The case for sustainability communications: Paul Thomas

As sustainability has grown as an international concern, so has its communication become more prevalent and more complex. The development of corporate sustainability – occurring more or less concurrently with a revolution in global communications technologies – has seen a rapidly growing requirement for sustainability communications.
 
Because sustainability is something that (broadly speaking) the general public wants, businesses need to demonstrate that their practices are not fatally damaging to the environment. The first wave of such efforts to communicate this ‘greenness’ were tarnished with the smear of greenwashing: the painting of an environmental veneer over the top of a brand, product or service.
 
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As environmental literacy improved, and calls for a reversal of environmental damage grew stronger, businesses have been called upon to acknowledge a bigger picture when it comes to sustainability. In this context, a sustainable business needs to make real changes to its operations and be seen to be making those changes, transparently and under scrutiny. In other words, it not only needs to make operational changes, but it also needs a coherent sustainability communications program.
 
This is where the sustainability communications marketplace finds itself today. It has to present credible and genuine corporate responses to a complex and often confusing global problem. It has to deal with channels of communication which barely existed as recently as a decade ago; channels such as social media sites and high-impact bloggers. Alongside these channels are more traditional forms of communication such as above and below the line advertising, packaging design and corporate reporting.
 
Because sustainability is a rising concern, the landscape for sustainability communication has become more crowded and its content and techniques more sophisticated. In addition, debates about corporate responsibility, environmental disaster response and company negligence can take on a rather heightened tone, especially where environmental NGOs and critical bloggers weigh in with rapid assessments of corporate sustainability efforts and culpability.

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In this context, the requirement for a well-conceived and thorough sustainability communications program is greater than ever. Businesses which elect to remain silent about bad practice are likely to be exposed, as will those which obfuscate matters. The value of communicating openly and genuinely with customers and business partners on corporate
sustainability efforts cannot be overstated: in the early decades of the 21st century, when huge socioeconomic changes are taking place, it is a key component of the modus operandi of the contemporary corporate entity.
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The author is the Communications Manager – Sustainability & Innovation at AkzoNobel