Shelton Group has been helping companies articulate
their sustainability stories for 15 years now. And I can’t tell you how many
times, when meeting a new client, I’ve heard some version of:
“We’ve been doing sustainability since before it was called ‘sustainability!’”
I heard it again recently at the Fortune Global Sustainability
Forum,
but with new words meant to give it more gravitas:
“Sustainability is in our DNA!”
Please stop.
Stop — because it short-changes the complexity and depth of the climate
situation by making it seem like, if we could just dial up your efforts a little
bit, everything would be OK. And because it begs this response: “Really? If
you’ve been doing sustainability for decades, why is the planet (and the human
race) in the trouble it’s in?” And corporate America doesn’t really have a good
answer to that.
Has corporate America done amazing things to move our society forward? Yes! Have
many of the companies I encounter done wonderful things for their people, their
communities and for the conservation of resources? Yes! I’m a capitalist and
have pushed all my chips to the center of the table on business, betting that
the power of competition, innovation and quarterly profits will in fact spur all
companies to make huge strides in caring for people and the planet in the name
of the almighty dollar.
But saying that sustainability is a part of the purpose upon which your company
was founded just isn’t true for most companies (save the likes of Patagonia
and Seventh Generation — both environmental organizations cleverly disguised
as consumer goods companies).
It isn’t true because sustainability is fundamentally about eliminating
greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). Most companies have only just started measuring
and managing GHG emissions in the last 5-10 years — and many haven’t even
started. And for the record:
Recycling, recyclable materials and recycled content ≠ sustainability.
Cleaning up parks, planting trees and giving to charity ≠ sustainability.
Being an ethical corporate citizen ≠ sustainability.
All of those actions can be part of an overarching ESG
program,
and they’re all wonderful things to do. We can tell compelling stories about
them that build brand preference and even drive sales. But, alone, they don’t
add up to “sustainability.”
You can clean up all the parks you want — you can clean up the oceans,
too
— but you need to identify how many GHGs those actions will actually eliminate.
Are they enough to eliminate all the carbon stemming from your company’s
existence? If so, awesome — go shout it from the mountaintops! If not — and
that’s what the honest answer will more than likely be, as only one or two
pioneering companies have actually done
so
(or are
close)
— then, get started on the hard work of eliminating the use of fossil fuels to
power your
facilities
and
manufacture
and transport your
goods.
Once you’re doing that, then and only then you can credibly talk about your
efforts on sustainability. And you can say something like:
“We’ve been good stewards of our communities and our air, land and water for
decades. And now that we understand our impacts on the climate, we’re working to
be good stewards on that front, too.”
Now, that’s something worth bragging about.
Get the latest insights, trends, and innovations to help position yourself at the forefront of sustainable business leadership—delivered straight to your inbox.
Suzanne Shelton is CEO of Shelton Group, the nation’s leading marketing communications firm entirely focused in the sustainability and energy efficiency sectors.
Published Oct 18, 2021 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST