Defining sustainability communications

People working within the sustainability sector will be the first to admit it is full of jargon and prone to ‘alphabet soup' syndrome with its many abbreviations and overlapping technical lingo. And the communications and consulting part of the sector is a contributing culprit.

So let’s start from the beginning. What are sustainability communications? This is something I’ve had asked to me many times from marketing and comms practitioners ever since I made a pivot towards the sustainability and ESG sector.

There is a short answer to it that any search engine or AI platform will be able to spit out. It’s a pretty simple answer too: sustainability communications is the specific practice of telling stakeholders about a company's sustainability goals and efforts.

To dig a little bit deeper let’s go through this practice in a why/how/what framework, starting with the latter.

What

Sustainability communications is a strategic practice and the lovechild of corporate comms and behaviour change campaigns. Its outputs mostly follow what an ESG/sustainability strategy has outlined as priority themes and stakeholders and works towards communication the right message to the right stakeholders in the right channels. This will include investor relations, social media announcements, internal communications, external campaigns and often the cornerstone of the communications platform which is the sustainability/ESG report (whether formal or informal).

How
Sustainability Communications merges marketing science and science communications. From the marketing side, it borrows from how ideas spread through promoting role modelling, affirmation approaches and the smart use of positive nudges. From the science comms side, it aims to translate what is often highly technical data or complex social models into understandable messaging that reach their desired outcomes.

The communications techniques used include storytelling, stakeholder engagement, brand strategy and branding, data visualisation and content planning.

Why

Let’s go straight to the highest purpose of sustainability communications. Why would this discipline require its own name, tools, training and innovation? Ultimately the idea is grounded in behaviour change theory. The ultimate goal is to achieve a just and sustainable society, to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals and seek long-term wellbeing for all. The communications aspect is the medium by which this change can happen, as it connects businesses and audiences around sustainability and promotes a way forward in a compelling and understandable manner.

If this detailed explanation has caught your attention, or if you’re wondering how communications can help support and amplify your sustainability journey, reach out to us.