Championing Sustainability: Why ESG messaging matters for modern organisations

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, organisations are facing increasing pressure to go beyond pure profit-making and embrace a more comprehensive view of their impact on the world. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles have emerged as a key metric for companies to showcase their commitment to ethical practices, sustainability, and social responsibility. Customers, employees, and investors are all paying closer attention to how businesses operate and the values they champion and promote. Yet, despite this growing awareness, many organisations are still falling short in communicating their ESG efforts effectively.

This gap in communication represents a golden opportunity for internal communications professionals to lead the charge, championing sustainability and ethical values within their companies. Here’s why ESG messaging is more important than ever and how IC professionals can help drive meaningful change.

The Rising Importance of ESG Messaging

In recent years, the demand for companies to integrate ESG values into their operations has skyrocketed. This isn’t just a passing trend; it’s the new standard. According to surveys, employees increasingly prefer working for organisations that are aligned with ethical, sustainable practices, and customers are making purchase decisions based on a company’s environmental and social stance. And, as we have discussed many times, we know that this is even more important for Millennials and Generation Z than it is for their older colleagues.

The pandemic, climate change, and growing social justice movements have further amplified the call for businesses to be more transparent about their impact on society and the environment. Consumers are not just interested in a company’s products. They want to know where those products come from, how they’re made, and whether the company is making a positive contribution to the world.

The same holds true for employees. The modern workforce, particularly the aforementioned younger generations, are drawn to employers whose values align with their own. A clear, well-articulated ESG strategy can, therefore, help attract and retain top talent, boost morale, and improve overall employee engagement.

The Communication Gap: A Missed Opportunity

Despite the growing recognition of ESG’s importance, many organisations are failing to communicate their efforts effectively. Even when companies have robust sustainability initiatives or social responsibility programs in place, these initiatives are not widely known to employees, customers, or stakeholders. In other cases, organisations may have a general commitment to ESG but lack a cohesive strategy or clear messaging around it.

This disconnect can leave employees and customers feeling uninformed or sceptical about a company’s actual commitment to sustainability. Worse, it can result in missed opportunities to build trust, strengthen brand loyalty, and enhance corporate reputation.

(We won’t talk here about organisations who place zero sincere importance on their ESG commitments, except to say that if all you offer them are some token words, you should expect to lose out on the pick of the young talent and discerning customers and clients out there!)

IC Professionals: The Unsung Heroes of ESG Communication

Internal communications professionals are in a unique position to close this gap and lead the way in ESG messaging. Here’s how they can become champions of sustainability efforts within their organizations:

1. Craft clear, authentic messages

Employees and customers want transparency. Internal comms people can ensure that ESG messaging is clear, honest, and aligned with the company’s core values. This involves communicating both successes and challenges, showing a genuine commitment to continuous improvement rather than a polished but superficial narrative.

2. Engage employees in the ESG journey 

Comms teams can play a critical role in making ESG initiatives tangible and relatable for employees. By involving them in sustainability efforts, whether through internal campaigns, volunteer programs, or feedback channels, comms professionals can foster a culture where employees feel personally invested in the company’s ESG goals. This, in turn, can boost engagement and help turn employees into advocates for the company’s values.

3. Bridge the internal/external divide

ESG efforts need to resonate both internally with employees and externally with customers. Internal Comms professionals can serve as the bridge, ensuring that the company’s messaging is consistent across all platforms. By collaborating with marketing, public relations, and corporate social responsibility teams, comms people can ensure that ESG communication flows seamlessly between internal and external audiences.

4. Educate and inform 

It’s not enough to assume that employees understand the importance of ESG initiatives. Internal Comms professionals should take a proactive approach in educating staff about what ESG means, why it matters, and how it directly impacts their work. Through regular updates, town halls, and training sessions, IC professionals can help foster a deep understanding of the company’s goals and progress.

5. Leverage storytelling for impact

Storytelling is a powerful tool in ESG communication. IC professionals can highlight real stories of employees, customers, and communities positively impacted by the company’s initiatives. These stories make ESG efforts tangible, humanising abstract concepts like “sustainability” or “social responsibility” and showing the real-world impact of these efforts. The most effective tool when it comes to storytelling is video. You can say so much more, with so much more authenticity and influence, with the various forms of video than you will ever achieve with the written word.

Conclusion: A new era of corporate responsibility

The importance of ESG messaging is no longer up for debate. As employees and customers continue to seek out companies with strong ethical values, organisations that fail to communicate their ESG efforts risk losing out on trust, loyalty, and talent. For internal communications professionals, this represents a fabulous opportunity to take the lead, ensuring that sustainability and ethical practices are deeply embedded into the company’s culture and communication strategies.

By championing ESG efforts, IC professionals can not only help their organisations align with modern values but also play a pivotal role in shaping a better, more sustainable future for all.

We believe that now is the time to step up and lead the conversation on sustainability. Because the world is listening.