ketchum pleon sustainability and communications

| KETCHUM PRESENTS: RIO, SUSTAINABILITY AND WHERE NEXT FOR COMMUNICATIONS JUNE 2012

By Meg Morgan, Sustainability Lead,

Ketchum Pleon, London

KEtchUM PrESENtS

Rio, Sustainability and Where Next for Communications


when it all beganIt was only 20 years ago that as a planet we decided that something needed to be done if we were to sustain future generations of humans, plants and animals. the United Nations (UN) inaugural Earth Summit in rio de Janeiro in 1992 bought together over 100 world leaders to discuss global sustainability. there was an air of excitement and anticipation that countries were about to take sustainability seriously and therefore take responsibility for what needed to change. Agenda 21 and the United Nations Framework convention on climate change (which later became the Kyoto Protocol) were among the most positive developments.

twenty years on and progress on policy is generally regarded as slow and disappointing. But as an issue, sustainability has found its common voice and

the corporate community is beginning to become more responsible for the impact it can have and the difference it can make.

At the heart of making corporate sustainability a success is corporate communications – this serves the twin purposes of reaching stakeholders, and also helping to inform and drive change. It has been a long road and even after 20 years many would say we have not come as far as they would like. But the big change has been awareness of the issue. Most people have heard of climate change, most people know that we have more extreme weather patterns that are leading to extreme social conditions across the world. World news frequently reports on famines and floods. And as awareness has grown, so has the expectation from the consumer that we need to do more, and by that they mean governments, companies and individuals. And so the sustainability industry was born – although regarded by some nations as still in its infancy – and with it comes a responsibility to engage, excite and involve people through communications.

Ketchum is proud to have been part of the debate on sustainability way before the original rio conference. We take sustainability seriously; we are part of the UN Global compact and have been involved with various major sustainability conferences over the years. Our sustainability experts across our global network come from a variety of backgrounds from NGOs and industry, to government and media, bringing with them a wealth of experience and sector knowledge to advise clients on communicating their sustainability programmes.

this is our view on how companies have changed the way they communicate sustainability over the last 20 years, how and where we think rio+20 is going to have an impact and where we think sustainability communications is heading in the next 20 years.


the rise of the sustainability agendaAs with any industry (and sustainability is becoming an industry), its definition has changed over the years. As with most business models, “sustainability” (aka cSr) has evolved dramatically. John Paluszek, Ketchum Senior counsel, who has been active in its evolution since forming a ‘cSr’ counselling firm in the 70s, offers this capsule summary: “Arguably, sustainability has now entered the ‘3.0’ stage in which progressive companies, aware of the great value of corporate reputation, are creatively integrating the pursuit of business objectives with social advancement. A current seminal example is the ongoing development of Integrated reporting of all corporate commitments at the interface of business in society (www.theiirc.org). (“Stage 1.0” was largely corporate defensive action issue-by-issue; “2.0” added the formation of transnational business cooperatives such as the United Nations Global compact and the World Business council for Sustainable Development as well as the publication of “social reports”, etc.) the genius of “Sustainability 3.0” leading into rio+20 is that many companies, often in cooperation with (or in advance of) governments and NGOs, are recognizing and pursuing concurrent business opportunities such as risk man-agement, cost reduction and market development, in making commitments such as energy conservation.”

With the rise of corporate responsibility came a socially responsible investment community and for the first time a financial value was placed on socially responsible companies. the launch of indexes

such as FtSE4Good and the Johannesburg Social responsiblility Index, highlight the importance of responsible operational practices and the risk to an organisation that comes with it. “If chief Finance Officers are going to take sustainability seriously then it needs to have a value attached to it. the c-suite want to know how much people are investing because of it, how much the company is saving because of it and how big the market opportunity is as a result of it. tracking this is critical, so measurement is key, and investors like numbers so it’s really important to be transparent about this” says Meg Morgan, Ketchum’s Sustainability Lead in London.

But the investor community isn’t the only one driving sustainability up the board room agenda. Demand comes from the increasingly savvy consumer as well as reputation and competition. Paul cohen, a Partner in Ketchum’s New York office recalls how companies motivations have evolved to ensure sustainability is core to any resilience programme; “there has been tremendous change and movement in some organisations – ExonMobil now has fairly slick tV adverts acknowledging the importance of climate change. Whatever their rationale for communicating sustainability be it a defensive or progressive move there is no doubt that they have shed their ‘screw you’ attitude.”

Petra Sammer, Ketchum’s chief creative Officer and Partner has been advising clients on sustainability issues for over 20 years, “copenhagen was a wake-up call. It drove people to the point of realising what sustainability work needed to be done – it demonstrated that sustainability is more than a trend, but at the same time it was apparent that to succeed it needed more authentic support than most governments have provided to date.”


too little, too late?While copenhagen was a wakeup call demonstrating the disparity between government and NGO opinions on issues such as investment and policy, it also showed just how big a job ‘sustainability’ is in a democratic system.

“the biggest surprise is how little progress has been made since rio,” says Paul cohen, “the notion that we are still debating the reality of climate change is fairly shocking. there seems to be a very gradual understanding of how sustainably can improve a company’s reputation, operations and even profitability. Look at FedEx – they have a huge fleet and so a sustainable solution will save them millions. IBM is using their skills to develop ‘Smarter cities’ and unsurprisingly there is a benefit to everyone!”

Petra Sammer agrees, “We still appear to be at the stage where organisations would attend copenhagen and think more about their own campaigning Pr activities rather than the core issues that were being discussed at the conference. By tying into these wider issues, companies would receive greater positive media coverage based on a genuine collaborative approach and reputation. But, the change isn’t happening quickly enough. We need a leap to a new mindset – maybe rio is where some of these battles will be won?”

what we can expect from Rioin June?As June and the rio conference approaches the hype begins. Despite the slogan ‘the future we want’ and an applaudable list of ‘critical issues’ to address, its quite clear from the global community that expectations for rio+20 are generally low. It’s already facing cynics from the media, NGOs and even governments: however, in 20 years there have been significant advances in technology and the shift of mindset within some of the larger global companies,

such as BP, GE and coca-cola, means that the tables have finally begun to turn since the original rio conference.

John Paluszek attends UN compact on behalf of Ketchum and its clients and his insights on rio are more positive, “there seems to be more of an urgency and priority within organisations to start getting sustainability right because people and investors are watching, and there is a real opportunity to get it right too because the technology is in place.”

As reported in the UK’s national newspaper The Guardian, ‘Eight new sustainable development goals (SDGs) will be proposed at rio+20, but will not replace the 10 millennium development goals (MDGs) set by the UN in 2000 which promised to free people from extreme poverty and multiple deprivations.’ But, will these be regarded as a burden or an incentive by nations and commerce?

Either way, the outcome of rio+20 will not be legally binding environmental agreements as it was 20 years ago; instead nations will be asked to set their own targets and work voluntarily towards establishing a global green economy. But what does this mean for communications?

John Paluszek, a frequent attendee at a spectrum of sustainability conferences, offers a “rio distinction” worth considering: “We at Ketchum are counseling clients to note that immediately prior to the rio+20 Summit of national government leaders addressing climate change issues, the United Nations Global compact is presenting its “rio+20 corporate Sustainability Forum.” having attended the February preparatory conference in New York I can attest that this Forum will be a highly concentrated – and undoubtedly fruitful – affirmation of corporate progress and long-term commitment to sustainability. For example, subjects such as ‘cradle-to-cradle’ context for corporate and planetary sustainability will be ex-amined in depth.”

Paul cohen supports this argument, “A company’s reputation is no longer based on what it is doing to sort out its own backyard, today there is an expectation for companies to use their skills, reach and services to work collaboratively across sectors and markets to sort out the global backyard”.


most admired companiesWe’re not starting from scratch. While there is a long way to go there are companies out there proving that sustainability works – not just for business and society but for a corporate reputation too. In an interview with Fortune Magazine in March 2012, Jeffrey Immelt, cEO, General Electric, raised some interesting points relating to the business and financial case for cSr and sustainability, he says, “I think we’ve [GE] always been a good and generous company when it’s come to corporate social responsibility around education and things like that. But personally, I think one of the things that this [economic] cycle is proving is that without competitiveness, nothing else really matters. I think in the end, GE is a competitive company, and in the end that might be the best source of cSr.”

he goes on, “I think if you can link corporate social responsibility to those things that companies do best, which is compete, when you can touch those two, then I think they’re particularly strong. If you’re just giving money to an art museum or something like that, I don’t think it helps as much. But if you can tie cSr to innovation for the environment, or making secondary schools better or big things like that, then I think it has extra oomph.”

ROI on sustainability?While the sustainability debate is often seen as being led by governments and influenced by NGOs, it could be said that it is the private sector that has the money and incentive to make the difference.

But the demand is coming from consumers who are listening more to NGOs and other peers through the internet. they are more aware of global issues as well as those happening on their doorstep. “Sustainability has changed because companies now realise that it affects consumers purchasing behaviour,” says Petra Sammer. “to get a sustainability programme right, it’s really important that we understand the views of the consumers in the first place.”

She continues, “there is a more apparent link between sustainability, competitiveness and profitability. Our client BMW has always been good with ratings on indexes but now sustainability is a major talking point at motor shows and so companies need to make sure that they have a sustainability strategy in place.

“Once the demand is there, it is the companies that are often one step ahead of governments – therefore avoiding the regulation or improving reputation and bottom line, or a combination of all of these. Either way the global trend is that sustainability it is now part of big company culture.”

“We know there is corporate success in sustainability” says cohen, “Look at Japan’s approach to sustainable buildings – they recogonise the financial benefit to creating a sustainable society. Japan really sets the benchmark here. It’s the collaboration of sub nationals coming together – public / private companies across geographies are working quicker than governments to get things done.

“corporate sustainability credentials are seen as different to building reputation through marketing. Often we are dealing with c-suite and experts rather than the marketing and communications people. this helps. It builds credibility and trust when led from the leadership of the company.”

where to next for sustainabilitycommunications?communications is playing an increasingly critical role in accelerating behaviour change. At the forefront of this is leadership. Ketchum’s recently published Leadership communication Monitor revealed a simple formula that leadership credibility hinges on a blend of decisive action, open communication and a leader’s personal presence. this is absolutely the case for the success of sustainability.

Social media is speeding up awareness but getting


people and business to actually change what they are thinking and doing is a much harder leap. It starts with companies making this process easier by providing the tools and infrastructure to do things differently.

So how can communications support this? “A sustainability programme needs to be robust and that means working with NGOs, and collaboratively across industries and governments to change the way we live and work. Any communication strategy needs to consider these stakeholders at the outset,” says John Paluszek. “companies realise that sustainability needs to be communicated in a holistic way to be effective. It’s always more than just stand-alone environment or social issues. Getting our clients to look at the big picture will be central to developing a successful campaign.”

Our top tips for clients:• It is more important to understand the habits, touch

points and influencers of tomorrow’s consumer – they are likely to be demanding more than today’s consumers.

• Sustainability is moving from providing shareholder value to providing value to all your stakeholders. those doing this are more likely to be successful in building trust and reputation.

• Brands have the opportunity to connect and educate consumers on sustainable issues. rather than ‘dumbing down on sustainable messages’ brands should ‘inspire new thinking and behaviour change’.

Dave chapman, Ketchum’s Global Sustainability Lead adds, “Sustainability is becoming increasingly core to

a corporate reputation. those succeeding at it take on board the organisation’s core competencies and match that with the real global to local, social and environmental needs that often result in making an organisation more efficient, innovative and credible. those that do it really well don’t need to rely on overtly shouting about what they do, their customers, competitors and communities do this on their behalf”.

It’s a long road ahead but an exciting one that will make a real difference. there is likely to be some interesting comment and opinion coming out of rio. there will almost certainly be a buzz, but once June passes it will be the experts in sustainability and communications that will drive change.

so what will success look like? Paluszek is very clear with his response, “When people stop talking about sustainability as something that is new and important then it becomes a vital part of everything”.

Yvon chouinard, Founder of Patagonia puts sustainability into perspective when he said, “Without a healthy planet there are no shareholders, customers or employees.” companies should bear this in mind when considering the importance of sustainability to its operations.

Meg MorganSustainability Lead, [email protected]+44 (0)20 7611 3500

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