MARKETING AND COMMS -
Corporate responsibility report season is upon us, and with that, we are constantly being inundated with important data — reductions in carbon emissions, savings in waste and changes in energy use. This increase in sustainability reporting is a sign that we’re all moving towards a more sustainable future, but how can you make sure that the information you’re reporting on is relatable — that it’s truly resonating? How can you ensure that your customers and consumers feel connected to your sustainability report?
PRESS RELEASE -
AT&T is kick starting the 2015-2016 school year with $20 million in contributions to education organizations through its AT&T Aspire program. Students and teachers in more than 26 states will benefit. This back to school investment is just one of the ways that AT&T is using the power of its network to build a better tomorrow.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
What is your why? It is a question that you have most likely been confronted with at some point in your life. But, do you truly know what it means? And more importantly, have you been able to clearly define your why? Simon Sinek’s TED talk, “How Great Leaders Inspire Action,” is a great place to start in getting to the answer of these questions. This little talk has been a great inspiration for me in finding my why.
PRESS RELEASE -
Corporate responsibility is about more, not less: more value creation, more collaboration, more diversity and more passion. This belief in continuous growth and improvement is central to our approach to corporate responsibility here at Symantec. It’s been a busy year for us with dozens of new product releases, global expansion of our services and a historic decision to split the company into two stand-alone entities – one focused on security and the other on information management. Amidst all the activity and progress, we remain laser-focused on our commitment to corporate responsibility, because we’ve seen time and time again that it provides clear value to our employees and our business, the environment and society.
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
As climate issues, resource depletion and social issues begin to inform corporate strategy, brands need to communicate their values, experiences, and solutions. New crises demand new strategies, and San Francisco-based PR and media strategy firm Blue Practice prides itself on offering companies a unique range of tools for effective sustainability storytelling.Just after the firm’s recent relaunch, we spoke with co-founder and president Tim Gnatek about the top trends emerging in the field and the future of sustainability communication.
NEW METRICS -
In 15 earlier parts of this series, Claire Sommer and I developed 28 pitfalls in the sustainable business metrics field, based on the experiences of many mostly non-business fields. (Find them here.)
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
“I hate my job.”
It’s a sign of a warped world that most of us have heard friends, family or our own lips make this gloomy statement. Chances are that four out of every five people working for you right this minute would rather be not working. This is the percentage of global workers who are not “involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to work” — in other words, not engaged — according to Gallup.
Why does this matter? Disengaged workers produce less and turn over more. As a result, companies and teams with largely disengaged workers underperform financially by more than 50 percent compared to those with mostly engaged workers.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
This is the latest in a series of posts in which we will poll our global community of business leaders and practitioners — the “SB Vanguard” — on a variety of issues pertinent to the evolving sustainable business landscape.
NEW METRICS -
In the sustainability field, in contrast to other fields, it is the biggest possible compliment to no longer be needed in a discussion because your colleague in purchasing is already covering your topics. But how do you get your colleagues to not just listen to your ideas, but to consider them worth working towards?Ideally, your colleagues would not only acknowledge sustainability topics, but run with them. That tells you that something is changing. The companies making the biggest changes are those where everybody feels responsible — from the cleaning lady to the purchasing department. But how can you work towards this?
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Everybody loves a list, right? Right.Well, here’s mine – a 46-point manifesto-like checklist for anybody looking to communicate corporate sustainability. It’s not rocket science. But as the following pointers suggest, there’s every opportunity to get it wrong and a plethora of reasons to get it right.1. Make it materialWhen it comes to creating content and communicating your story, the world is your oyster; sustainability is a broad church and there’s almost too much ground to cover. If it’s important to your business and customers, you should be talking about it. If it’s not important, you shouldn’t bother.2. Do it frequently
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
Yesterday, I posted a piece about the Pope's "encyclical" on the environment, released last month. I summarized what I saw as the key themes and takeaways. I also provided the first half of my list of the best quotes from the essay. Yesterday's excerpts covered climate science (and denial), environmental ills in general, and the Pope's critique of modern technological society.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
Over the past few weeks, several people have shared with me how they’re using my sustainability competencies research and guide to define the leadership skills and knowledge needed for long-term business — and societal — success. The feedback has been swift and promising. I am delighted (and encouraged!) to hear about the distinct and specific ways that these individuals are putting the competencies research to work for their organizations.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
"It's all in our Sustainability Report."That's a phrase guaranteed to strike fear in the hearts of even the hardiest sustainability wonks.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
“We have statesmen and politicians who profess to guide our destinies. Whither are they guiding our destinies?”— H.G WellsValuing continuing existenceIn recent decades considerable effort has been invested into describing and identifying the planet’s natural environment in terms that can be appreciated and integrated into the language of economics and finance.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Pope Francis has been creating news in sustainability circles lately and lots of it.Why? Well, it’s not just because his message of peace, simplicity, and pursuit of the common good resonates with millions the world round, but also because his beliefs are uniform and undivided in ways political, corporate, union or community leaders can seldom afford to be: It is within each of us, he says without preaching or scolding, to be better people, more caring, more generous and, of course, more considerate of the environment.
LEADERSHIP -
My recent meeting with the Boy Scouts of America and their suppliers radically shifted my view of what the Scouts are about. My impression of the Boy Scouts was stuck in my experience as a Scout back in the ‘70s. As a middle schooler, I joined the Scouts to hang out with my friends. I loved the outdoor activities and the pursuit of merit badges.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
My friend recently purchased a washing machine from a major manufacturer. Its energy efficiency was poor but the carton it was delivered in featured a large recycled packaging label. A credible sustainability claim? I would say not. Believe me, I am all for recycled packaging. But credible claims are relevant to the main sustainability attributes of a product. For a washing machine, that should be energy use. Otherwise, the claim could be misleading – think of the consumer misconstruing the recycled symbol as the mark of an overall ‘green’ washing machine.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
On Monday evening, opening night of SB '15 San Diego, Gregg LaBar and members of the Dix & Eaton team led a creative session in the Activation Hub. Instead of presenting from a PowerPoint, they asked a series of questions on their whiteboard, crowdsourced input from attendees, and empowered people to write down and interact with their ideas and those from other attendees. Ask meaningful questions and we usually get meaningful answers.What was the deep-dive topic? Finding the communication sweet spot between “greenblushing” and greenwashing.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
I like singing, dancing and snapping like everyone else when it comes to ‘Single Ladies.’ And I totally agree - if you liked it, then you should have put a ring on it. But it still doesn't mean I like Beyoncé.Why don't I like Beyoncé? Very simple, I have no clue who she is. I've never met her and know anything about her life. How I can I like her? What's there to like? I just don't like her. Not even a bit.Make no mistake, I don't dislike Beyoncé either. I am completely ambivalent when it comes to Beyoncé the person. Beyoncé the person is a complete unknown to me and everyone who isn't close family or friends. How can you like or dislike something or someone you simply don't know and have no clue who or what they are?
NEW METRICS -
During my past five years at PRé, I’ve observed how companies approach different issues. I’m very interested in social impact assessment, and I experienced that companies have wildly different approaches for assessing the social impacts of their products and services, and for managing product social sustainability.