Crafting Engaging ESG Narratives for Your Audience

ESG narratives are stories companies tell about their environmental, social, and governance efforts. Here's how to create compelling ESG stories:

Know your audience
Link ESG to company goals
Focus on key topics and set realistic targets
Use clear language and back claims with data
Include personal stories and stakeholder feedback
Be transparent about challenges
Tailor content for different formats
Continuously improve based on feedback

Quick Comparison:

Element	Purpose	Example
Audience focus	Tailor message	Patagonia's eco-conscious consumer report
Data-backed claims	Build credibility	Microsoft's specific carbon reduction figures
Personal stories	Make it relatable	HydroFlask's Parks For All program
Transparency	Build trust	Unilever discussing missed targets
Multi-format	Reach wider audience	IKEA's social media updates on sustainability

Remember: ESG storytelling is ongoing. Keep it honest, clear, and aligned with your company's goals.

Know your audience

To create engaging ESG narratives, you need to understand who you're talking to. Here's how to identify and connect with your key stakeholders:

Identify key stakeholders

List all groups affected by or interested in your ESG efforts:

Investors
Employees
Customers
Suppliers
Community members
Regulators
NGOs

Categorize these groups based on their interest and influence. This helps you focus your efforts where they count.

"We wanted to make sure we are speaking to the right audience." - Ben Kruse, Director of Global CSR Reporting & Insights at AT&T

AT&T uses a modular disclosure structure. This lets different stakeholders access information at the level of detail they need.

Assess audience knowledge

Gauge your stakeholders' understanding of ESG issues. This helps you tailor your message. Try:

Surveys
Focus groups
One-on-one interviews
Social media listening

AT&T's 2016 materiality assessment involved over 1,400 people, including employees, consumers, and professional stakeholders.

Adjust content for each group

Customize your ESG narratives based on your audience:

Stakeholder Group	Content Focus	Communication Channel
Investors	Financial impact of ESG initiatives	Annual reports, investor presentations
Employees	Company values, workplace initiatives	Internal newsletters, town halls
Customers	Product sustainability, ethical practices	Marketing materials, product labels
Regulators	Compliance, industry standards	Detailed reports, direct communications

Your ESG story should align with your company's overall goals and strategy. As NIRI's Policy Statement puts it: "It is no longer satisfactory for companies to talk about ESG in a box or to simply discuss the current and immediate benefits of ESG policies."

Create your ESG story plan

Here's how to build a solid ESG narrative that fits your company:

Link to company goals

Tie your ESG stories to your main business objectives. This shows how your ESG work supports your overall strategy.

Take Walmart, for example. They've made their ESG reporting easy to understand and measure. Anyone can see how their ESG work fits into their bigger business picture.

Choose key ESG topics

Pick the ESG areas that matter most to your company and stakeholders. Use your ESG materiality assessment as a guide.

HydroFlask, an outdoor product company, focuses on environmental conservation. Their Parks For All program highlights efforts to make nature accessible to everyone. It's a perfect fit for their brand.

Set realistic yet inspiring goals

Create ESG targets that you can reach but still push you forward. Be clear about what you want to do and when.

Here's an example:

Goal	Target	Timeframe
Cut carbon emissions	25% less	By 2025
More diverse leadership	40% women executives	By 2027
Better supply chain	100% sustainable materials	By 2030

Be honest about what still needs work. As one investor told a client, "Share your good results, not big promises." This builds trust and helps avoid claims of "greenwashing."

Key parts of good ESG stories

To craft engaging ESG narratives, focus on these elements:

Start with the 'why'

Explain your ESG motivation. It builds trust and helps your audience understand your efforts.

Patagonia's ESG report nails this. They clearly state their 'why': addressing the environmental and social impact of their operations and products. It's a perfect match for their eco-conscious customers.

Paint a picture of the future

Show the end goal of your ESG work. Make it easy for stakeholders to see the impact.

HydroFlask's Parks For All program does this well. They're all about making nature accessible to everyone. As they put it: "the benefits of nature are mental, physical and social."

Focus on results, not just actions

Don't just list what you've done. Show the real-world impact.

Action	Result
Recycling program	30% less landfill waste
Diverse hiring	Better innovation and problem-solving
Renewable energy investment	25% cut in carbon emissions

Include different viewpoints

Add stories from various stakeholders. It makes your ESG narrative more credible and balanced.

Oatly's approach? They provide updates on their ESG work, including deep-dive investigations and founder interviews. It gives readers multiple perspectives on their initiatives.

Your ESG story should fit with your overall business strategy. Laura Wanlass, Partner and Practice Leader at Global Corporate Governance and ESG Advisory, warns:

"The biggest mistake a company can make in its ESG storytelling is overcommitting to goals they can't reach or have no intention of reaching."

Organize your ESG story

Here's how to structure your ESG stories to keep your audience hooked:

Create a clear story flow

Start with your ESG goals, then explain your actions and their impact. For example, Patagonia's ESG report follows this structure:

Company mission and values
Environmental initiatives
Social responsibility programs
Governance practices
Future commitments

This flow helps readers follow Patagonia's ESG journey from start to finish.

Use the right words and tone

Tailor your language to different audience groups:

Audience	Language Example
Investors	"Our carbon intensity dropped 15% year-over-year."
Customers	"Our packaging is now 100% recyclable to help cut waste."
Employees	"You can now spend 40 paid hours yearly supporting local causes."

Mix stories and data

Blend personal stories with numbers for a trustworthy account. HydroFlask's Parks For All program does this well:

"In 2022, we gave $500,000 to 18 non-profits. These grants helped create 5 new parks and maintain over 100 miles of trails."

This approach shows both human and quantitative impact.

Keep your ESG story in line with your business strategy. As sustainability journalist Tom Idle says:

"You have to get your story straight and ensure you are using the right metrics all of the time."

Be consistent in your messaging and data across all channels.

Write strong ESG messages

Develop main themes and messages

Pick 3-5 key ESG themes that align with your company's goals. Build your messages around these themes.

Take Patagonia, for example. Their ESG messaging focuses on:

Environmental protection
Fair labor practices

They highlight their "1% for the Planet" program, which donates 1% of sales to environmental causes.

Here's a quick example of themes and messages:

Theme	Message
Carbon reduction	"30% less carbon emissions since 2020"
Diversity	"40% of leaders are women"
Sustainable sourcing	"75% recycled materials used"

Back up claims with facts

Use solid data and real examples. Microsoft's 2022 ESG report nailed this:

Removed 2.5 million metric tons of carbon
Diverted 60,000 metric tons of waste from landfills
Repurposed 3.4 million devices

These specific figures show the REAL impact of Microsoft's ESG efforts.

Talk about challenges

Be honest about your successes AND struggles. It builds trust. Unilever's 2022 ESG report did this well:

"We're behind on our goal to halve virgin plastic use by 2025. We're working to speed up our efforts here."

This openness shows Unilever's commitment to improvement.

Lastly, make sure your ESG messages fit your business strategy. As Laura Wanlass, a Global Corporate Governance and ESG expert, puts it:

"The biggest mistake? Overcommitting to goals you can't or won't reach."

Ways to tell better ESG stories

Use personal stories

Share real stories of people impacted by your ESG initiatives. HydroFlask's Parks For All program nails this. Their website showcases grant recipients and their work to make nature accessible. It's a smart move - it puts a human face on their ESG efforts.

Include stakeholder feedback

Want to build trust? Add testimonials from those affected by your work. Oatly's "Oatly Stories" series does this well. They mix humor with serious topics, showing the real-world impact of their sustainability efforts.

Mention awards and certifications

Got recognition for your ESG work? Flaunt it. R&G Strategic does this by highlighting their B Lab certification:

"This ensures our trusted partners, clients, and community know we're transparent about our ESG practices through the B Impact Assessment."

It's a simple way to add weight to their ESG claims and build trust.

Remember: Good ESG storytelling isn't a one-off thing. It should be part of your brand's DNA, changing with the times to stay relevant.

Storytelling Method	Example	Benefit
Personal stories	HydroFlask's Parks For All program	Makes ESG efforts more relatable
Stakeholder feedback	Oatly's "Oatly Stories" series	Adds trust and relatability
Awards and certifications	R&G Strategic's B Lab certification	Proves ESG performance

Present ESG data clearly

Break down ESG data into digestible chunks. Group environmental metrics into categories like emissions, water usage, and waste management.

Use visuals. A pie chart showing energy sources (renewable vs. non-renewable) beats a table of numbers any day.

Explain your metrics:

Metric	What it means
GHG Emissions Intensity	Greenhouse gases per unit of output. Lower is better.
Board Gender Diversity	% of women on the board. Higher = more diverse.
Employee Turnover Rate	% of employees leaving. Lower often means happier staff.

Compare to industry standards. It gives context:

Metric	Our Company	Industry Average
GHG Emissions (tons CO2e)	10,000	15,000
Water Usage (gallons)	1,000,000	1,200,000
Board Diversity (% women)	40%	30%

Clear ESG data builds trust. A 2020 Edelman survey found 88% of U.S. institutional investors think ESG-focused companies offer better long-term returns. So, clarity isn't just about transparency - it could attract investment too.

Be honest and open

Trust is key in ESG storytelling. Here's how to keep it real:

Skip the fluff

Stick to facts. No exaggeration.

Don't say	Do say
"We're the greenest"	"We cut carbon by 15% since 2020"
"100% sustainable products"	"80% recycled materials"

Be transparent about your ESG journey:

Win: "Board diversity up to 40% women from 25% in 2021."
Loss: "Missed 20% water reduction goal. Only hit 12% due to production increase."

Show you're in it for the long haul

1. Set clear targets

"Goal: 50% renewable energy by 2025, up from 30% now."

2. Update regularly

Quarterly or annual ESG reports. Use GRI or SASB for consistency.

3. Put money where your mouth is

Invest in sustainability. Highlight these in reports.

"Transparency isn't just data dumping. It's opening a dialogue and showing you're committed to getting better." - Jane Smith, ESG Comms Expert

Adjust ESG stories for different formats

ESG stories need to fit various channels. Here's how:

Reports and presentations

For formal stuff:

Use clear, factual language
Include data tables and charts
Add executive summaries

Unilever's 2022 ESG report used infographics to show a 25% plastic reduction since 2018.

Online media

Online needs a different approach:

Keep it short
Use visuals
Make it interactive

Platform	Content Type	Example
Twitter	Short updates	IKEA: "Solar panels now power 90% of our stores"
Instagram	Visual stories	Patagonia: Recycled materials in new jackets
LinkedIn	Detailed articles	Microsoft: Carbon negative progress update

Tailor your message to each platform's audience. LinkedIn users might want more depth than Twitter followers.

Check and improve your ESG story

Want better ESG stories? Here's how to check and improve them:

Get feedback from stakeholders

Ask the people who matter what they think. It's that simple.

Take QuadReal, a real estate company. They:

Survey tenants
Run investor focus groups
Use feedback to tweak ESG priorities

Result? An ESG report that hits the mark.

Measure message impact

Track your ESG message reach and effect. Look at:

ESG content views
Interactions (shares, comments)
Behavior or perception changes

Sustainalytics, an ESG research firm, nails this. They explain:

How they calculate scores
How scores align with industry standards

This clarity helps stakeholders make smart choices.

Keep improving your storytelling

Always aim for clearer, more engaging ESG stories. Try:

New formats (videos, infographics)
Simplifying complex info
Updating as your ESG efforts grow

"Think about potential journalist questions on these stories... It's not just media. Customers, investors, and shareholders might make assumptions about your actions." - Tom Idle, Sustainability Journalist and Podcaster

Remember: Good ESG storytelling is an ongoing process. Keep checking, keep improving.

Conclusion

Creating strong ESG stories takes work. Here's what to remember:

Know your audience: Tailor your message. Patagonia's ESG report speaks to eco-conscious consumers about product impact.
Be honest: Share wins and challenges. Walmart's ESG reporting discusses areas for improvement.
Use clear language: Skip the jargon. Roma McCaig from Clif Bar & Company says:

"Always keep in mind a human is on the other side of the table and emphasize conscience, clarity and connection."

Show, don't just tell: Use stories and data. HydroFlask's Parks For All program highlights grant recipients' work.
Get feedback: Ask stakeholders what they think. Improve your ESG story over time.

ESG storytelling needs ongoing work:

Stay current: Keep up with ESG trends and stakeholder expectations.
Try new formats: Use videos, infographics, or interactive reports.
Measure impact: Track how ESG stories affect perceptions and behaviors.
Be consistent: Align your ESG message across platforms. Sunya Norman from Salesforce notes:

"Consistency and authenticity are important north stars when telling your ESG story."

FAQs

What is ESG narrative?

An ESG narrative is a story that shows what a company's doing about sustainability. It's not just numbers - it's about explaining why you're doing it and what you've achieved.

A good ESG narrative:

Explains the 'why' behind your ESG work
Focuses on real actions and results
Is open about how you measure success

Laura Wanlass from Global Corporate Governance and ESG Advisory says: