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The PR picture: navigating the challenges of ESG comms

Going beyond the ‘nice-to-haves’ in corporate social responsibility.

Over the last decade, we have seen an evolution in terms of how businesses interact with the world around them. In this piece, our Head of Global PR, Lottie West, is sharing her thoughts on going beyond the ‘nice-to-haves’ in corporate social responsibility.

In times gone by, CSR (corporate social responsibility) typically took the form of feelgood initiatives. While well-intentioned, these projects would rarely sit at the heart of the corporate agenda, and often felt like bolt-ons. Towards the end of the last decade, CSR gave way to “purpose”; a more intentional drive to do better, baked into a company’s DNA. The pandemic necessitated a major shift in how businesses operate and the levels of accountability and responsibility employees, investors, and end-users expect from them. With this came the widespread adoption of ESG (environmental, societal, and governance). 

Today ESG is not just a “nice-to-have”, it is increasingly mandated by legislation, and is squarely on the c-suite agenda. For many businesses, this is not just a tick-box exercise, but informs all operations.  

But in an age of distrust, disinformation and culture wars, how can brands navigate the ESG landscape in a way that is genuine and authentic? 

This was the subject of lengthy discussion at the recent PR360 conference. The key themes which emerged surrounded building trust, dispelling misinformation, and remaining true to brand purpose – with PR forming a key role in protecting reputation. 

  1. If you work in a controversial sector, you need to be prepared for issues. This does not mean that as a business you shouldn’t take a stand on areas that are important to you, but you need to be ready to face up to potential negativity. In the face of this it is important to stay true to your organisational values.
  2. Be meticulous in correcting disinformation. Celia Richardson, Director of Comms and Marketing at the National Trust said that it is vital to “repair every window”. If you don’t counter every piece of disinformation, a story can snowball and the truth can get lost.
  3. Have a presence in the media. If you take a proactive approach to PR, and regularly engage, the correct story is out there from the start, and you have a better control of the narrative in the case of any misinformation further down the line.
  4. Be brave enough to take a stand. Louis Blake, Head of Corporate Communications at Danone UK&I, the market leader in bottled water, explained how his business had held the government to account over implementation of a Deposit Return Scheme on plastic bottles. He said, “Having a position on issues will bring people out of the woodwork, but we need to show the customer that the products they are buying are made by people who care.”
  5. But equally you don’t need to have an opinion about everything. According to Saskia Wirth, Director of Corporate Communications at McLaren Racing, “Deciding when to engage and when to stay silent is the hardest part.” Businesses don’t need a view on everything – if you are going to take a stand, you need to be able to speak credibly about the issue.

 

Photo credit: PRWeek