by Laura Aherne
Founder & Director, Millrace Marketing
As businesses continue to focus on their impact in the world, we are witnessing the growth of ESG marketing – but what is ESG marketing? As a conscious organisation with expertise in ESG Marketing, we like to think we can help answer the question: ‘What is ESG marketing?’ Within this blog, we’ll cover the following topics:
- What is ESG marketing?
- Why is this important for your brand?
- Seven-step ESG marketing strategy
1. What is ESG Marketing?
Let’s start simple by answering the question: ‘What is ESG marketing?’. ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance; therefore, ESG marketing (also known as responsible marketing) is a focus on promoting your company’s commitments in those exact areas. Your organisation may already be working on all three of these areas in the background, however, it’s through ESG marketing that these all-important credentials can reach your audience.
2. Why is this important for your brand?
For brands, once we understand the context of ‘What is ESG marketing?’ we need to then ask ourselves why we need to focus on an ESG Marketing Strategy. For a business looking to maintain or grow its position within a changing landscape, it attracts an increasing number of potential customers who care about sustainability and ethical practices. For organisations operating within a B2B context, a well-developed ESG focus helps with scoring on tenders and maintaining positions on frameworks and/or procurement lists. To avoid all sorts of “washing” (see Bluewashing and Greenwashing), you must be clear on your organisation’s ESG commitments and how they benefit people and planet before you use this as part of your marketing message.
3. Seven-step ESG marketing strategy
Not sure where to start? Here are
7 steps
to getting your ESG marketing right:
1) Understand ESG principles:
Although we’ve started this blog with the question: ‘What is ESG marketing?’ Before you bring ESG into your marketing you need to gain a solid understanding of ESG principles along with a clear understanding of what your organisation is doing to implement these. ESG encompasses environmental factors (E), social factors (S), and governance factors (G). It’s important to note there’s not a one-size-fits–all, but the following is a good guide to consider under these three areas:
Your organisation’s environmental considerations
- Carbon emissions
- Waste/recycling
- Energy
- Climate change risk
Your organisation’s social considerations
- Treatment of employees
- Supply chain human rights
- Community engagement
- Diversity and inclusion
Your organisation’s governance considerations
- Diversity of senior/board employees
- Ethical business practices
- Shareholder rights
2) Set clear ESG goals:
Taking the areas mentioned above in number one, you can then define specific ESG goals that align with your company’s values and mission. The likelihood is you won’t be able to align on all areas, and that’s ok. It’s more important to be honest, and clear on your organisation’s position and intentions. The goals should be measurable, time-bound, relevant to your industry, and more importantly, they must be making a positive impact!
3) Integrate ESG into your brand identity:
ESG should slowly start becoming part of your brand identity. We say slowly because a) you want to ensure you test messaging with your market and b) it’s not a static project; it’s an ongoing process that you need to keep your audience up to date with.
One area we find works well at Millrace is an approach of “this is where we were, this is where we are, this is where we want to be”. This owns an authentic approach to ESG, allowing you to address that ESG is not a static tick-box to your organisation. More on that below in point 4.
4) Develop ESG content:
Ongoing activity: produce blog posts, articles, videos, and social media content that showcase your ESG efforts and educates your audience about relevant issues.
Cause Marketing
If relevant, you could partner with nonprofit organisations or support causes related to your ESG goals. Promoting these partnerships will help contribute to your brand growth in this area.
Green Marketing
If your products or services have environmentally-friendly attributes and have evolved over the past few years, share this story where possible. Brands are fighting for their space in this market (further proof that consumers and policy are driving businesses to adapt) and as a result, many have fallen foul to greenwashing. So, ensure that your claims are valid and tangible.
Employee Stories
If you have a team of passionate people, ask them to be part of the journey. You can share stories of employees who are actively involved in ESG initiatives or volunteer work in the community. Gen Z in particular are highly driven by organisations that have adapted and continue to progress in ESG practices, with one in three young employees actually turning down jobs that don’t align with their own values.
5) Engage with employees and stakeholders
Consumer trends in this area are moving quickly and engaging with employees and stakeholders will allow you to understand what is important to communicate and when. One tip is to arrange a steering group that meets once a quarter. Although you can’t jump on every trend that is putting pressure on business, having insight will help you to stay ahead of customers’ expectations and think about changes you may want to adapt as you move forward. This fluid process can also help you to think about being targeted with your marketing to reach specific groups.
6) Measure and report:
The proof is in the pudding. In order to make tangible change, there has to be a measure to your focus. Part of Millrace’s B Corp certification means we have to annually report on five areas of ESG – Governance, Workers, Community, Environment, and Customers. But there are still ways to successfully track and measure impact outside of the B Corp structure. One simple way is to report via a Social Impact Report. The stats and updates that continuous measurement delivers can also feed into the ongoing marketing tactics mentioned in point four.
7) Adapt and Evolve:
ESG is an ongoing process, and the landscape is constantly evolving. Stay informed about emerging ESG trends, regulations, and best practices, and be prepared to adapt accordingly.
As a final note, ESG marketing is not just about optics; it should reflect a genuine commitment to responsible business practices. Building trust and credibility with your audience is essential for long-term success in any business and when dealing with such sensitive issues we must be reminded of Warren Buffet’s words:
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”
We hope you’ve found this article useful, not only answering ‘What is ESG marketing?’, but also highlighting how it can be worked into your organisation’s long-term marketing. If you want more information on how Millrace can help you communicate your ESG credentials, contact us via email or phone here.
