t believe the message.
Testing messaging with your employees and close advocates in your supply chain, or customers, is also a good way to carefully explore how your messages might land. But fundamentally, if you don’t talk about doing business sustainably, you’ll fail to connect to your consumers and without that connection, businesses risk losing investment in an area that can’t afford to lose support.
Cheryl’s Golden Rules
Cheryl contributed three Golden Rules for optimum sustainability communication:
1. Create a narrative that is honest, simple and evidence-based
2. Test it with your people – listen to their feedback and incorporate it
3. Keep the drumbeat of communications going – when you’re bored of saying it, keep talking, because most people will only just be switching on
The Sustainability Matters webinar series is part of Made in Britain’s Green Growth Programme. The Green Growth Assessment and Programme are designed to help every manufacturer become more sustainable, by understanding their progress and then taking concrete steps to improve. The service is free to all Made in Britain members via their Member Profile and is completely confidential. Find out more about joining Made in Britain.
The next Green Growth webinar is on 25th July at 11am and members can book now > Greenwashing 101: What is it and how to avoid it
By Made in Britain 1 year ago | By Made in Britain