When sustainability was first conceptualised, executives and the companies they led realised they could use certain buzzwords to sell more products and services. This led to terms like organic, eco-friendly, and low impact becoming commonplace in marketing.
In the past, these labels were often enough to appease the public. Today, businesses need a far more genuine and considered approach to sustainability, no matter the industry.
Why? Stakeholder pressure is at an all-time high. Whether from employees, customers, or NGOs, any perception of unethical behaviour, environmental harm, or exploitation can cause a company to lose talent and deter potential customers, investors, and partners.
As a result, many executives are increasingly dedicating more time to thought leadership to consistently communicate that their business is responsibly managed. It has become an important strategy to maintain stakeholder trust and stay abreast of industry trends.
This is why, in this article, we explore several considerations for executives aiming to become successful sustainability thought leaders and the tripwires they must avoid.
Before an executive can become a sustainability thought leader, they must be aware of the three pillars of sustainability, otherwise known as the triple bottom line.
The environmental pillar focuses on protecting and preserving the environment.
The social pillar is all about improving the quality of life for individuals and various communities.
The economic pillar focuses on ensuring that economic activities are conducted in a way that is financially viable and beneficial in the long term, without compromising environmental or social well-being.
Naturally, executives will have varying degrees of interest in each of these three pillars depending on the industry they operate in. Yet, it's important that they split their time evenly across each.
For instance, an oil and gas firm might be more concerned with environmental thought leadership, but they often run the risk of neglecting issues like DEI, which is increasingly gaining more traction.
When this neglect happens, and a company isn't aware of its wide range of responsibilities, there's a good chance it will face a backlash and a dip in performance over the long term.
This is completely avoidable as long as executives find the right balance to build trust with all of their audiences.
Once executives understand the different considerations involved in sustainability thought leadership, they must determine their audience.
For instance, environmentally conscious consumers, retail partners, and industry regulators of a consumer product company will likely be interested in sustainable sourcing, packaging, and product lifecycles.
On the other hand, industry analysts and the corporate clients of a B2B tech firm may be more concerned with the environmental impact of electric waste, energy consumption, and the sourcing of materials.
Understanding these audiences’ needs allows executives to tailor their messaging accordingly to ensure it resonates effectively and drive meaningful impact within their respective sectors.
Yet, failing to identify the right audience will likely mean your campaign falls on deaf ears.
When commenting on sustainability issues across media coverage and social media, sustainability thought leaders must be aware of placing themselves under the spotlight.
Audiences who never questioned their ethicality in the past will be eager to spot whether the CEO or founder speaking about climate change is bettering the planet themselves.
This is why thought leaders must back up their insights with action, and until they do, approach sustainability with caution.
Sustainability is a fast-moving trend. Real-world issues evolve daily, and new solutions consistently improve as companies invest in change.
Without using relevant statistics to support your thought leadership, you can easily make irrelevant assumptions and statements that stand to be corrected.
Similarly, stating that your company has developed revolutionary smart grid technology will do little to galvanize audiences if you can’t support the claims with company data.
Don’t rush sustainability thought leadership. Take your time and do your homework.
It can also be easy to overcomplicate sustainability thought leadership.
You may want to comment on multiple issues and appease various groups. However, you only risk skewing your key objectives.
If you’re attempting to improve the culture within your business, discuss the importance of social causes like equal pay. Don't confuse your audience by speaking about energy efficiency within the same or subsequent LinkedIn posts.
If you do want to explore multiple issues, consider separating these topics into hyper-focussed campaigns that run over a period of several months.
This allows you to squeeze maximum value out of each campaign without diluting your message.
Moreover, when you craft your central message for each campaign, summarise it in a singular sentence to grab the attention of time-poor audiences and be easily understood.
To keep audiences engaged with your thought leadership, you must ensure that your messages are eye-catching.
Sustainability angles everyone talks about will do little to strike a chord with audiences, let alone go viral.
So, don’t be afraid to go against the grain and share your opinion.
Consider visual elements like videos, graphics, and high-quality images to supplement your thought leadership so that people will be more inclined to stop scrolling on LinkedIn, watch your video, or click on your article.
Since sustainability is such a hot topic, the companies seen to uphold positive change are usually much more successful because their agenda surpasses making a profit.
They attract more employees.
See an increase in investment.
Secure more partnerships.
Become more visible than their competitors.
Usually, this is a consequence of their executives speaking at conferences, their posts performing better on LinkedIn, and producers being keen to invite them on broadcast and radio.
Make no mistake, becoming a thought leader can be time-intensive, but the commitment is certainly worth it.