Six steps to effective, transparent ESG communication.

As CSR reporting becomes law, learn how to communicate your business’ sustainability values without greenwashing

From 2025, European big businesses are legally required to report on the progress they are making with decarbonisation and corporate social responsibility (CSR). In the UK, in the past year, the Financial Conduct Authority has issued anti-greenwashing rules to protect consumers.

Meanwhile, consumers are becoming more aware of green business practices than ever: 1 in 4 consumers have now heard of B Corps, a figure that rises to 50% among under-25s.

Brand content – whether this is blog posts, emails, social media or advertising – offers a huge opportunity to connect positively with your customers and communicate your sustainability wins and values.

However, given the stakes involved, getting it wrong can do more harm than good. The number one practice to avoid is greenwashing: the act of making your business seem more environmentally and socially positive than it is. It’s a form of ‘spin’ that is a major reputational risk for businesses and can also create legal issues if a company is found to have misled consumers.

With that in mind, here’s how to create sustainability content that works – and that doesn’t jeopardise your brand with greenwashing.

• Take your time. If your business is at the beginning of its sustainability journey, now is a great time to start internally researching and educating your brand on sustainability issues and setting specific goals and practices, before you start communicating about it via content. It’s unwise to release content on sustainability before you have a firm ESG plan, and/or results to show that there is action behind your words.

• Know your company’s sustainability values. Knowing what your company stands for, and why, is essential to a strong, clear brand identity. This also applies to forming a sustainability ‘identity’. Why does your company care about doing better by the environment? How do your products, services or people intersect with the climate crisis? What does your business have to offer when it comes to creating a cleaner, fairer, more regenerative world? When does it intend to achieve its sustainability goals by? With this information, you can write sustainability-themed content from a place of integrity and knowledge. This is critical: intelligent consumers can sense when words and commitments have just been adopted, without true intent behind them.

• Keep it manageable. We all know the disappointment – and damaged trust – that is created when someone over-promises and under-delivers to us. The same goes for business. Far better to deliver and then communicate your business’ small green targets than to make large-scale promises that are doomed to fail. As your business fluency in enacting and communicating about its sustainability efforts grows, you can then scale up.

• Keep it evidenced. Customers who care about sustainability want to see transparency, accuracy and evidence of progress. When creating climate or sustainability-themed content, third-party verified data, stats, facts and charting progress year-on-year all build a far stronger case for your company’s sustainability credentials than vague commitments.  

• Keep it real. None of us are perfect in our sustainability efforts, whether at an individual or corporate level. Mistakes and bumps along the way are inevitable. Explaining where your company has encountered a sustainability challenge, or hasn’t yet hit an ESG target, or made a misstep, can counterintuitively build trust with customers, as you’re being honest and open about your efforts. Lying by omission is important to avoid.

• Keep it human. Content that highlights the real people behind your brand’s sustainability work supports accountability and helps your customers or clients to relate better to your brand. Sharing testimonies from the factories, suppliers, customers and employees that support your business is one way to do this – here’s a strong example from a fashion brand’s website.

If your company needs support on its sustainability journey, it is worth seeking guidance and education from providers of green accreditations. From ISEAL to Green Mark, certifications have emerged to help verify that businesses are acting in responsible and ethical ways. Any brand content that is created can then come from a place of guidance and support.

It may sound overwhelming, but done well, content that communicates your business’ sustainability efforts can go a long way to building trust, respect and interest from new and existing customers.

Our best advice in a single sentence? If your content is clear, informed, verified and honest about your business’ ESG efforts – then you’ve most likely avoided greenwashing.

Category: Tech