By Jeff Philbin, Director of Business Strategy
For companies of all sizes, industries, and locations today, sustainability and ESG (environment, social, and governance) have risen to become one of their most crucial business goals. Over 90% of S&P 500 companies, in fact, now publish ESG reports in some form. Moreover, in a number of countries, reporting on sustainability and ESG has either become mandatory or is under active consideration. In the U.S., for example, the Securities and Exchange Commission is considering new rules requiring the detailed disclosure of climate-related risks and greenhouse gas emissions.
At the same time, while a major part of ESG growth has been driven by environmental concerns and responses to climate change, other aspects of ESG, specifically the social dimension, have also been rising in importance.
For these reasons and more, sustainability and ESG are no longer choices. They’ve become absolute business imperatives.
At Schifino Lee, we work closely with clients to integrate sustainability and ESG performance into their business and communication strategies.
Among these, we help clients to address some of the transformational challenges for marketing that sustainability and ESG present. On this front, consider that the primary function of marketing is to develop a company’s brand and communications to drive growth, profits, and customer acquisition. While still important, these factors are now no longer the most important. Instead, what’s risen in importance is how brands are judged as an ethical brand or not by consumers in direct relation to their ESG values and actions.
Specifically, stakeholders from customer, investor, employee communities are becoming more skeptical about how ethically that businesses are acting. And for marketing teams, persuading these communities has become a paramount task. A case in point is the onset of COVID-19 and the heightened attention that has been focused on companies’ sustainability and ESG practices related to the pandemic. The good news is that it’s becoming clearer how to approach this challenge, and it starts with creating a master strategy and integrating ESG-related values into everything a company does.
Yet, for many companies, improving ESG and sustainability performance remains a challenge, and requires an expert guide. This where we assist clients in devising the best strategy, involving the right stakeholders, communicating through the right channels at the right time, and ultimately helping them meet their top ESG and sustainability goals. Simply put, we aim to be the expert guide that helps you on this journey, to understand your business, your customers, your competitors, and your narrative to reach these goals.
Learn more about our experience and expertise on our sustainability and ESG page, and let us know if you would like to talk further.
