Sustainability narratives – what works and what doesn’t – Digital Digest

“We obtain this loads.” It’s a sentence so many shoppers inform us as soon as we begin a sustainability reporting mission. And it’s a sentence that carries with it a approach of pleasure – however moreover the propensity to overwhelm.

‘Sustainability’ is normally thought of as a single enterprise area, nevertheless surely it’s an all-encompassing matter that touches nearly every part of a enterprise. And whereas a sustainability report or devoted half on an web web site is a chance to ship all this work collectively, defending the entire completely completely different components can be taught like a listing of unrelated actions that underplays the strategic contemplating behind your efforts.

To assemble credibility in your sustainability strategyit’s important to take the time to type a story that’s wise. One which explains what you want to acquire and why, and that helps to win buy-in from stakeholders by linking your actions to your group’s imaginative and prescient, mission and values.

The inexperienced delicate – what works in sustainability narratives

After we’re serving to buyers pin down their efforts through a sustainability narrative, there are some vital parts that we’re on a regular basis searching for to get correct.

Prepare the development

Sustainability efforts can usually actually really feel too far reaching and sophisticated to set out in a clear, simple method, so creating building is vital for readability. The aim is to make clear why you’ve prioritised certain actions.

In case you’ve got a materiality matrix (which models out the themes that are most important to your stakeholders and enterprise success), you must use this to focus in your priorities. Otherwise you presumably can group actions into lessons to point how targets are interlinked and contribute to the bigger picture.

It’s helpful to include visuals to present the method in an uncluttered method. In doing so, your written content material materials can go into further component on explaining your strategic contemplating and demonstrating affect.

Add proof and metrics

Even most likely essentially the most trusting of readers gained’t on a regular basis merely take your phrase for it. Along with targets and clear metrics to disclose progress (or maybe a setback) will current you are taking accountability to your sustainability ambitions. Graphs and infographics can present the numbers clearly and supply assist to interact with audiences who aren’t massive readers. Alternatively, in case your progress isn’t numbers pushed then case analysis shall be an environment friendly methodology to convey vital affect.

Uncover the golden thread

A theme that hyperlinks completely completely different actions reveals that each little factor is together with as a lot as a greater full. De Beers, for example, produces a report titled ‘Developing Ceaselessly’, telling a story of lasting sustainable affect prolonged previous diamond discovery.

The golden thread may even come through specifically individual experiences to tie collectively a 12 months’s efforts. It’d hint at funding, forward-thinking, improvement, various – any sentiment or unifying theme that captures the mood of the 12 months. Promoting and advertising and marketing brains getting collectively are wise at discovering and finessing this theme.

Broaden your attain

A single doc, normally a report, brings each little factor into one place. But it surely absolutely might be not the one place that individuals are looking out for knowledge in your sustainability efforts. By broadening the perimeters of your sustainability communications, you’ll be able to attain further stakeholders.

As an illustration, a sustainability narrative is an environment friendly method of outlining your imaginative and prescient in a digestible method. By bringing the vital factor pillars of your sustainability method collectively beneath a coherent assertion, you presumably can convey an vital particulars about your work in just a few sentences, making it excellent to your organization and sustainability websites.

Lifting tales from the report onto the website or to social media is one different simple method of telling further people in regards to the work you’re doing. Widespread data updates printed all through a lot of platforms can current you’re regularly working in your efforts sooner than the next report lands.

We see firm web sites evolving throughout the years ahead, from a spot the place select stakeholders can uncover associated agency knowledge to a platform that engages all people from shoppers to colleagues.

The cautionary tales

When loads good work is going on in an organisation, it’s very simple for a sustainability narrative to essentially really feel grandiose or sentimental. In the end, corporations make investments numerous property into these efforts – why wouldn’t they want to present them of their biggest delicate? Nonetheless the hazard of an extreme quantity of glitter is that folk question whether or not or not it’s defending up for a not-so-golden truth.

Watch out for greenwashing

And for overclaiming or overstating the truth. Clear language, proudly proudly owning as a lot as challenges and clear metrics could make it easier to to stay honest – and nothing instils perception like honesty.

Know the boundaries of a report

Trying to squeeze an extreme quantity of into one doc might make it unwieldy for a reader (and to deal with rounds of inside analysis!). It’s top quality to hyperlink to further particulars elsewhere on-line.

Maintain it concise

Not your whole efforts will fall neatly proper right into a pillar or theme and trying to make all of it match risks diluting the readability of your narrative. Practice self-discipline to make sure it’s wise to your viewers and by no means merely inside teams.

Switch away from the clichés

When a topic is hard to make clear, there’s a bent to lean into language that’s acquainted to us. Nonetheless using overused phrases and buzzwords can undermine the credibility of your work. Allow time for a ruthless edit to take care of your narrative real.

Get assist to get it correct

An exterior perspective can provide invaluable steering for serving to your sustainability narrative land successfully. They may ship insights in your completely completely different stakeholders’ views and highlight the place further readability is required. An expert may even share biggest apply in sustainability narratives so that yours stands as a lot as successfully to the opponents and diverts your content material materials away from the clichés.

Want to debate to the consultants? Get in touch with our workforce as we converse.