Plan ‘Sustainability Communications,’ Not Green Marketing, for 2011
17th November 2010 by Deborah Evans
A recent blog from Jim Nail who is a Principal Analyst at Verdantix an independent, analyst firm focused on sustainable business strategies and market opportunities.
I hear from lots of companies that they don’t do much to promote their sustainability initiatives, citing either fear of being accused of greenwashing or the fact that they are doing it for the “right” reason, not for the publicity. PR firm Cohn & Wolfe has a great name for this: “green muting.”
This fear and shyness is becoming costly to companies. Increasingly, sustainability ratings from organizations like Newsweek, Climate Counts.org, and Greenpeace establish a company’s sustainability credentials, perhaps accurately, perhaps not. As a career marketing guy, the idea of someone else defining a key characteristic of my brand’s identity or corporate reputation makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
The fact that companies are conflicted about publicly discussing their sustainability programs is a sign that the usual tools – corporate philanthropy, social responsibility or sustainability reports, cause marketing and green marketing – have proven themselves inadequate.
So as companies lay the groundwork for their 2011 sustainability strategy, they need to embrace a new discipline I call “sustainability communications.”
What’s the difference?
- First: Don’t market. Communicate.
- Second: Tell the truth. Even if it hurts.
- Finally: Don’t defend. Engage.
Marketers, corporate communications managers, and PR professionals have valuable skills in conveying compelling messages to mass audiences. But they need to escape their instinct to be relentlessly positive. If they can’t, Chief Sustainability Officers will need to take control to protect their solid sustainability achievements with good sustainability communications.