by Peter Knight | Jan 17, 2019 | Blog
Soy: coming to a vegan restaurant or animal feed lot near you soon
Everyone’s a publisher now.
Good story telling is good for business: it reassures customers, attracts and retains top talent, and boosts your reputation with investors, consumers and civil society.
It’s especially important in getting the best return on your investment in sustainability. But while many companies have good sustainability stories to tell, they often tell them rather badly. There’s something about the subject and its mix of science, ethics and doing-good that sometimes befuddles corporate story tellers. The results can be sleep-inducing data-heavy tomes, or assorted case studies that lack a clear connection to business strategy.
Leading habits
Two related elements separate leading story tellers from the laggards. The first is having a good sustainability story to tell. And then telling it well.
We’ve begun bench marking how companies combine both elements. We’ve started with the food and ag sectors (one of our specialisms) and gone to the heart of the supply chain: soft-commodities traders. These companies must deal with the full range of issues, from climate change and deforestation to community rights and forced labour.
Our Approach
We selected 10 top soft-commodities traders who are members of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development or the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform. As members, these companies are committed to advancing sustainable business practices and should have good stories to tell.
The alphabetical list is: ADM, Barry Callebaut, Bunge, Cargill, Glencore, Golden Agri-Resources, Louis Dreyfus, Olam, SUCDEN, Wilmar.
We analysed the sustainability content on each company’s global website to find out if it had a good sustainability story to tell. Then we considered how well it told its story, scoring it in four categories: messaging, liveliness, use of different media, and effectiveness of social media. Then we ranked them.
The results are telling. We will reveal the ranking shortly when we publish the full report. Meanwhile we’re contacting each company to make sure we have judged them fairly.
To find out more about the report – Susty Story Ranking: Which Soft-Commodities Traders Tell Their Story Best? – please contact Francesca Ward (Francesca.ward@contexteurope.com).
by Context | Jul 23, 2018 | Blog
Your sustainability program is firing on all cylinders. You’ve got goals, you’re making progress, and you’re providing value to your business.
After publishing your annual sustainability report you think – we’ve done it, people will finally know what we’ve been up to!
Unfortunately, a one-note communication strategy just isn’t enough. With the breakneck speed of business and the proliferation of digital content, a multi-channel approach is more effective. Think of it this way…
Annual sustainability reports meet the needs of the most dedicated audiences: investors, raters, and rankers. Your website is the place to engage customers and employees with multimedia content. After investing in a report and website, expand your audience by posting daily on social media.
Many social platforms are used for corporate communications including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter. Because they vary in terms of format, audience, and features, each meets a different need. We prefer Twitter for business-to-business (B2B) sustainability communication.
Why Twitter
- The format. Posts begin with text and are enhanced with photos, videos, and links. You can jumpstart your Twitter feed with the content you already have on hand.
- The audience. Twitter boasts millions of global users with participation from businesses, consumers, thought-leaders, and news outlets. While consumer-focused messaging thrives on other platforms, Twitter is a good fit for professional communication.
- The network effect. Smart brands share content that attracts sustainability influencers. When influencers engage with tweets it can build credibility, expand audience, and improve reputation.
- Measurement. Twitter Analytics helps users track performance and optimize content.
How Twitter benefits CR comms
- Audience expansion. Reach global consumers, customers, and employees who don’t read lengthy publications.
- Content utility. Put your CR report text, photos, and videos to work by posting bite-sized pieces on social.
- Freedom of expression. Without the page constraints of a report, your Twitter handle can explore an unlimited number of topics.
- Breathing life into your brand. Authentic, daily communication shows the world your CR program is healthy and engaged.
Making it happen
To make the most of the opportunity, you’ll need to produce meaningful content and post frequently. Here’s the anatomy of a great tweet:
- Keep it short and sweet. Make intelligible commentary with as few characters as possible.
- Add depth. Your readers are savvy media consumers. Go beyond basic marketing-speak to inform and engage.
- Tackle current events. Show your program is attune to the landscape by interacting with industry news, research, and events.
- Garner engagement. Generate likes, retweets, and replies with photos, infographics, videos, and hashtags. Drive traffic to owned and third-party content by linking out.
- Be positive. Help followers see that business is part of the solution by balance the gravitas of sustainability challenges with optimism.
Some brands are already using Twitter to tell their story. Seeking inspiration? Look here: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Living Progress.
