Communicating sustainability—context and practice

Communicating

Context and practice
Anuradha Altekar

EnVision 2012
National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai
18 October 2012

“I hate buzz words but matching people,
planets, and profits is not a bad one.”

REWIND
1962 'Silent Spring',
Rachel Carson 'Seventies and 'Eighties urgency
to redefine scope of economic
Roots in 19thC development to include social
and 20thC and environmental impacts
conservationism

1983 UN constituted World
Commission on Environment
“To meet the Development (Brundtland
needs of the current Commission)
generation without
compromising the ability
of future generations 1987 'Our Common Future'
Brundtland Report definition
to meet their own needs” in wide use

EnVision 2012, National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai

What's driving sustainability?

“If you don't know
where you're going,
any road will get
you there”
Lewis Carroll
Alice in Wonderland


Traditional concept supports strong
economic and social development
Pros Underlines the importance of
protecting the natural resource base
and environment


Broad and vague—split wide open to interpretations
Labeled as “Cosmetic environmentalism”
Cons Alibi more than guidance for strong action
Unresolved conflict between “economic
rationality/profitability, social justice, and ecological
equilibrium”.*

* United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)


Definition of sustainability should address

Distinction between renewable
and non-renewable resources
What sustainability really means
Which ‘needs’ are legitimate

‘Sustainability Defined ‘ 2010 , Hector R Rodriguez, Adjunct Prof, School of Business, Mount Ida College;
‘Recasting the Triple Bottomline’, Centre for Sustainable Innovation 2007


Questions to address
Is it possible for the rate of human use of renewable
resources to exceed the rate at which such resources are
renewed or replenished?
Is it possible for the rate of human use of non-renewable
resources to exceed the rate at which renewable
replacements for such resources are developed?
Is it possible for the rate of waste emissions by humans to
exceed the rate at which the environment can assimilate
such wastes?
Is it possible for the rate of human, social, constructed
and economic needs to exceed the rate at which they are
being created?
‘Sustainability Defined’ 2010 , Hector R Rodriguez, Adjunct Prof, School of Business, Mount Ida
College; Daly H. ‘Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development’

Sustainability and impacts
YES!
…and so, all human activities associated with those
questions are unsustainable.
“Sustainability must address the impacts of
human activity on the quality and sufficiency of vital
capitals (renewable, non-renewable, and societal)
in the world.”
‘Sustainability Defined ‘ 2010 , Hector R Rodriguez, Adjunct Prof, School of Business, Mount Ida College


In sum

Precise definition elusive
Scholars support “constructive ambiguity”
of Brundtland definition
“Soft” approach conducive to perception
as process, not end
Real challenges: political and
practical preparedness

EnVision 2012 PGDISEM, National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Powai

Is green = spin?


To communicate
sustainability,
your communications
has to be sustainable.

Think reputation, not brand
Act straight, shun spin
The outside–in perspective

Internalize this

All communication must be founded on

Credibility
Trust
Responsibility
Reliability


Guideposts

Substantive vs superficial
substantive—operational changes in raw material selection and sourcing,
supply chain management, production and manufacturing efficiencies
superficial—recycled content in packaging, new line of green products
without changing existing line, even significant energy cuts

Core stakeholders, not niche audiences
CSR elite—Peter Knight at Context America “Green Ghetto”
Core attribute of reputation and identity
Accessible language, media

speakingsustainability.com


Guideposts
Owning externalities, not charity
Philanthropy is good but it's not sustainability
Focus on company's impact on environment, people, communities
HBR piece by Christopher Meyer and Julia Kirby 'Leadership in the Age of Transparency':
When the costs of externalities become sufficiently clear—and onerous—they
manage to get internalized one way or another. The scope of impact you are
responsible for managing can only continue to grow. Your choice in the matter is
whether to take charge of that scope or have it thrust upon you.

Proof, not puffery
Out—grand claims, platitudes, fluff
In—aggressive, quantifiable goals, measured by the company and accountable for them
Communications should continue, example Starbucks



Guideposts

Authenticity, not corporate speak
Plain speaking—no overstatements or trumpeting
No cover up of underachievement of targets

Harmony, not cacophony
Company’s statements must be consistent and coherent
Contradictions lead to confusion, adverse impacts--corporates and
US climate change policy

speakingsustainability.com; ‘A Climate of Corporate Control’ , ucsusa.org


By design or at random?
Has the company a
What is the company's
defined plan to reduce
vision of sustainability?
“If you don't know where
its impacts?
you're going...” Set priorities, launch
initiatives

Does the company
Does your company
define sustainability in
have a quantified baseline?
Engaging stakeholders to assess
business terms?
The “do the right thing” or
impact first step
“what's good for business”?

Sustainability statements

From the earliest days, Tata Steel has taken responsibility for
the impact of its activities and been a pioneer in employee
welfare measures, social and community initiatives and
environment sustainability just as importantly as it has
ensured sound financial management and acted as a trustee of
shareholders' wealth.



Contribute toward a prosperous 21st century society.
Aim for growth that is in harmony with the environment
and set as a challenge the achievement of zero emissions
throughout all areas of business activities.



Green is about finding a better way without compromise
We believe that green technology should be accessible to everyone.
When customers choose our products, they choose industry-leading,
energy-saving technology that is easy to recycle. Whether it’s
developing energy-efficient products that incorporate sustainable
materials, creating packaging that uses the earth’s resources more
sustainably or leading our industry in responsible recycling, we’re always
innovating to deliver practical, efficient and cost-effective products that
help save your scarce resources — as well as those of the planet’s.


Some Practices
Google invests in clean energy
Google invested more than
$915 million in clean energy
projects–solar, wind and
transmission. In fact, it’s a classic
double-bottom line investment,
one that is intended to deliver
environmental as well as
financial benefits.

Marc Gunther, Sustainable Business Forum


Some Practices

Marks & Spencer
Once under siege for outsourcing,
pesticide content in fruits and
vegetables, contaminants, and
making furniture with wood from
rainforests. After continual
engagement with stakeholders,
M&S agreed to remove PVC from
products and packaging and
eliminate 79 pesticides.

‘Collaboration in environmental stewardship ‘2010, JP Brown; ‘Case Study: The Responsibility Revolution’,
James Hollander and Bill Breen


Some Practices

Tata Global Beverages
A social media campaign gives tea
drinkers the chance to learn how and
where it is grown from the producers
themselves through the company's
Facebook page. The result: increased
awareness of tea sourcing and
sustainability issues.

Theguardian Sustainable business, Best Practice Exchange


Reporting sustainability

Analysis of the organization’s interactions with
ecological systems, resources, habitats, and
societies, and interpret this in the light of all other
organizations’ past and present impacts on those
same systems.
Gray, R–& Milne, M. J. (2002). ‘Sustainability Reporting: Who's Kidding Whom? ‘
Chartered Accountants Journal of New Zealand 81(6), 66–70


Current popular

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
The LEED of sustainability reporting: used by more than 1500
organizations from 60 countries. Independent institution formed
in 1997 to develop and disseminate globally applicable sustainability
reporting guidelines comprising 158 indicators for reporting on
economic, environmental, and social dimensions.

Triple Bottom Line (3BL)
Term dates back to '90s; coined by management think tank
AccountAbility; found currency in 1997 John Elkington's 'Cannibals
with Forks: The Triple Bottomline of 21st Century Business‘; promoted
by GRI within its guidelines and by AccountAbility for use in the
corporate world.

globalreporting.org; ‘Getting to the Bottom of Triple Bottomline’, Wayne Norman and Chris MacDonald, March 2003


Current approach gripes
Incomplete picture of sustainability risks and opportunities
in financial reports
Current financial reporting standards are inadequate;
emerged post '29 crash in era of plenty
Corporate sustainability reports address issues of
natural capital to some extent
“Internal” focus risks promoting disclosures that miss
the interactive effects of organizations with the
external environment
Need to connect the dots to financial performance and risk

Theguardian Sustainable business; theiirc.com; ‘Barriers to Strengthening the Global Reporting Initiative Framework:
Exploring the perceptions of consultants, practitioners, and researchers’ , Albert Fonseca, University of Waterloo

EnVision 2012 , National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai

The new “integrated” reporting
Integrated report alternative of the
International Integrated Reporting
Committee (IIRC)
Proposes single, comprehensive, and
authoritative reporting format to bring
together financial, environmental, social,
and governance information
60 companies participating in
IIRC road-testing framework
Strong support from Robert Eccles in his
new book “One Report” with Michael P Krzus

The guardian Sustainable business; theiirc.com


Takeaways
Growing global awareness of importance and urgency to include
sustainability into long term strategies and report to stakeholders
Sustainability reporting is now the norm though still mostly voluntary
Expectation of government regulation over next 5-10 years
Clarion call for uniform framework for regulation of sustainability and CSR
Sustainability reporting framework will continue to add value to investors
analysis...GRI G3, others
Increasing acceptance of limitations of conventional financial reporting in
assessing performance
Leaders in sustainability outperform their counterparts in stock market
valuations (DJGSI, MSCI World Index)
Professionals qualified to produce sustainability reports, and with
knowledge of green business, green marketing in demand

Nikos Avlonas, John Friedman, ‘The Green Economy Post’


“...when a company or
organization spends more time
and money claiming to be
“green” through advertising and
marketing than actually
implementing business practices
that minimize environmental
impact. It’s whitewashing, but
with a green brush.”
Greenwashingindex


Anuradha Altekar
a.anuradha@ubiquus.com

Communicating sustainability—context and practice

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