Why celebrating your sustainability is better for business
Do organisations do enough to celebrate their sustainability achievements?
Some are worried about accusations of greenwashing damaging their brand reputation. Others simply don’t want to discuss the way they handle their waste. But if an organisation has the facts to prove what they’ve been doing to meet their sustainability goals, they can use their transparency to strengthen their position in the marketplace by communicating their achievements to both their customers and their employees.
Another accusation often directed at businesses is that they spin their financial choices as environmental efforts, to make them appear more palatable. But all businesses need to make money, and you can’t be sustainable unsustainably – so if they’re achieving economic and environmental gains in one go, we should celebrate instead of sneering.
Any potential negatives are overshadowed by the momentum that good communications will give to your sustainability efforts. Making your customers and employees aware of the work you’re doing will raise your profile, your profits and your power to drive more change through your businesses.
In other words – good PR can maximise the efforts of your company’s sustainability, and strong sustainability gives you plenty of good PR. It’s a positive feedback loop. The best organisations also promote that message internally, ensuring that employees are engaged with sustainability goals and feel good about where they work. After all, a more involved workforce can only improve an organisation’s overall performance.
So why should businesses celebrate their sustainability?
More than ever, consumers want to make ethical choices about what they buy. They don’t just look at the monetary cost and immediate benefit – they want to know whether it was battery farmed or free range, grown in the UK or flown in from afar. We can see those considerations extending away from just product and into primary packaging, for example. Look at the rise in Easter eggs sold minus the traditional ‘wow factor’, but not strictly necessary, cardboard packaging.
Celebrating your sustainability will connect you to ethics-conscious consumers. They’re more likely to trust you if you’re transparent about your goals and achievements – and that means they’ll come back for more than one purchase.
But there are other ways of using your sustainability efforts to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. More than 50 separate reports in the last 10 years have shown that organisations who lead in resource management are also financially outperforming their less sustainable competitors.
The secret is that strong resource management strategies are what create sustainability success stories. You need the methods before the message, but when you’re transparent on how you acquire and use your resources – and what you do when they’re used up – you’ll have a wealth of information with which to promote your brand. And if you have the data to back it up, accusations of greenwash will slide right off.
Consumers will recognise you as an organisation to be trusted. The businesses in your supply cycle will appreciate knowing that they work with a sustainability trailblazer. But don’t just focus on the external benefits – think about how you achieve your results in the first place: through the efforts of your employees.
Internal involvement
Communicating what you do to the teams within your company will ensure that your drive to recycle maintains momentum.
Within 10 years, 75% of the workforce will be millennials – people born between 1980 and 2000 – who grew up when recycling was introduced at home, lived through an economic crash and have seen governments the world over struggle to cope with the fallout. They trust businesses, not legislation, to be the force that makes a difference.
Research into the millennial demographic shows that they demand more from businesses – not just as consumers, but as employees. They’re selective about who they work for, and are more likely to work for companies whose values they connect with.
It’s not so hard to understand. People want to feel good about what they do, so engaging your employees in your sustainability goals will boost their confidence in you as an employer. Make the right decisions for the environment, and you’ll get your employees more involved in your business’s values. A good communications strategy will maximise your ability to hire in a workforce as dedicated to your goals as you are.
Spread the word
Some organisations are brilliant at telling their customers what they’re up to, but don’t communicate it to their employees. Others are great at ensuring their teams are involved, but don’t discuss their wins in public.
At DS Smith, we work with our customers to celebrate their achievements. We’re not just their recycling partners – we want to discuss best practice, share advice, and appreciate those who make a difference. That’s why we run our own recycling awards. The awards ceremony brings together all of our customers, sharing best practice, promoting ideas and giving credit where it’s due. It’s always great to celebrate the amazing work that people do.
And when the night is over, we support our customers in getting their achievements into their own communications, from PR and marketing to internal communications. It strengthens their brands and encourages employees to keep making a difference – so that the business can keep making progress.
Make the most of your sustainability
PR and external affairs are focused on protecting brand reputation, and building positive associations for a brand. Transparent business practices are at the heart of that – nobody likes being misled. Being able to substantiate your claims will cut through any accusations of spin, and will prove your integrity to your audience.
That means that you need accurate data from your waste management partner, and to avoid the fear of negativity that can get in the way of a good story. Just make sure your story is accurate.
If you can prove it, use it – or lose it!