ESG: the preserve of the C-Suite, or an opportunity for Brands?

By Jenna Gifford, Senior Consulting Director

It’s a commonly held belief that ESG is the sole preserve of the Corporate team; managed, reported and communicated in alignment with an ever-growing alphabet of acronyms (TCFD, TNFD, ESRS, CSRD, ISSB, SBTi…).

It’s an understandable viewpoint. ESG is a risk management strategy that sets out the company’s long-term plan to ‘do no harm’ to Environment and Society. Incorporating ESG thinking into the highest level of business operations, supported by strong governance frameworks, is essential for delivering impact. 

But to limit ESG to the Corporate realm is to miss the opportunity to connect ESG (your strategy to do no harm) with Purpose (your positive impact on the world) and, in doing so, move from a position of value protection to one of value creation.

This is a particular challenge for Group companies that house a stable of brands, each with its own distinct product offering, brand positioning and target audience. How do multiple brands translate one Corporate ESG strategy and Purpose into numerous, defined and ownable impact narratives? How do you align the aims of the Group (reporting to its shareholders) with those of the brand and marketing teams (to connect with their consumers)? And are attempts to marry the complexity of ESG with the clarity of Brand and Marketing too fraught with the dangers of greenwashing to even try?

Overcoming this challenge for multi-brand companies is both necessary and worthwhile.

Necessary because ESG and Purpose differ from areas like tax and financial reporting – also traditionally ‘owned’ by the Corporate team - in that they require engagement and action across every level of the business. In order for the Group to succeed, the brands must play their part to deliver on its ambitions. Engaging and educating Brand teams to own and drive their ESG journey is essential.

And necessary because, as companies look beyond their own operations to the impact of their supply chain, brands are increasingly being asked by stockists to evidence their ESG efforts. Brands that can articulate their own ESG story will stand apart from those that fall back on the actions of the Group. 

Ensuring brands are meeting targets set at Group level and can communicate these actions to their suppliers is the baseline. The real value comes when brands connect ESG (their strategy to mitigate negative impact) with their efforts to create positive impact – creating a compelling and credible narrative that addresses a real business challenge, speaks to their consumers and, ultimately, contributes towards the Group ESG and Purpose ambition.   

Brand marketers are also master storytellers. If you want to speak to an audience that doesn’t routinely read corporate sustainability reports or debate the relative merits of carbon credits, brand comms is your medium of choice.

Sheba’s Hope Reef is an example of this approach in action. The brand is owned by Mars, which identifies ocean preservation as a focus area in its Sustainable for a Generation ESG Strategy. Ocean preservation is a particular risk for Sheba because, put simply, people love their cats, cats love fish, and if we don’t protect our oceans and marine life, cats will no longer be able to enjoy a delicious fishy dinner.

The Hope Reef – a restored coral reef off the coast of Indonesia that spells out the word Hope and is big enough to be seen from space - is part of the brand’s commitment to restore more than 185,000 square meters of coral reef around the world by 2029, the world’s largest coral reef preservation program.

Positive impact (the world’s largest coral reef restoration program) that addresses a real business challenge (no fish = no cat food), supports the Group ambitions (reducing its environmental impact in line with what science says is necessary to keep the planet healthy) and speaks to their customers (through beautiful creative storytelling on an issue they care about).

So, how should brand and marketing teams incorporate ESG and define their positive impact narrative?

1. Assess – Understand the Group’s ESG risks, identify which are most relevant to your brand and assess how you are managing each risk currently. Review the Group Purpose and define the role your brand plays to deliver on this.

2. Address – using findings from the Assess phase, ensure robust strategies are in place to address each risk – a key step to avoid the pitfalls of greenwashing. Develop a coherent impact narrative connecting your strategy to address your negative impacts and your efforts to create positive impact.

3. Activate – apply the brand lens and creative storytelling to communicate that impact narrative to your target audiences, working closely with internal and advisory teams to ensure creative solutions are credible, impactful and communicated in alignment with best practice.

Tackling the complex environmental and social challenges we face can seem daunting. But we believe that every company, and brand, has both the responsibility and capability to make a difference. And that’s exciting.